Stupid question:

If it's most profitable in MTTs to have a push/fold range at some threshold--of which I think has been discovered to be lower than the arbitrary 20bb that has been suggested for ages)--and then to just follow a computer-solved chart, couldn't players do this and win at infinitely high stakes cash tables? i.e. since it's an unbeatable strategy, the actual BB size wouldn't matter. I know that there are short stacker players, and that most tables have a minimum buy in... but still. Food for thought?

Years ago, you could buy-in for 20bb in cash games, and it had the ridiculous result of full ring 200NL games sometimes having less than $200 in total on the table.

On most sites, 40bb is the minimum buy-in on cash tables, to prevent "pro shortstackers" doubling up and ratholing their winnings. Highstakes PLO has a lot of 40bb pros. That stack size is actually advantageous on tables where other players have 100bb, and the shortstacks annoy the deep-stack players somewhat.

Various sites have used short-stack cashgame formats, usually labeling them "Push Fold tables". They are a rake trap, and are also subject to collusion. (It's hard to make money with 5% rake on every coinflip, and even harder if colluders are sharing card info and avoiding playing pots with each other).

On Unibet, there is a short-stack cashgame called Banzai (10bb buy-ins) that is very soft at the low limits (people limp-folding or raise-folding from 7bb lol), and the rake is fairly low (1% I think), which means they are beatable, but that game always tilts the hell out of me, because you're often losing races vs complete garbage.

Hmm that's very interesting. I've always thought that it was better to have more money on the table (I guess versus weaker opponents) and hadn't really given much thought about this until now. It seems almost a little "off" that the only thing preventing this from happening is an enforced regulation. Makes me wonder why sites decided on 40bb as a minimum.

Also, that description of Banzai paints vivid pictures in my head . Actually, I just out of coincidence happened to notice that ACR has "No Rathole" 10bb games going now. Not sure what the rake, etc. is though.