This month’s move is a classic tournament play that can help you chip up when your stack is on the wane
The stop-and-go may have peaked in popularity quite a few years ago, but it is still a very valuable weapon and one that should be part of your tournament arsenal. It is most effective when you are short-stacked in an MTT and have a reasonable hand you are willing to go all-in with. Taking place during the pre op and op betting rounds, the move gives your hand added fold equity compared to simply reraising all-in pre.
Here’s how it works. Player A (preferably loose or active) either raises your blind or reraises your initial raise. You then call the raise out of position with your medium-strength hand, intending to shove all ops. When Player A is faced with your all-in bet and only two more cards to come, compared to the ve he would have seen if you had gone all-in pre op, you give him the opportunity to fold if he has missed the op. And as you know, he will miss more often than not.
The set-up
- You are short on chips, ideally around 10 big blinds
- You are out of position
- You hold a reasonable starting hand
- There’s a raise before you prefl op, or your bet is reraised
- Raiser is loose-aggressive with a big stack
- Raiser is capable of laying down hands
- Pot is heads-up
Method
- Keep an eye out for players who are three-betting too much and are generally playing too aggressively
- Wait until you have a semi- premium hand that you are willing to commit to
- When the villian raises your blind or reraises you in position, just call and see a flop
- Whatever the op, move all-in. Your opponent might still call, but if he’s missed he will have a much tougher time calling than he would have pre op. He might even fold hands like A-K if he’s missed
Stop and Pro
Poker’s leading all-time money winner talks you through the stop-and-go move:
