How to Play 20 Big Blinds Without Using Only Push-Fold

At 20 big blinds, you are short enough that all-ins matter but deep enough to raise and still fold. The practical question is not “Am I in push-fold mode?” It is “Which action makes this hand easiest to play against these stacks?”

The short answer

Open to about 2–2.2 big blinds (2–2.2bb) when calls from worse hands are good for you or when you can fold to a shove without giving up too much. Shove only when winning the blinds and antes now is better than playing a smaller pot. Before acting, check your seat, the stacks behind, and any payout pressure.

Four useful words

An open shove is moving all-in when nobody has raised. A shove after another player raises is often called a re-jam. Fold equity is the value you gain when your bet makes everyone fold. SPR, or stack-to-pot ratio, is the stack left divided by the pot. For example, 18bb left with 5bb in the pot is an SPR of 3.6.

A carry-to-the-table rubric

• Raise to 2–2.2bb: hands that want action or have a clear response to a shove. A♠ A♦ wants weaker hands in; A♥ 8♥ can often raise and then fold against an all-in from a tight player.
• Open-shove: use this when taking the blinds and antes now is a very good result. For example, 5♠ 5♦ on the button may shove when both blinds frequently move all-in over small raises.
• Fold: hands whose steal value does not cover the risk. K♣ 5♦ under the gun is not rescued by having only 20bb.
• Shove after someone else raises: move all-in with a strong hand such as A♠ J♠ against a button that raises many hands. Add an occasional bluff only when the original raiser really does fold; do not bluff-shove into a player who always calls.

Practice this spot first

With queen-jack suited on the button, choose between a 2bb raise and a shove. The small blind moves all-in often; the big blind calls small raises too often. Which action handles those two players better, and why?

PRACTICE SPOT · GTO DOJOPlay this spot ↗

See the choice in actual hands

Say you have A♣ Q♣ on the button. Raising to 2bb is reasonable because weaker aces and queens can continue. Shoving 20bb is usually unreasonable because it risks ten times as much and folds out many dominated hands.

Now say you have 5♠ 5♦ and both blinds often move all-in over small raises. An open shove can be reasonable because taking the blinds and antes is a good result. Raising to 2bb with a plan to fold against nearly every shove gives aggressive blinds an easy response.

Do not confuse “available” with “automatic”

Shoving can win the pot immediately and prevents an opponent from moving all-in over a smaller raise. But risking 20bb to win roughly 2–3bb is expensive. K♥ Q♥ may prefer a small raise because worse hands call; A♣ 4♦ from early position may simply fold. “It has an ace” is not a shove rule.

Shove over a raise only when folds help enough

Against a late-position raise, selected pairs, aces, and two high cards from ten through ace can sometimes shove. An ace in your hand also makes pocket aces and ace-king less likely. An early-position raiser starts with stronger hands and will call more often, so bluff less. Calculate how often the raiser folds and how your hand performs when called.

One postflop example

You raise to 2bb with K♠ J♠, the big blind calls, and the flop is J♦ 7♣ 3♥. With about 18bb left and roughly 5bb in the pot, the stack-to-pot ratio is 3.6. Betting small for value is reasonable, and later playing for the whole stack may be fine. If you hold A♣ 5♣ instead, the relatively small remaining stack is not a reason to bet all three streets with no pair and no draw.

Add ICM to the correct players

Say nine players remain and eight get paid. You have 20bb in the big blind, one player has 3bb, and the 40bb chip leader shoves the button. Calling with A♣ T♣ can be much worse than it would be earlier because busting before the 3bb stack is costly. The chip leader can pressure you for exactly that reason. The Independent Chip Model, or ICM, changes this specific call because it accounts for the payouts. It is not a blanket command for everyone to shove more hands.

Rule of thumb: At 20bb, use 2–2.2bb as the ordinary open. Shove only when taking the pot now is worth more than keeping the smaller-raise options.

Train the hands that change actions

Take Q♥ J♥ on the button at 20bb. First give both blinds 20bb and make them passive; choose your action. Then make the small blind 12bb and likely to move all-in over a small raise. Choose again and write down the one fact that changed your answer. Repeat with 5♠ 5♦. This is more useful than drilling obvious hands such as aces or seven-deuce.

Keep studying

Contrast this stack with the shove-or-min-raise decisions at 15 big blinds and the extra non-all-in options available at 25 big blinds. If players behind are driving your choice, work through how squeeze pressure changes a preflop plan.