Folding feels safe with such a scruffy kicker, and that lonely four never looks like much. But A♦ 4♦ is too strong to throw away at 10bb: the ace blocks their best hands, the matching suit adds equity when you get called, and the shove wins the blinds outright most of the time.

A4s from SB with 10bb — push or fold?

Q: A4s from SB with 10bb — push or fold?

Push. At 10 big blinds you're in shove-or-fold land: there's no stack left to raise, miss the flop, and play on. A♦ 4♦ looks thin because of that four, but the ace does the heavy lifting. Holding an ace yourself, far fewer strong aces are left for them to call with, and being suited gives you extra ways to make a flush when someone does call. Best of all, most of the time everyone folds and you scoop the blinds for free. Push.

The answer

Push

all-in

The math: 10bb · shove or fold. a weak suited ace is a standard jam.

Why

At 10 big blinds you're in shove-or-fold land: there's no stack left to raise, miss the flop, and play on. A♦ 4♦ looks thin because of that four, but the ace does the heavy lifting. Holding an ace yourself, far fewer strong aces are left for them to call with, and being suited gives you extra ways to make a flush when someone does call. Best of all, most of the time everyone folds and you scoop the blinds for free. Push.

The spot

POT · 1,500

preflop

Folded to you

A♦

4♦

500 / 1,000 · 10bb

Your seat: SB
Stakes and stacks: 500 / 1,000 · 10bb
Your hand: A♦ 4♦
Board: Preflop — no board yet
Pot: POT · 1,500
Action on you: Folded to you

Every option

Foldgive it up
Why not: Folding feels safe with such a scruffy kicker, and that lonely four never looks like much. But A♦ 4♦ is too strong to throw away at 10bb: the ace blocks their best hands, the matching suit adds equity when you get called, and the shove wins the blinds outright most of the time.
Pushall-inCorrect

The idea behind it

Under about 15 big blinds, poker turns into push-or-fold: you shove all-in or fold, since there's no stack left to play after the flop. From the small blind only the big blind can call, so your jamming range gets wide — most aces, suited hands, and broadways all shove.

Concept: The suited-ace jam

See the glossary Read the methodology

Terms in this spot

All-in Fold equity

Play it instead of reading it

The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.