Tags:
Advanced, Hold' em, Intermediate, Multi-table tournaments, Sit & Go's
Staying alive
Exploiting a big stack by playing aggressively against smaller ones, is the ideal position to be in on the bubble. However, in reality you are more often going to end up with a medium or short stack on the bubble and how you play these is just as important for your long term results.
Short-stack play
Short stack play is relatively simple, in that you are already the favourite to go out and therefore have nothing to lose. For this reason you should be prepared to play aggressively and try to double up rather than risk blinding away. This will usually mean moving all-in with the best hands you can find, but you should also be prepared to push with weaker hands when you can.
Aim to attack the big blind of the next smallest stack and force him to fold or at least cripple him if you call and win. You should also try to keep your stack to at least four to five big blinds and half of the next stack to maintain a threat and again be prepared to push with weaker hands when desperate to keep to this.
Similarly you should be keeping a close eye on the blind increases so you aren’t taken by surprise, and if there is another short stack be aware of who is going to have to ‘jump first’ by going all-in before they blind out.
Mid-stack play
Medium stack play is a more delicate affair on the bubble, as you have a lot to lose and can’t play aggressively because of the bigger stacks. For this reason, you should be extremely cautious about risking your stack in this situation and only play very strong hands since the smaller stacks will be more likely to try and double through you. Also remember that being all-in against the big stack is a disaster. Therefore, hold back with marginal hands, and look for good situations to move all-in or attack the smaller stacks where you cant be eliminated.
Keep an eye on the chip positions to ensure that you don’t drop into last place, and that if you do you realise and can change strategy. With a little luck, if you play it tight here for a few hands there will soon be a confrontation and the bubble will burst, guaranteeing you 20% of the prizepool and allowing you to open up and play to win from there on!
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