Tournament Strategy: M-Concept und Q
When playing tournament poker the term 'M' is often used. M stands for a number which expresses how many rounds you can survive in a tournament without playing a single hand, before you get blinded out. The number is calculated as follows:
The number of your chips is divided by the Blinds and Antes that are totally posted per round. The M-Value you calculate is absolutely fundamental for determining your strategy during a poker tournament Dan Harrington (please see the Poker Book & Literature section declares that if he had to chose one single concept to be the most important concept, it would be the so called 'Inflection Points' (Meaning M, Q and the Zone System). In this article we describe how to calculate M. In the Zone System article we explain how the calculated M-Value should be interpreted and how you should adapt your tournament strategy according to M.
The calculation of this mystery M-Value can be explained easily with a couple of examples:
Example No. 1 (without Antes):
You have 1'200 Chips, the Big Blind is 50 and the Small Blind is 25. Thus, Big Blind and Small Blind together are 75. 1'200 (your Stack) divided by 75 (the Blinds) equals 16. Your M-Value is 16.
Example No. 2 (with Antes):
You have 2'300 Chips, the Big Blind is 300 and the Small Blind is 150, Antes are 25. There are 10 people at your table. The Big Blind and Small Blind added up equals 450. All 10 Players post 25 Antes each, which sums up to 250 Antes. The pot size to begin with is 800 Chips. 2'300 (your Stack) divided by 800 (Blinds and Antes) = 2.875. Your M is 2.875 (to determine the strategy is sufficient to know your M is around 3.
Example No. 3 (with Antes):
You have 63'000 Chips, the Big Blind is 2'000 and the Small Blind is 1'000, Antes are 250. There are 8 people sitting at your table. The Big Blind and Small Blind sum up to 3'000. All 8 players together post Antes of 2’000 Chips into the Pot. Thus, the pot of each hand is 5'000 Chips to begin with. 63'000 (your Stack) divided by 5'000 (Blinds and Antes) = 12.6. Your M-Value is 12.6 (it suffices to know your M-Value is between 12 and 13.
From this one can infer that:
1. The higher your 'M' is, the better!
2. When Antes have to be posted, you have to take the number of players at the table into account.
3. If you start thinking in 'M' rather than in an absolute value of chips, you have an instrument you can hold on to during all tournament phases. No matter how high the blinds and antes are.
Ok, what's this 'M' all about, then? This we explain in our arcticle about the Zone System.
In our Poker-Tool-Section (coming soon), you can find an Excel-Sheet to help calculate your M-Value during a tournament.
Q
Q is the proportion of your Chip Stack to the average Stack Size of all remaining Players in a tournament. To determine this value, of course you must know the average Chip Stack. Most Online-Poker Rooms provide this information in the tournament lobby. The higher your Q is, the better!
In 'normal' Tournaments with climbing prize moneys, Q does not play a huge role. When playing a Qualifier, where the Top X Players all get exactly the same prize (usually a tournament entry ticket), Q is very important! If the first 12 players get a ticket and your M is 4, but your Q is 1 (which means you have an average Chip Stack), and there are only 14 players still remaining in the tournament, you are not in a hurry to try and double up. (as described in the Zone System article). In this situation, the only thing M dictates is, that you have exactly two options left before every hand: You can Fold or go All-In! In this very special tournament situation you need excellent cards to go All-In (and show a long term profit doing so).
When your M is high, but your Q very low, then stick to the M. First of all, M dictates your strategy!
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