[Jbrochu]

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What is the 5/10 rule and how do you apply it?

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The 5/10 rule is just a guideline Bob Ciaffone (iirc) introduced in Pot Limit and No Limit Poker to help players decide when to call raises preflop with speculative hands like small and medium pocket pairs and suited connectors. The guideline stipulates that if the raise is for less than 5% of your stack, it's an easy call; if it's for more than 10% of your stack, it's an easy fold. In between 5% and 10% you need to exercise judgment and consider other factors such as position, tendencies of opponents, etc.

I believe the thinking and math has evolved since Bob wrote that piece, but it's still a good rule-of-thumb.

Edit: I forgot to mention that even though Bob wrote, "our stack size," what we're really concerned with are effective stack sizes.

(Goofy's post with replies is as good an example as any of how the thinking has evolved. Pasters post in this thread a page or two back has some interesting thoughts about other factors as well.)