Preflop Strategy (3): Calling and Isolating All-Ins Charts
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Before reading this lesson, you should have previously read through:
• Playing Preflop (3): Calling and Isolating All-ins
As a result, you should already have an understanding of how the decision process looks like in a spot where you are facing an open push from a player in an earlier position.
It is always best to base your calculation on player-specific reads and risk premium considerations in the exact stack setup you are facing. However, from a practical standpoint, it is not feasible to perform detailed calculations every time you are facing such a spot. With time, you should develop the right intuition. Until then, it is good to have a shortcut for default, readless, average spots. That is exactly what this lesson is about.
How to estimate the risk premium
In lack of a better estimate, a good method of approximating the risk premium is to take the average risk premium given the number of players left and the payout structure. This method assumes equal stacks and negligible blinds and antes. Remember that the bigger your stack and the smaller the opponent's stack, the smaller your risk premium is compared with the average, and vice versa.
The first chart shows the average risk premium in a 9-man SNG with a standard 50/30/20 payout structure as a function of the number of players still in the tournament.
| Players | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Risk premium | 4.8% | 5.6% | 6.6% | 8.1% | 10.6% | 15.2% | 7.1% |
The second chart shows the average risk premium in a 6-man SNG with a 65/35 payout structure as a function of the number of players still in the tournament.
| Players | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Risk premium | 3.8% | 4.8% | 6.6% | 10.6% |
The next chart shows the average risk premium in a 180-man SNG with a standard payout structure at the final table and at several points earlier throughout the tournament.
| Players | 180 | 60 | 28 | 19 | 10 to 7 | 6 to 4 | 3 |
| Risk premium | 1.1% | 5.8% | 8.8% | 6.7% | 10.6%-10.8% | 9.9%-10.6% | 9.4% |
You can use publicly available tools, such as ICMIZER, to calculate the risk premium with 60 or less players left for any payout structure (and, if need be, stack setup).
How to assign a range
In lack of a better estimate (overall stats, positional stats, notes, recent history), a good method for assigning a range to the all-in player is to consult the open pushing charts on what the villain should be pushing in his spot.
To make things easier, the following chart provides you with the pushing ranges for each effective stack size (with antes in play) and position. The ranges are expressed as percentages of all possible holdings, and this should enable a quicker estimation of your equity versus the given range.
| Position / Stack | 14 bb | 12 bb | 10 bb | 8 bb | 6 bb | 5 bb |
| EP | 9.4% | 10.6% | 13.4% | 16% | 22% | 28.8% |
| MP | 12.4% | 14% | 21.2% | 23.7% | 28.9% | 40.0% |
| CO | 22% | 24.9% | 31.8% | 33.6% | 41% | 49.9% |
| BU | 31.8% | 33.6% | 40.3% | 42.4% | 50.2% | 55.4% |
| SB | 52% | 56.3% | 66.2% | 71.3% | 77% | 82.2% |
How to come up with a calling range
You have now estimated the equity that you need to call the all-in profitably – just to remind you, this is the cEV-wise equity needed (chip equity), plus estimated risk premium, plus 0.5% per player left to act to account for possible over callers if you are not closing the action. You have also assigned a pushing range to the player who is all-in. At this stage, you need to decide whether your hand is good enough to call with. In other words, its equity against the pushing range has to be larger than the calculated estimate for breaking even.
If you need a fast answer regarding how wide you should be calling in a give in spot, you should refer to the chart below, which gives you the width of the calling range (again, as a percentage of all possible holdings) as a function of the equity needed and the width of the pushing range.
| Opponent's pushing range | |||||||||||
| 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 80% | 100% | ||
| Total equity needed |
60% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 5.0% | 6.6% | 7.1% | 8.0% | 10.6% | 14.2% |
| 57% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 5.0% | 6.6% | 8.3% | 9.4% | 12.1% | 17.3% | 25.2% | |
| 55% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 4.7% | 5.0% | 7.5% | 9.4% | 12.1% | 14.9% | 22.9% | 31.8% | |
| 53% | 1.4% | 3.3% | 5.0% | 6.6% | 8.6% | 12.2% | 14.9% | 18.4% | 28.5% | 38.9% | |
| 50% | 1.8% | 4.7% | 6.3% | 8.3% | 11.9% | 16.6% | 23.4% | 28.4% | 38.0% | 49.3% | |
| 48% | 2.1% | 4.7% | 7.4% | 10.3% | 15.7% | 21.3% | 28.4% | 31.5% | 43.3% | 55.4% | |
| 46% | 3.0% | 5.4% | 9.2% | 12.2% | 19.6% | 27.0% | 31.8% | 37.0% | 49.3% | 63.5% | |
| 44% | 3.5% | 5.9% | 11.5% | 17.5% | 25.8% | 30.0% | 36.0% | 41.8% | 55.7% | 69.5% | |
| 42% | 3.5% | 7.8% | 15.5% | 21.6% | 29.1% | 34.5% | 42.1% | 48.4% | 62.0% | 75.9% | |
| 40% | 3.8% | 9.7% | 19.5% | 26.1% | 32.7% | 37.9% | 48.4% | 55.4% | 69.5% | 82.2% | |
| 35% | 5.7% | 20.4% | 30.6% | 42.1% | 53.5% | 64.1% | 74.4% | 80.1% | 90.0% | 95.5% | |
| 30% | 17.6% | 53.5% | 70.1% | 79.2% | 91.9% | 99.1% | 99.1% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
Summary
In case of no reads whatsoever, in order to come up with a range for calling an all-in, you need to:
- Manually calculate chip equity needed.
- Check the charts for risk premium adjustment based on tournament structure and stage.
- Add 0.5% per each player left to act if you are not closing the action.
- Check the charts for an estimate of villain's pushing range.
- Check the charts for the calling range based on total equity needed and the assigned pushing range.