But what if there is a poker strategy that is effective under any circumstances - regardless of the actions of opponents or their starting hands. It would be nice, wouldn't it?
We ourselves can answer this question: of course. Unfortunately, no such strategy exists.
Only work on yourself and your head on your shoulders is the only way. There is no other road to success.
However, the Sklansky-Chubukov chart, which we will discuss in this article, is very close to a universal strategy, a win-win strategy - at least at some stages of the tournament.
Sklansky-Chubukov strategy: Ideal Strategies for Specific Situations
IN individual cases poker uses various strategies to guarantee profits. And some of them are quite simple to understand.
In some cases, everything is much simpler - including the strategies used. Playing preflop in the blinds is one of those cases.
Your move, shorty
Let's look at one specific situation: you are in the small blind, the stack is short, no one has entered the pot before you. What to do?
Many will say: “Isn't it too narrow? Small stack, small blind, go first – that happens quite rarely.”
Stack size matters...
In fact, you find yourself in this situation at least a few times in any tournament. In addition, in cash games, this is all the time.
What would you do?
Okay, here specific example. Four players remain in the tournament, the winner takes all. You're in the small blind, the players in front of you have folded, and you're dealt K♣ 6♠, a fairly weak hand. The player in the big blind plays almost flawlessly.
The blinds are 100/200 (no ante), you have 2,250 chips in your stack. What to do?
Many in such a situation will simply fold: the opponent is strong, the cards are not very good, why get involved.
A little later you will find out that this is a mistake. In this situation, you need to push. Moreover, you would push even if the opponent knew your cards. Like this.
Imagine that your opponent knows your hand
The idea of strategy is this: we assume that our opponent knows perfectly well what we have in our hands. He will only call if the odds are favorable and fold otherwise.
So the question is: depending on the size of our stack, what hands can we profitably shove with if our opponent knows our hand and plays it correctly?
The question is purely mathematical. We know our hand (let's say the same K♣ 6♠ from the example above) and our stack (11BB, also from the voiced example). We don't know what the player in the big blind has, the probability of any starter is the same.
Let's say Villain only calls with stronger hands (K-7 or A-2) and folds everything else (7-4 or Q-J). Therefore, we can find out how often we get called, our equity in this case, and our profit if we fold.
Let's make simple, but tedious calculations and get this:
With K-6o, it's profitable to shove with a stack of no more than 13.3BB - even if our opponent knows our hand and plays perfectly.
Sklansky-Chubukov Chart
Having done the same manipulations with all starting hands, we will get a reliable and universal strategy (or a set of mathematically justified rules - whatever) for playing in the small blind.
David Sklansky and Viktor Chubukov were the first to discover these values, and now this strategy is known as " Sklansky-Chubukov Chart» or "Push-fold Sklansky-Chubukov".
The strategy describes the conditions (stack size) under which it is profitable to shove a hand from the small blind if your opponent knows your starter. We provide this table below. The numbers indicate the maximum size of your stack in big blinds, with which you can go all-in. Hands of the same suit are presented above the diagonal (right corner), unsuited hands are presented below the diagonal (left corner).
For example: A-8 offsuit has a rank of 36, and J-7 has a rank of 9; those. in the first case, it is profitable to push with 36 BB or less, in the second case, you will need a maximum of 9 BB.
Where is the Sklansky-Chubukov chart used?
The Sklansky-Chubukov table describes a reliable, virtually win-win poker strategy. Even if the opponent acts flawlessly, he will not be able to oppose anything.
In tournaments, especially, you often doubt whether it is worth shoving or better not to take risks. Now you know what to do.
As it turns out, with a smaller stack size (compared to the blinds), it's still profitable to shove many trash hands.
Let's take Q♠ 5♠ as an example. The hand is almost harmless. But with a stack of less than 10 BB, you can safely push in the face of an opponent on the left and still make a profit at a distance.
In most cases, beginner players are too tight with short stacks. Look at the Sklansky-Chubukov chart, some of the hands are not so weak.
We play according to Sklansky-Chubukov
The above strategy is applied in various areas. First and foremost, it gives an idea of the real strength of the hands and the effectiveness of pushing. Moreover, the table helps to understand when to go all-in in tournaments.
1. You can and should play looser.
If some hand has rank five on the Sklansky-Chubukov chart, it means that it can (and should!) be shoved not only with 5BB, but also with stacks smaller.
On the other hand, shoving more with stacks is also sometimes profitable, it's just that in these cases it's not necessary to talk about guaranteed profits if the opponent knows your hand. Luckily, your opponents usually don't know your cards!
