Part Nine - Inflection Points: M, Q & the Zones

This is the heart of the endgame. As blinds and antes climb, the size of your stack relative to the cost of playing - not your cards - dictates strategy. M = your stack ÷ (small blind + big blind + all antes per orbit) measures how many rounds you can survive folding, and it sorts play into zones: Green (20+, play normally), Yellow (10-20, tighten), Orange (6-10, be the first raiser and never just call), Red (1-5, push or fold), and Dead (under 1, shove anything). Effective M corrects for short tables, and antes both lower your M and add dead money worth stealing. Q = your stack ÷ the average stack measures your leverage over the field. The two work together: M tells you how to play, Q tells you how urgently. These twenty-two hands drill the math and the zone-by-zone play that wins tournaments.