MTT poker glossary: the terms you need to know

Poker tournament vocabulary, explained simply. Every definition gets straight to the point: what the term means, and why it matters in a low buy-in MTT.

MTT (Multi-Table Tournament): A tournament played across multiple tables: everyone pays a fixed buy-in, receives the same starting stack, and the prize pool is split among the 10 to 15% of players who go the furthest.
Push/fold: The optimal short-stack strategy (around 12 big blinds or fewer): move all-in or fold preflop, with no in-between raise. The correct ranges come from Nash equilibrium and depend on position and stack size.
ICM (Independent Chip Model): A mathematical model that converts a chip stack into real money value based on the payout structure. It explains why you call tighter on the bubble and at pay jumps.
Bubble: The point in a tournament where only one elimination stands between the field and the money. This is where ICM pressure peaks and where mistakes cost the most.
Fold equity: The share of a shove or raise’s profitability that comes from the chance your opponent folds. The bigger and more threatening your stack, the higher your fold equity.
Resteal: A 3-bet all-in over the raise of a suspected blind stealer. Profitable with 12 to 20 big blinds against wide opens from the button or the cutoff.
Effective stack: The smallest of the stacks involved in a hand: it determines how much money is actually at stake, and therefore the correct ranges.
Chip EV / $EV: Two ways of measuring a decision: in chips (chip EV) or in real money after ICM conversion ($EV). In a tournament, a decision can be winning in chips yet losing in money — especially on the bubble.
Antes: A forced bet paid by every player (often bundled as a big blind ante online). Antes grow the preflop pot and widen shoving and stealing ranges.
First in: A situation where everyone has folded before you: you are the first to enter the pot. Classic push/fold charts only apply in this configuration.
Blinds (SB/BB) and positions: In 6-max: UTG (first to act), HJ (hijack), CO (cutoff), BTN (button, the best position), SB (small blind), BB (big blind). The later you act, the more hands you play.
Shove (or push, all-in): Betting your entire stack. On a short stack, it is the MTT player’s main weapon.

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Poker tournament vocabulary, explained simply. Every definition gets straight to the point: what the term means, and why it matters in a low buy-in MTT.

MTT (Multi-Table Tournament): A tournament played across multiple tables: everyone pays a fixed buy-in, receives the same starting stack, and the prize pool is split among the 10 to 15% of players who go the furthest.
Push/fold: The optimal short-stack strategy (around 12 big blinds or fewer): move all-in or fold preflop, with no in-between raise. The correct ranges come from Nash equilibrium and depend on position and stack size.
ICM (Independent Chip Model): A mathematical model that converts a chip stack into real money value based on the payout structure. It explains why you call tighter on the bubble and at pay jumps.
Bubble: The point in a tournament where only one elimination stands between the field and the money. This is where ICM pressure peaks and where mistakes cost the most.
Fold equity: The share of a shove or raise’s profitability that comes from the chance your opponent folds. The bigger and more threatening your stack, the higher your fold equity.
Resteal: A 3-bet all-in over the raise of a suspected blind stealer. Profitable with 12 to 20 big blinds against wide opens from the button or the cutoff.
Effective stack: The smallest of the stacks involved in a hand: it determines how much money is actually at stake, and therefore the correct ranges.
Chip EV / $EV: Two ways of measuring a decision: in chips (chip EV) or in real money after ICM conversion ($EV). In a tournament, a decision can be winning in chips yet losing in money — especially on the bubble.
Antes: A forced bet paid by every player (often bundled as a big blind ante online). Antes grow the preflop pot and widen shoving and stealing ranges.
First in: A situation where everyone has folded before you: you are the first to enter the pot. Classic push/fold charts only apply in this configuration.
Blinds (SB/BB) and positions: In 6-max: UTG (first to act), HJ (hijack), CO (cutoff), BTN (button, the best position), SB (small blind), BB (big blind). The later you act, the more hands you play.
Shove (or push, all-in): Betting your entire stack. On a short stack, it is the MTT player’s main weapon.

Theory is not enough: train on these spots in realistic conditions, for free.

Start training