TOURNAMENTS · FIELD NOTE
How to Play 40 Big Blinds in a Tournament
A practical 40bb plan for opens, calls, 3-bets, postflop play, and the shorter stacks that can still change your decision.
Forty big blinds feels deep after you have been short, but it is not a cash-game stack. You can play all three streets, call raises, and 3-bet without shoving. Still, one large preflop pot can leave very little room later.
The short answer
Open small, keep a real calling range, and use compact 3-bets. Always check the effective stack and the shorter players behind you. You have room to maneuver, but not enough room to put in chips without a plan.
Three useful words
Stack coverage means having more chips than another player, so you can knock them out. Effective stack is the smaller stack actually at risk. ICM pressure is the extra cost of busting near meaningful payout jumps.
Practice this spot first
Ace-queen suited looks like a routine continue against a hijack open. The 27bb button behind makes it less routine because they can squeeze all-in. Choose call or 3-bet, then explain how that short stack changed you.
Open without turning every hand into a stack decision
Small opens preserve maneuverability. Most positions still use a broad raise-or-fold structure, while the small blind can mix limps. Open shoves are rare at 40bb because risking the stack to win blinds and antes sacrifices too much postflop value.
The players behind matter. A 20bb stack can re-jam and force an awkward decision, even when the opener and hero are 40bb deep.
Keep calls in the tree
In-position calls with pairs, suited broadways, and selected suited connectors can realize well. Out-of-position calls need more caution because squeeze risk and reverse implied odds rise.
Do not copy a cash-game flatting range. Antes, stack asymmetry, and future ICM change both the price and the cost of losing chips.
Use smaller 3-bets than at 100bb
Tournament 3-bets often risk fewer blinds because the remaining stack already creates pressure. In position, a compact size preserves room and forces the opener to continue out of position. Out of position, size enough to deny easy realization.
A called 3-bet can produce an SPR near two or three. Plan flop commitment before choosing the preflop size.
Apply ICM specifically
Near payouts, covered players pay a risk premium. Covering stacks can widen pressure, but they should not punt into ranges that call tightly and strongly. Short stacks behind can also constrain action because busting them changes the payout landscape.
State who covers whom and what the pay jump is. “ICM pressure” without those facts is not analysis.
Rule of thumb: Forty blinds permits a full strategy tree, but every large preflop action shortens that tree. Choose the future SPR deliberately.
Keep studying
Step down to the more compressed decisions at 30 big blinds, or examine how payout pressure changes ranges even with playable stacks. To understand the most committing preflop branch, study when a 5-bet shove actually makes sense.