Take for example 8-6 offsuit. She has a rank of 5. Based on the table, you will be stabbed with both 10-3 and 9-2 (they are stronger than 8-6). IN real game your opponent will most often fold them, which will make your push profitable.
2. Pushing is not always necessary
The Sklansky-Chubukov chart does not describe every possible situation. Sometimes a chart push just looks absurd.
Let's say you have A-Qs in the small blind in a cash game with a 100BB stack. This hand has a rank of 137, but shoving in this situation is almost always irrational. The standard raise looks much more effective.
Works better from the button.
So basically the chart is aimed at stacks under 10BB, because otherwise raising (and therefore playing postflop) also makes sense.
3. Push from the ante and from the button
The Sklansky-Chubukov chart is suitable for push-folding from the button and even in an ante game, it just needs a few tweaks.
In a game with antes, you can shove much looser, multiply each value in the table by 1.5.
9-8 suited rank 8, but with antes it makes sense to push with a stack of 12bb and below.
The chart also works for playing on the button, only in this case, divide each number in two (after all, there are not one, but two players behind us).
K-9 offsuit can be shoved with a stack of 18bb from the small blind, and from the button from 9bb or less. And again, the rule described above applies: pushing from the button can and should be looser. The blinds tend to call much narrower than if they knew our hand.
4. Your stack = effective stack
The article often mentions the phrase "your stack", by which, of course, the effective stack is meant; those. the minimum value of your stack and your opponent's stack.
For example: if you have 100BB in the small blind and the player in the big blind only has 6BB, you also have 6BB in your effective stack.
Our site.
essence Push Sklansky-Chubukov lies in the fact that under certain conditions (small stack and a suitable card), after the fold of all the players before us, it is profitable to go all-in (and most often to take the blinds) regardless of the actions of opponents behind us (even if they know our maps). In this case, if one of the players behind us has the best card, he will call, and we will have some equity in the resulting pot (although they will call us with a stronger hand). But if the players behind us do not have a stronger hand, then we will take the blinds. And this will happen often enough to make up for possible losses in the response of opponents. Such preflop pushes are called Sklansky-Chubukov pushes after the names of the authors of the idea.
Sklansky-Chubukov numbers
Idea and definition Sklansky-Chubukov numbers were formulated by famous player and poker writer David Sklansky in the book "No Limit Holdem in Theory and Practice" (David Sklansky and ).
Let's say we're in the small blind with a fairly strong hand and all the players before us have folded. Let's also assume that the big blind knows our cards (but we don't know his cards). It makes no sense for us to raise, because our opponent, knowing our cards, will always beat us post-flop. So we can either fold or go all-in. Obviously, the opponent behind us will play optimally - he will answer us with a stronger hand or fold the weaker one. Our solution in this case will depend on the size of the stack - with a large stack, we will have to fold most of the hands, since we will lose too much when our opponent calls. With a small stack, we can go all-in, since the size of the loss on loss will be small, and will pay off when we take the blinds.
Sklansky-Chubukov numbers determine for each hand the stack size (in big blinds) with which it is profitable for us to go all-in. On the next page you can see the Sklansky-Chubukov numbers for all hands. The Sklansky-Chubukov numbers make it possible to calculate the expediency of pushing Sklansky-Chubukov - if the stack is less than the number specified in the table for a given hand, then the push will be profitable.
So, if we are in the SB, all the players before us have folded, and if our stack is less than indicated in the table, then it is profitable for us to go all-in regardless of the actions of the opponent in the BB, even if he knows our cards, and acts in the best way.
The Sklansky-Chubukov numbers are calculated only for the SB position, but for earlier positions it is possible to determine them with sufficient accuracy for practical calculations by dividing the original number by the number of players behind us. Therefore, if we are not in SB, but in BTN, then the numbers must be divided by 2. For the CO position - by 3.
Putting this into a table, we get the following ranges of hands for pushing Sklansky-Chubukov (as always, best hands implied, "+" signs omitted):
Hand ranges for Sklansky-Chubukov shoves
For your particular stack size, use the row in the table with a stack larger than yours (for example, with a stack of 17BB, use the row for 20BB).
In the classical calculation of Sklansky-Chubukov numbers, two points are not taken into account:
- If all the players folded before us, then they don’t have much good map, which means that the probability of a good card from the players behind us increases, especially for long tables.
- Rake - it will take away part of the equity in cases where our push was called and we won.
However, the influence of these factors is not very significant, and is more than compensated in practice by the fact that the opponents behind us do not know our cards and cannot play optimally.
