Calling all in

[Swami54]

Does the range of hands you call an allin with change as your stack size changes? If so how do you determine your range?

For instance if an EP stack pushes his 30,000 stack in at the 2000/4000 blind level and there range is 22+, A7s+, KTs+, QJs, A7o+, KJo+ what is your calling range from LP based on your following stack sizes:

1) 30,000
2) 60,000
3) 200,000

[4CardStraight]

First off, we need tournament structure to properly answer this. We also need to know tournament skill level / monetary value.

Those are required to determine if our decisions are +$EV. The information you provided is only enough to determine chip ev. Answers would change if we are on the payoff bubble, or change slightly if we are in the money.

With 30k stack: We are getting good odds on a call, but face elimination. We also have the possiblity of someone yet to act behind us. I likely give my chips a ten to fifteen percent premium, and the result is i need to be almost 50/50 against his range, and we need to be ahead of what might be behind us (2 to act 3 to act 4 to act? it matters). In order to be 50/50 against his range, I cannot have the hands at the very bottom of his range. Therefore I need to be slightly better than his range. I call here with 77+ ATs+ KQs AQo+, which is pretty tight, since there are still a couple people to act behind me. If I was the Big Blind, and my decision closed the action, I would call looser, but still almost tighter than his open pushing range, something like 55+, A9s+ KJs+ ATo+ KQo.
60K stack. now we are only risking half our stack, and we are looking to add 36k to our stack. We continue to have the risk of those of us behind us. I still give my chips a ten to fifteen percent premium. I call with almost the exact same range, getting cut in half here sucks, and adding 30k while certainly nice, isnt game changing (15bb -> 22bb)
200k. Now here, I can likely make a looser call. My chip premium cannot be ten or fifteen percent anymore, as I have so many chips that the top half I can certainly just gamble with trying to remove players. I am a much greater threat to those who will act behind me, and so I can worry about their hands less. I also am not threatened to be eliminated by those behind me. The chips in the pot give a decent overlay for pot odds. I probably call a little wide and call with any hand that was in the pushing range for the opponent.

Honestly tho, a lot depends on where we are at in the tournament. I sure dont want to be calling for all my chips with a less than premium hand if were on the bubble and there are players yet to act behind me. Also to answer we need to know stack sizes of those yet to act in the hand behind us and our exact position. In general tho, a 30K stack at 2k/4k is a good stack size to open push with, i open push pretty wide and call pretty tight. a 60K stack is great for restealing at these blind levels, I would rather go all in over a raise than call an open push, so I would prefer to be saving my stack for that. With a 200k stack we can really afford gambles, and 6k in overlay makes a pretty wide call justifiable. How wide? well... probably not much wider than the open push range, we dont want to just give away our chips. But as long as the blind overlay is big, I can stand anything thats prolly about a fifty fifty.

[Swami54]

The situation I was assuming but didn't state is that we are already in the money and no one will call behind. So in essence we are in the BB. I didn't state the monetary value of the tourney because there isn't one and figured this would apply to all levels.