with antes, can't an M of 10 mean almost 30 big blinds? 7-10 M is pretty big range.

seems like people talk in terms of 10-12 big blinds as being the start of "all-in" country.. and i'm starting to think of jumping sooner.... but an M of 10 is pretty high (i think)

BTW, i love discussions like this (i think the whole "post all the details" takes away from the core, basic question) .... also, do you not possibly want action on your AK? but i guess you want to see all 5 cards....

How close you are to the money is very important here....Another variable is your stack size vs. the stacks you are trying to play through. What kind of fold equity will you have vs. whoever calls if you limp? If your limp allows you to fold but leaves you so short you must go AI next time will you get a better hand than this one? I favor pushing if you are relatively short vs. those behind you because you don't want a lot of action with AKo. If there are shorter stacks in the way you may get all the action you need by AI anyway, or scare the shorty off because you have first in vig and he doesn't want to improve pot odds for those behind him.

All an M of 10 means is you have 10 rounds of hands at the table if you do nothing but post and fold. Your effective stack is probably 1/2 that size because you require some chip mass in order to have any hope of picking up blinds and antes uncontested and having them mean something once you get them.