Therefore, for practical purposes, Sklansky-Chubukov's shoving ranges can even be slightly expanded, adding, for example, suited connectors and a few more suited kings and queens.
The practice of using Sklansky-Chubukov pushes
From what has been said above, it is clear that those given in in any case should not be discarded - they are too strong for the corresponding conditions. However, the profitability of shoving these hands doesn't mean they can't be played even better. For example, with a pair of aces, if you immediately go all-in, you will most likely get only the blinds, and by raising 3BB, you can get and win a stack. Therefore, it's wise to choose the fraction of hands from this range that you can normally steal-raise with (especially if you've already learned how to play well post-flop). At the same time, this will be an additional guideline for hand ranges for .
The decision to go all-in or raise should be based on the post-flop playability of the hand and the nature of the opponents behind you. For example, with a small to medium pair, you will almost always see overcards on the flop, and it will be difficult to know if you are ahead or behind - you can play them more often. Weak aces can also be difficult to play with. But suited connectors are very easy to play by chance, and you can make a regular raise with them. With premium hands, of course, a regular raise is also preferable.
Response to push notifications by Sklansky-Chubukov
Answer to Push Sklansky-Chubukov theoretically possible on the same spectra on which they occur. However, the problem is that you can hardly be sure that the opponent goes all-in on these ranges of hands. Therefore, we recommend calling more tight by narrowing the ranges by about a third (and adapting them to specific opponents).
Let's imagine a situation: you are playing in a tournament, but after a series of bad hands, the game clearly does not suit you, and your stack is rapidly depleting, while the blinds continue to grow! And now you are sitting in the small blind position, you have a marginal card, which you can throw out, or you can try to play, but all the players before you folded their cards. What to do? Push all-in or fold? And if you put all the chips, then on which cards can this be done? To answer these questions, there is the Sklansky-Chubukov table ...
It was developed by two professionals in their field - one of the best poker analysts David Sklansky and the leading mathematician of the University of Wisconsin Andrey Chubukov. Together they came up with a series of numbers that show which cards can be shoved all-in from the small blind, and this decision will be profitable for us even if the opponent plays optimally.
At the same time, Sklansky-Chubukov numbers work even if our opponent in the big blind knows our cards for sure! Even in this case, this strategy will still be profitable, since our gain in blinds if our opponent folds will be higher than our loss if he calls us with a stronger hand.
In addition, going all-in from the small blind is good for two additional reasons:
- First of all, there will be only one player behind us who has already posted the big blind without even seeing his cards. Accordingly, it is highly likely that he will have “junk hands” in his hands that he will not want to play, preferring to throw them into a pass.
- Secondly, even if he has marginal hands, if he has a sufficient stack in the later stages of the tournament, the player is unlikely to want to risk it, and therefore can also fold. That way, even if we don't get called back to our all-in, we'll still be in the black as we win back his big blind.
Below is a Sklansky-Chubukov table showing which stacks (in the big blinds) and which cards can move all-in. However, you should not blindly follow this table, exposing each time on the stack that we will have. Let's take pocket aces as an example - A-A. According to the table, we can push them all-in with almost any stack. However, if we push all-in with a big enough stack, we will most likely just take the big blind, while raising or 3-betting will allow us to get much more chips from our opponent.
Therefore, you should try to play each card in poker as profitably as possible, taking into account the size of your stack, the level of play of your opponents, your position at the table, and the stage of the tournament as a whole.
Any decision in poker you must make based not only on the strength of your cards, but also on the style of play of your opponents sitting behind you. Although, of course, on some cards it is much more preferable to immediately push all-in than to try to play them in the hand, especially with a small stack. So, for example, if you go to the flop with a medium or small pair, then most likely you will see an overcard on the table, after which it will be quite difficult to understand whether one of your opponents hit the board or not. The same goes for weak aces, which are quite difficult to play.
However, please note that the Sklansky-Chubukov table is designed exclusively for the small blind position, and only for those cases when all opponents have folded before you. If at least one limper entered the hand, then it can no longer be used. In this case, you can use, for example, to determine your further actions in the hand.
Before you start playing for money, it is advisable to read several books on various topics (psychology, mathematics and poker strategies), and it also does not hurt to familiarize yourself with the theorems of poker. This article contains the most popular of them.
Clarkmeister's theorem
“If there are two players left in the game and the fourth card of the same suit comes out on the river (to three of the same suit on the board), and your move is the first, then you need to bet (more than 3/4 of the size of the pot).”
