Short-stack shoving strategy is one of the most valuable skills in tournament poker, and Event 4 of the 2026 Poker Masters gave us two textbook examples. Andrew Lichtenberger moved in for about 27 big blinds with queen-jack and ran into pocket aces. Jamie Dwan committed ace-six against a seven-three and lost when a seven landed on the river. Both players were eliminated. In our view, both made decisions worth studying rather than criticizing.
This article uses those two hands, as reported by PokerNews, to explain how to think about all-in decisions when your stack is under 30 big blinds. Equity numbers below come from our own simulations with standard suit assignments, so treat them as close approximations rather than exact figures from the broadcast.
The setup: a six-figure final table with real ICM pressure
Event 4 was a $10,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament with 80 entries and an $800,000 prize pool. The final table paid seven places, from $32,000 for seventh up to $224,000 for first. We covered the full story in our Zavorotnijs Event 4 report. What matters for strategy is that the pay jumps were meaningful relative to stack sizes. Fifth place paid $56,000 and fourth paid $76,000, a $20,000 difference for a single elimination.
That is the world short stacks live in. Each bust costs you equity, but each double-up gains you a lot more than a simple chip count suggests. Understanding this tension is the heart of the ICM concept.
Hand one: queen-jack for 27 big blinds
Andrew Lichtenberger started the day as the shortest stack, at about 12 big blinds, and doubled through Clemen Deng. On the next hand he shoved roughly 27 big blinds with queen-jack and Deng called with pocket aces. Lichtenberger finished fifth for $56,000.
Was it a mistake?
Not necessarily. Here is how we would assess it.
First, 27 big blinds is a lot of chips to shove. Most push-fold charts used by professionals start losing their value above about 15 big blinds, because opponents with strong hands can call profitably and you lose more when called. A 27 big blind shove is closer to a "re-steal" or a squeeze than a standard short-stack move. It typically comes in response to a raise, or when stack-to-pot ratios make a three-bet shove the best option.
Second, hands like queen-jack play well when you have fold equity. If your opponent folds often enough, a shove is profitable even if it is dominated when called. Against a calling range of tight hands, queen-jack has around 16 percent equity against aces, but it flips against smaller pairs and dominates other lower-ranked hands.
Third, the action matters. We do not have the full action sequence of the hand from the sources available, so we cannot say whether Lichtenberger was reshoving over an open or simply moving in first. If he was facing a raise from the player who called with aces, it is a more standard play than an open-shove.
The key concept is that losing a hand to aces does not mean the decision was wrong. Over a large number of similar situations, a profitable shove still makes money, even if it gets called by the nuts occasionally.
Hand two: ace-six against seven-three
Jamie Dwan went out in fourth place when his ace-six ran into Deng's seven-three and a seven arrived on the river. A seven-three is not a hand most players expect to see called off, so the question is why Deng was involved.
The simple answer is that Deng may have been in the big blind. Getting a price, with a decent chunk of chips already in the pot, can make almost any two cards a call against a wide short-stack shoving range. In our simulation, ace-six has about 63 percent equity against seven-three, a significant edge but far from a guarantee. Dwan did what the math says to do and lost the 37 percent.
Players often misunderstand this point. The caller needs far less than 50 percent equity to call profitably because of what is already in the pot. This is the logic behind pot odds, and it explains why wide calls from the blinds are often correct even though they look reckless in hindsight.
A simple framework for short-stack decisions
Here is a three-step process you can use at the tables, whether you are playing live or online.
- Know your stack in big blinds. Below roughly 10 big blinds, shoving or folding is the default. From about 10 to 20, you can think about reshoving, but you still lack the depth for postflop maneuvering. At 20 to 30, you have more options, including calling raises and small three-bets.
- Estimate fold equity. How often will the player left to act fold? Tight opponents with big stacks give you less fold equity than loose opponents who are protecting their stacks. The more they fold, the wider you can profitably shove.
- Compare your hand's equity to the calling range. A hand like A-6 or Q-J has reasonable equity against a wide range, but it is poor against a tight one. If you cannot decide, use the poker odds calculator after the session to test the situations that confused you.
You can also practice the math with our poker odds guide, which explains the percentages behind common races and domination spots.
ICM and bubble pressure
ICM, or the Independent Chip Model, converts chip stacks into prize-pool equity. Its main lesson is that chips you win are worth less than the chips you lose. A player who busts earns a smaller payout, while a player who doubles up gains less than twice the prize-pool share. The result is that medium stacks should avoid marginal confrontations with other medium stacks, while short stacks should gamble more and big stacks should apply pressure.
At the Event 4 final table, Deng collected the chips from both of those eliminations and went on to reach heads-up, helped by the ICM pressure on the players around him. Both Lichtenberger and Dwan were in situations where waiting would have eroded their stacks further, so the shoves were close to forced. If you are interested in the deeper theory, our ICM glossary entry and the poker glossary cover the vocabulary.
What to do when you are the chip leader
The mirror image of a good shove is a good call. Deng called a short-stack shove with a seven-three, and he also called with aces. In both situations he understood his price. A chip leader should widen calling ranges against short stacks when the pot odds are right and fold equity is limited. The typical mistake of big stacks is to be too passive. Remember that the goal of a tournament is to win, not simply to cash.
Practical takeaways
- Do not judge a shove by the result. Judge it by the equity, the pot odds and your opponent's range.
- The more chips you have, the less fold equity you tend to gain from a shove.
- When you are on a short stack, prefer shoving in unopened pots and re-steal spots against wide openers.
- When you are in the big blind facing a short-stack shove, calculate your pot odds before you decide. You may need to call with much weaker hands than you think.
- Keep your emotions in check. A bad beat does not affect your next decision unless you let it. Our guide on tilt offers suggestions.
If you want a place to practice, online tournaments are the fastest way to get hundreds of short-stack decisions in a week. The sites on our tournaments page host daily events at every price point, and rakeback programs such as those explained in what is rakeback can reduce the cost of volume.
Conclusion
Lichtenberger and Dwan were eliminated, but neither player did anything obviously wrong. Their stories remind us that tournament poker is a game of small edges that sometimes lose in public. The better your process, the more often those edges will pay off over time. Study your shoves, respect ICM, and keep your focus on the decision rather than the outcome.