The SAGE system tells you when to push All In (jam) or call an All In when you are Heads Up in a SnG (SAGE = Sit and Go Endgame). This only applies if the blinds are large compared to the stack sizes.
So, when do you do push or call All In? Lee Jones and James Kittock have put the strenght of the 169 starting hands in a row and developed a push/fold system around it. The’ve put the 169 hands in a table which shows with how many blinds you should push. It’s difficult to memorize the whole table so they came up with the Power Index (PI) which simplifies the entire process into two easy steps.
1. Compute a Power Index:
1. The ‘power number’ of each card is its rank; J=11, Q=12, K=13 and the A=15
2. Take the power number for your higher card and double it.
3. Add the power number of your lower card.
4. If it's a pocket pair, add 22.
5. If they're suited, add 2.
6. The sum is the Power Index of your hand.
A few examples:
has a PI of 7 x 2 + 6 + 2 = 22
has a PI of 8 x 2 + 8 + 22 = 46
has a PI of 15 x 2 + 5 = 35
2. Use the PI:
1. Compute the ratio (R) of the shortest stack to the big blind.
2. Look up the necessary PI for that value of R.
3. If the PI of your hand is greater than or equal to that value, jam (if you're the button/SB) or call (if you're the BB).
The SAGE Table | --R-- | ---- Jam(SB ---- | ----Call(BB)---- |
1 | 17 | any |
2 | 21 | 17 |
3 | 22 | 24 |
4 | 23 | 26 |
5 | 24 | 28 |
6 | 25 | 29 |
7 | 26 | 30 |
SAGE Examples
Example No. 1:
The blinds are $500-$1,000. After the blinds are taken, the SB has $5,635 in chips and the BB has $2,865 in chips. The SB has pocket threes. So, what's his power index (PI)?
PI = (2 x 3) + 3 + 22 = 31
The BB has J-4 suited. His PI = (2 x 11) + 4 + 2 = 28. The value of R is the smaller stack ($2,865) divided by $1,000, which is close enough to 3 for our purposes.
Looking at the table, the SB should jam. His PI of 31 is much greater than the necessary value of 22. The BB should call; his PI of 28 is greater than the necessary value of 24.
Example No. 2:
The stack sizes and starting hands are the same, but the blinds are $200-$400. Is anything different? The SB's PI is still 31, but R is now $2,865 divided by $400, which is about 7. Looking at the entry for R=7, the SB number is 26, so he should still jam. But the BB, whose PI is 28, doesn't have the value of 30 necessary to call. He should fold if the SB jams.
More info can be found here:
SAGE article by Lee Jones
SAGE System 
