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How to Qualify For the EPT: Don't Reduce Your Chances to Survive

• 31.06.2025 2:44 pm
• Helen
• 0 Comments

This is article three in a series of seven from Pierre Neuville, an EPT Serial Qualifier. The next in the series will come each Thursday.

The links to the other articles making the series are available below

Are you torn between these choices; whether to make that hero call, a big bluff or simply play for safety?

This should be dictated by your goal; increasing the chances of qualifying.

So are you to play 23s but fold AAs? It's not that easy, but it is necessary sometimes, and this is something that happens more regularly that we think possible.

So, what next?

There are negligible tells and scanty information online about our rivals. This means our sizeable decisions are quite subjective. So, what elements define he decisions we make if it isn't pot odds?

Focus on Stack and not pot management

In any EPT qualifying tourney, the pot or its odds are not your life.

What you should focus on managing is your stack, and the chance it provides you as far as surviving the burble is concerned. This is what can effectively guide the decisions you make.

Below are a couple of examples to help you out.

Example 1:

You possess a 150,000 stack. Player 2 owns 100,000 while players 3&4 have 37,000. An additional five players possess 25,000 and then you are on bubble. Your qualification chances are outstanding, near 99% even.

The risk is literally zero where two players with a call and an all in between themselves are there.

It is advisable to just sit back till they are eliminated.

Hand 1: You are in possession of AA and player 2 puts everything in.

With the aces you stand a chance to bag the hand almost 80% all the time but incase you lose this hand, the stack you have falls to 50,000- to be precise down to the standard stack.

At this average stack size, the chances of not getting qualified shoot higher between 1-10%

What if you opt to fold your aces?

At a glance, this provides a surprising solution that some people would term as even a ridiculous idea. It is possible some players won't look at it even.

If you happen to fold the aces you've got, you maintain your 99% qualifying chance. The most appropriate solution in this case is the insta-fold preflop.

Forget without any regret your AA.

Why should you?

A call will simply favor your rival in all cases.

On your side, it will aid you 80% each time you get a win, and in defeat, it becomes very unfavorable and this is likely to happen 20% of all the time.

Your qualification is assured virtually at the moment, and the tactic you should employ now is to be careful not to reduce your qualifying chances.

Congrats: it's a great leap you have made

Incase folding KK or maybe AA before a flop is something that has never crossed your mind, it's a great step towards your goal.

You never lose qualifier tourneys with 77. You are not safe in the future if you opt to use big hands, so if possible, avoid them where necessary.

In familiarizing yourself with this step, the qualifying chances you've got increase significantly.

This is sure to serve you appropriately in other cases.

From that time it's clear to you that discarding AA without any regret, depending on where you stand in this tourney, discarding all fair and average hands before flop and according to the situation will not be a problem.

You are safe since you won't commence with hands, for instance AK,AQ- since they are usually awful on arrival.

Your game quality has taken a huge leap forward. 99.9% of poker players would perhaps call using AA thoughtlessly, which is risky since everything in this game calls for meditation.

The proof simply is you have known to discard AA irrespective of tempting pot odds to keep safe your near guaranteed qualification.

Risk –Taking is in some case required

Another example:

You have a stack of a mere 10,000. You possess JT on a 246KTboard. The pot happens to be 9,000. Your rival bets a 4,000 and he has a stack average of 25,000. You decide there is a half chance he is working on getting this pot using AQ.

Your qualifying chances in this situation are quite slim. If you happen to fold, you stay dormant at 10k.

That will give you approximately 10-15 qualifying chance, but you are a little more at risk generally with 6K (not the 10k) if when you call, you lose.

Incase your hero call goes through and you end up winning the hand, the stack shoots up to 23kand your chance of going through goes to 50-60%.

The overall situation you happen to be in at that time is what defines whether you are going to take a risk or not.

Losing the hand is not very significant, but winning it can play a significant role in reestablishing you qualifying chance.

This is specifically what you need to consider if you are in a tight corner- what impacts your chances of winning or losing this seat.

The same concept applies to Bluffing

The example above can be used to make your own bluff.

It's no doubt reasonable bluffing at a given pot but if the total amount you win has the potential of changing your overall qualifying chances and when the total amount you are likely to lose brings about a small decrease in your overall chances.

Key Takeaways

Risks that expose you to minor consequences can be taken, but only if they have the potential to better the position you are in.

Above everything else, risks that can ruin that ground you have gained should be avoided.