In chapter 13 of Secrets of Professional Tournament Poker, Jonathan Little explains that once you drop below ~30 big blinds, your stack gains leverage: opponents must constantly respect the threat that you can move all-in. With a reasonably balanced range, this pressure makes you harder to play against. He emphasizes that the correct strategy depends heavily on the table—steal relentlessly if people overfold, but tighten up and look for high-confidence all-in spots if they play back too wide.
Raise-Folding and Opening Strategy
Little presents raise-folding as a key tool around ~27BB, but warns that post-flop becomes awkward because a pre-flop raise plus a continuation bet consumes a large portion of your stack.
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Sizing: He prefers smaller open sizes (often around 2.25BB in short-stacked environments), adjusting upward a bit if being the only short stack to maintain fold equity.
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Where to steal: Early position can generate extra fold equity because opponents assume strength; late position remains the classic stealing spot, especially targeting tight blinds.
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When opponents 3-bet frequently: Tighten your opening range toward hands that can reasonably continue versus pressure, mixing in some hands that still function if called rather than always facing a shove.
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As you approach ~15BB: He recommends shifting away from small opens with marginal hands. For hands that play poorly post-flop, open-shoving often avoids difficult near-commitment decisions and reduces costly mistakes.
The Three-Bet All-In as a Core Weapon
A major focus is the 3-bet shove (jamming over an opponent’s raise). Little frames it as one of the most powerful professional tools because it exploits a common leak: many players open wide but call all-ins too tight.
What makes it work
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You win immediately when they fold (dead money).
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When called, you typically still have meaningful equity—especially with hands that perform reasonably against calling ranges.
Best conditions for 3-bet shoves
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Position: Prefer to shove from later positions to reduce the risk of someone behind waking up with a strong hand and joining the pot.
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Opponent type: Target players whose opening range is wide but whose calling range is narrow. Avoid very tight openers because their raise/call ranges overlap heavily.
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Stack-to-raise ratio: He stresses stack math: the shove is most attractive when your stack is roughly 5–10 times the opponent’s raise size, with the “sweet spot” often around the middle of that range. Too deep risks too much when called; too shallow gets called too often.
Choosing Hands to Shove With
Little’s guidance is principle-based: shove wider when you expect folds often; tighten when you expect to be called.
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Hands that tend to perform well include pairs, broadway-type big cards, suited connectors, and especially hands containing an ace (because ace blockers reduce the chance the opponent can call with strong ace-heavy hands).
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He also highlights a practical idea: some hands are better for calling and playing post-flop, while others are better as pre-flop shove candidates because they’re difficult to realize equity with after the flop.
When to Call Raises Instead of Shoving
Little draws a line based on how opponents play after the flop:
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Versus opponents who give up too easily post-flop: Calling can outperform shoving because you can win on later streets when they reveal weakness.
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Versus opponents who continuation-bet too often: Calling can set up profitable counterplay on favorable boards—provided you have some equity to continue.
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Versus strong post-flop players: He prefers a more direct approach—if you’re playing the hand at all, shoving pre-flop often prevents them from outmaneuvering you and avoids “face-up” calling lines.
Defending Against Shoves After You Open
Little warns against creating “guessy” spots where you raise a weak hand and then face a shove that gives you borderline pot odds.
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If opponents behind have the optimal reshove stacks, avoid opening hands that lead to close call/fold decisions.
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He suggests adjusting raise sizes to change the pot odds you’d be offered versus a shove (either making folds easier or calls clearer).
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He also notes that versus known aggressive reshove players, calling wider can be correct both for immediate EV and to reduce future pressure—while cautioning against paranoia if opponents haven’t shown a tendency to reshove.
A Common Leak: Small 3-Bets with Short Stacks
Little criticizes a frequent mistake: short stacks making a small 3-bet (with only ~5× the open size behind), then folding to a shove. This often creates a situation where pot odds demand a call, and folding becomes a significant EV error—especially with hands that typically have solid equity versus realistic shoving ranges.
Key Takeaways for 15–27BB Play
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Your all-in threat is an asset—use it to pressure wide openers and tight blinds.
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Steal frequently when opponents overfold, but tighten when opponents respond aggressively.
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Prefer open-shoving marginal hands as you near 15BB to avoid difficult near-commitment spots.
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Make 3-bet shoves in the right stack/raise ratio window, targeting wide-open/tight-call opponents.
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Avoid lines that force you into close, tournament-life decisions—aim for decisions that are clearly profitable.