Pot commitment

At a stack-to-pot ratio under about 2, a hand gets all the chips in or gives up: there is no room to bet and fold.

Last updated October 16, 2026

What it means

When the stack behind is small next to the pot, any real bet leaves too little behind to fold. So short-stack flops come down to three plans: shove, check and call it off, or check and fold.

How it is calculated

The price of getting all in is stack ÷ (pot + 2 × stack), the required equity for calling a shove. The lesson's rule of thumb shoves when your equity against the hands that would call (one pair or better) beats that price, checks and calls when only your equity against the whole range does, and check-folds otherwise. It is a simplification: it ignores fold equity when choosing, and assumes a checked-to player bets their whole range.

Worked example

The pot is 10bb with 15bb behind, an SPR of 1.5. The price is 15 ÷ (10 + 30) = 37.5%. Top pair with 55% against the calling hands shoves; a flush draw with 40% against the whole range but 30% against the callers checks and calls; king high with 25% check-folds.

Why it matters

Short tournament stacks make low SPRs common. Betting small and folding to a shove, or checking a hand that should get the chips in, throws away the pot.

See also: Stack-to-pot ratio, Required equity, Postflop rules of thumb