TOURNAMENTS · FIELD NOTE
How to Play 30 Big Blinds Without Getting Stuck
Build a 30-big-blind tournament strategy around flexible preflop sizes, selective all-ins, and the pot each raise creates.
Thirty big blinds gives you room to play poker, but not room to be careless. You can make the first raise, call, or 3-bet—a reraise before the flop—without shoving. One oversized raise, though, can turn the next decision into an all-in.
The short answer
Open to about 2–2.3 big blinds (2–2.3bb). Against a 2.2bb raise, start near 5.5–6.5bb when you will act last and 7–8bb when you will act first. Keep calls when you will have position or when nobody can raise behind you. Move all-in over a raise only with a clear reason, and always notice shorter stacks that can shove behind you.
Three useful words
A 3-bet is a reraise before the flop. A 7–8bb 3-bet from a blind after a 2.2bb raise leaves room to play, while 12bb does not. A shove over the first raise is often called a re-jam. Squeeze risk is the chance a player behind reraises after you call.
Two quick examples
- Reasonable: The cutoff raises to 2.2bb and you have
9♥ 9♦in the big blind. Calling keeps worse hands in; shoving can also work against a raiser who folds too much. - Not reasonable: You 3-bet to 12bb and then wonder whether you are committed. At 30bb, a size around 7–8bb out of position usually preserves more useful choices.
Practice this spot first
Pocket nines can call, 3-bet small, or shove. Pick one, then explain whether you want worse hands to stay in or better unpaired hands to fold.
Open small so you can still fold
Most opens remain near 2–2.3bb. Open shoves are uncommon because risking 30bb throws away the chance to play after the flop. Open widely from late position. Use stronger hands in early position because more players can wake up with a hand behind you.
Keep calls where position makes them playable
Calling is easier when you will act last. Say the cutoff opens to 2.2bb and you have A♥ J♥ on the button: calling keeps worse hands in and gives you position. Make the same call from the small blind and the big blind can shove or call behind while you must act first after the flop. The big blind can call widest because its 1bb is already in the pot and its call ends the preflop action.
Choose 3-bet sizes that fit the stack
If the cutoff opens to 2.2bb, raise to about 6bb from the button or 7.5bb from the small blind. The out-of-position size is larger because the caller gets to act last after the flop. If the small blind makes it 7.5bb and the cutoff calls, the pot is about 16bb with 22.5bb left—an SPR near 1.4. With K♠ K♦, Q♣ 7♥ 2♠ is usually a comfortable board for getting all-in. On T♥ 9♥ 8♣, the caller can have many straights, two pair, and draws, so the same overpair needs more care.
You can still move all-in against a late-position player who raises many hands, especially when folding out two higher unpaired cards is a good result. But risking 30bb needs a better reason than risking 15bb.
Track every effective stack
A 12bb player behind can squeeze all in and change the value of your call. Near the bubble, a covering stack can pressure you too. For example, with nine left and eight paid, calling a 45bb chip leader's shove with A♣ T♣ may be wrong when you have 30bb and another player has 4bb. Losing eliminates you before the short stack; that specific cost is the ICM pressure.
Carry the preflop range to the flop
When only one or two pot-sized bets remain, overpairs and top pair become more willing to play for the whole stack. The board still matters. A small continuation bet—a flop bet after raising before the flop—may set up a turn shove. Checking keeps the pot manageable with a medium hand.
Rule of thumb: At 30bb, you have several preflop options until one large raise shrinks them. Before raising, picture the flop pot and your next bet.
Practice the squeeze risk
Build the A♥ J♥ button-versus-cutoff spot from the calling section in GTO Dojo. First give both blinds 30bb and make them passive; then give the small blind 12bb; finally make that 12bb player likely to shove. Before checking each answer, predict whether ace-jack will call, 3-bet, or fold more often. The one variable is the short player's willingness to squeeze, so any action change has a clear cause.
Keep studying
Compare how commitment pressure starts at 25 big blinds with the fuller strategy tree available at 40 big blinds. Then isolate the hidden cost of calling by reviewing what to do after an opponent squeezes.