Guide · Strategy

Push/Fold Chart: Which Hands to Shove and Call With a Short Stack

Free heads-up charts for 5 to 20 big blinds: when your whole stack should go in, and what to call when someone else does it.

5 min read · Updated on

In short

With 10 big blinds in a heads-up game, the small blind should shove about 58% of hands and the big blind should call about 37%. The shorter the stack, the wider you shove; the deeper it gets, the more you fold.

Shove at 5bb
71%
Shove at 5bb
Shove at 10bb
58%
Shove at 10bb
Shove at 20bb
40%
Shove at 20bb
Call at 10bb
37%
Call at 10bb

What is push/fold poker?

When your stack drops to about 20 big blinds or less, a normal raise commits so much of your stack that folding to a re-raise is not an option. So the decision simplifies: either push (move all-in) or fold. There is no min-raise, no limp, no calling a raise and playing after the flop.

That makes short-stack play a solved, learnable game. The correct range depends on two things: how many big blinds you have, and whether you are the one shoving or the one facing the shove.

Shove and call percentages by stack size

Heads-up Nash ranges, share of all starting hands
Effective stackSB shovesBB calls
5 big blinds71%62%
8 big blinds62%45%
10 big blinds58%37%
13 big blinds52%31%
15 big blinds46%29%
20 big blinds40%22%
Heads-up Nash ranges, share of all starting hands. Percentages count all 1,326 two-card combinations, so a pair weighs 6, a suited hand 4 and an offsuit hand 12.

Two patterns stand out. The shoving range shrinks as the stack grows, because a shove risks more to win the same blinds. And the calling range is always tighter than the shoving range: the shover gets to win the blinds without a fight, while the caller has to risk the whole stack with no fold equity.

Small blind shoving charts

You are in the small blind and the big blind is the only player left. Shove if your hand is dark; otherwise fold. Pairs run along the diagonal, suited hands are above it and offsuit hands below.

Small blind shoving range at 5bb (71% of hands). Dark: shove all-in. Empty: fold.
Small blind shoving range at 10bb (58% of hands). Dark: shove all-in. Empty: fold.
Small blind shoving range at 15bb (46% of hands). Dark: shove all-in. Empty: fold.
Small blind shoving range at 20bb (40% of hands). Dark: shove all-in. Empty: fold.

Big blind calling charts

The small blind has pushed all-in and you are getting a price: you already have the big blind in, so you only need to put in the difference. Call with the dark hands and fold the rest.

Big blind calling range at 5bb (62% of hands). Dark: call the all-in. Empty: fold.
Big blind calling range at 10bb (37% of hands). Dark: call the all-in. Empty: fold.
Big blind calling range at 15bb (29% of hands). Dark: call the all-in. Empty: fold.
Big blind calling range at 20bb (22% of hands). Dark: call the all-in. Empty: fold.

How to use push/fold charts at the table

Count your big blinds

Divide your stack by the big blind. Round to the nearest chart: 8bb uses the 8bb chart, 12bb sits between 10bb and 13bb.

Shove or fold, nothing else

Below about 10bb, resist the urge to min-raise. If the hand is in the chart, move all-in; if not, fold.

Call tighter than you shove

When you face a shove you have no fold equity. Use the calling chart, which is always narrower.

Where these ranges come from

They are the exact per-hand decisions of the heads-up Nash equilibrium, computed for chip value (every chip is worth the same) with no ante. They are the same tables the OrcaGTO trainer uses to grade your shoves.

In a real tournament, chips are not worth the same: near a pay jump you should fold hands this chart would shove. That adjustment is called ICM, and it is the reason a push/fold chart is a starting point rather than a rulebook. For the idea behind a balanced strategy, see what is GTO in poker.

To see how position changes ranges in a full game, read poker positions explained.

Frequently asked questions

What is a push/fold chart?

A table that tells you, for a given stack size in big blinds, which starting hands to move all-in with and which to fold. It is used when your stack is short enough that raising and folding is no longer an option.

How many big blinds is push/fold?

Roughly 20 big blinds or fewer. From about 10bb down, shoving or folding is almost always correct; between 10 and 20bb, other plays such as a small raise start to appear.

What hands should I shove with 10 big blinds?

Heads-up from the small blind, about 58% of all hands: every pair, every ace, and most suited and connected cards. See the 10bb chart above for the exact hands.

Is a push/fold chart the same as an ICM chart?

No. These charts ignore tournament payouts (chip EV). ICM charts also account for how much each chip is worth near a pay jump, so they usually shove and call tighter.

Can I use this at a full ring or 6-max table?

Only as a rough guide. With more players behind you, a shove is more likely to run into a hand that calls, so the ranges are tighter than these heads-up charts.

Learn the charts by playing them.

We deal you hands at 5 to 20 big blinds and tell you whether to shove or fold, until the chart sits in your head. Free, and no real money.

Practice for free

Keep reading

Push/Fold Chart: When to Shove With a Short Stack (5-20bb) | OrcaGTO