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

The Dead zone

Pre-flop
Blinds 400 / 800 (100 ante)Pot 2,100 (2.6 BB)Your M = 0.7 • Dead zoneHJQ♦5♦● 1,470 (1.8 BB)YOUfirst to actSB● 16,000 (20 BB)posts 400 (0.5 BB)BB● 16,000 (20 BB)posts 800 (1 BB)D

Dead zone (M 0.7) - you're nearly out of chips. It folds to you with Q♦5♦.

Dead zone, folded to you with Q♦5♦. Best?

WhyBelow one M your jam can't fold anyone out - callers are getting a price they'll never refuse - so this isn't about pressure, it's about getting your last chips in with live cards. Q-5 suited beats waiting: it makes pairs, straights, and flushes, and every orbit you fold shrinks you toward nothing anyway.
What happensYou get it in and carry your equity to the showdown - the most a stack this short can do is pick a hand that can flop something and then run good.
When your M falls under 1 there's no fold equity left to protect, so hoarding for aces just blinds you out of existence. Get any playable hand in and give yourself a chance to double.

Dead zone (M under 1): no one folds to a stack this small, so the all-in stops being a bluff and becomes pure equity - ship any reasonable hand and try to improve.