Such a move will force the opponent to fold if he does not have a flush or if he does, but a weak one. The larger the bet, the higher the chance of folding a weak flush.
When there are multiple players in the hand, it is more likely that someone has a strong flush, so it is less effective in that case.
Sklansky-Chubukov numbers- a table designed to determine the stack size for each hand (in the big blinds) that is profitable to go all-in pre-flop in the small blind position when all the players before you have folded.
David Sklansky is a professional poker legend, three WSOP gold bracelet winner, the most respected poker theorist, author of thirteen books and two educational videos, as well as a large number publications on various aspects of poker and gambling theory.
essence Push Sklansky-Chubukov is this: when you have a small stack, and all the players before us have folded preflop, it is profitable to go all-in. Then we will most often get folded from the big blind, and the number of such folds and the BB taken by us will pay for the losses that may follow when the opponent calls.
Experience shows that such pushes are profitable at a distance.
“When you play the way you would play if you saw your opponents cards, you win. And vice versa".
The logic is visible, but what is the point of knowing this theory? Go ahead.
Aedjones' theorem:
"No one has anything."
It shouldn't be taken literally. The idea of the theorem is simple: opponents will not always have strong hand(thank you, cap) so moderately aggressive play style will increase your win rate.
Balug's theorem reads:
"After a raise from your opponent on the turn, you need to re-evaluate the strength of your top pair."
Several important conclusions follow from this theorem: A check-raise on the turn from an opponent always indicates that he has a strong hand.
Big bets on the turn are rarely made with clean draw hands. At worst, Villain will have a pair+draw, at best, the nuts.
In the case of a raise/reraise from an opponent on the turn, it will be more profitable to fold.
P.S. Most of the above theorems are thought up by experienced players and posted by them on the 2+2 website, after which they have become recognized theorems. Relevant only for Texas Hold'em.
Material from the site, the free encyclopedia of poker.
Sklansky-Chubukov numbers(English) Sklansky-Chubukov numbers) for a Texas Hold'em hand is the stack size at which an all-in move would be profitable even if the big blind is playing optimally.
The concept of these numbers was introduced as a result of a joint study by one of the greatest poker theorists David Sklansky and professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin Andrey Chubukov. The results of their calculations were summarized in a chart table (see).
Calculation of Sklansky-Chubukov numbers
To understand the concept of Sklansky-Chubukov numbers, let's start with a blind war situation where we are in the SB and all the players before us have folded their hands. Suppose we have only two solutions: fold or all-in. Our task is to calculate optimal spectrum hands, with which, regardless of the subsequent actions of the opponent, our push will be profitable, even if the opponent's actions are optimal. To do this, we need to use a slightly abstract situation: being in the SB, we open our cards to the opponent and go all-in. Now he, having an accurate idea of our hand, can absolutely accurately calculate a plus decision for himself. Obviously, if the equity of his hand against ours is more than 50%, he will accept our all-in, if less, he will fold, giving us the blinds.
Take, for example, the hand AKo. So, we shove from the SB and our task is to calculate the optimal size of our stack, in which the profit from winning the blinds in case of an opponent's fold will be greater than the loss in case of a call with a stronger hand.
There are a total of 1225 hands (including suits) that an opponent can have. He will call our raise with hands whose equity against ours is greater than or equal to 50% (such hands are 22+, AKs, AKo) - a total of 79 hands (including suits). That is, 1225 - 79 = 1146 hands will give us the blinds. Against the hands we were called with, we have 43.487% equity. So, for equity > 0 we have:
1146/1225 * 1.5 + 79/1225 * (ST*0.43487-ST*0.56513) > 0 where ST is our stack size.
Having performed the necessary calculations, we obtain that ST< 165.943592. То есть, если у нас в стеке менее 165 блайндов, то наш пуш с AKo из SB будет иметь положительное матожидание, независимо от последующих, даже оптимальных, действий оппонента.
Application of Sklansky-Chubukov numbers
These numbers have become especially important for players playing with the Small Stack Strategy, as they allowed them to make profitable pre-flop shoves and thereby increase the profitability of their game. Preflop shoving using Sklansky-Chubukov numbers is called Push Sklansky-Chubukov. It can be used especially effectively against aggressive players in the blind positions.
Expanding the scope
Although the chart was calculated for the position of the small blind, it can be upgraded and expanded to any desired position. Mathematical calculations have shown that in order to apply the chart for positions other than SB, it is necessary to divide all the numbers presented in the chart by (N + 1), where N is the number of positions from SB to the position in question. So, for example, for the Cutoff (CO) position, all chart numbers should be divided by 3.
