All in the bubble

When we are in the bubble, we cannot go all-in with any hand, in my tactic I will go all in if I have three AA KK QQ prize pairs folding when I have TT and AK pair

I follow about the same tactics. Playing in tournaments, I always set a goal, to take at least some prize money, but if there is a favorable situation for me, then I am ready to take risks.

Also, do not forget that in any situation you need to stay cool, knowing that players can go all-in with garbage and they can close the nuts.

hands like AK and TT can sometimes be folded preflop in tournaments, but it depends on stack sizes and action. If stacks are short, and its a late position battle, you need to call off way wider than just QQ+, and you need to jam much wider, than you call. Understanding push-fold ranges in situations with ICM-pressure is a big part of tournament strategy, and it seems like, you have a bit of studying to do, if you want to become a winning player

What is your oppinion about folding even AA when sitting in the bubble?

tschuwon said:

What is your oppinion about folding even AA when sitting in the bubble?

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This can be reasonable in two situations:

1) Its a satellite, and you have chips enough to fold your way to a sure ticket.

2) You won a seat in a tournament, you could not afford to play with your own money, and a min-cash is very important to you financially.

In the latter case however you need to really consider, just how important that min-cash is, and how much more it could improve your situation, if you made a deep run. Its a question, which comes up again and again, and most of the people asking seem to not have a long term view of tournament play. They are focusing of false acheivements like "cashing" or "reaching the final table", rather than their long term EV. Which really, if you are playing to win money, should be the only thing, which matter, besides bankroll management.

with a good hand i'm ready to take risks
here either a win for the pot or a bad blow

Generally getting all-in with QQ+ on the bubble is much too tight a strategy. As Fundiver says, your range of hands to get it in with should depend a lot on whether you're shoving or calling.

In a lot of situations, you're correct to get it in with junk hands. For example, in a 9-man SNG as the chip leader, you should be very aggressive and moving all-in with any two cards against a 10bb mid-stack blind-vs-blind. If he wakes up with AA and calls, you were right to get it in with 32o there

Even if you're calling it off as a mid stack facing a prior all-in, you'll usually be right to call down to at least TT or so (although it depends a lot on the specific situation).

mandachuva said:

When we are in the bubble, we cannot go all-in with any hand, in my tactic I will go all in if I have three AA KK QQ prize pairs folding when I have TT and AK pair

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As I noticed even AA lost in the bubble, even poker coaches are suggest to fold with AA. But sure it is very hard to do this and that's depends from your chips stake too. If I have more chips then my opponent for sure I will go all in but if chip leader goes you have to think about twice.

Collin Moshman said:

Generally getting all-in with QQ+ on the bubble is much too tight a strategy. As Fundiver says, your range of hands to get it in with should depend a lot on whether you're shoving or calling.

In a lot of situations, you're correct to get it in with junk hands. For example, in a 9-man SNG as the chip leader, you should be very aggressive and moving all-in with any two cards against a 10bb mid-stack blind-vs-blind. If he wakes up with AA and calls, you were right to get it in with 32o there

Even if you're calling it off as a mid stack facing a prior all-in, you'll usually be right to call down to at least TT or so (although it depends a lot on the specific situation).

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when I read smart thoughts of people like Collin I realize that I still don't know anything about poker

I have seen many situations where a person could confidently pass the bubble and get money. He got a top pair and wanted to get a lot here and now... But it flew out and got nothing. I think the right decision is if you have nothing in the middle stage of the tournament, the game is absolutely failed (your stack is close to the end) and there is only a chance to get into the money. When there is a bubble I won't play anything. AA, KK fold without problems and confidently take money. If you want to be high, you need to play well in the middle stage of the tournament, but not when the fate of money is decided.

It all depends on what tournament you are playing, whether your opponents are qualified, and the size of your stack. As a chip leader, you can push any two, depending on the situation, because you will get a call from a very narrow range, which your opponents will not come across so often, and even in this case you will have outs to improve.

go all-in with NATs-always!)). If yu put all-in on the preflop in the bubble, it is in 85% of cases a fold. you can make an all-in if you have a monster hand (AA, KK, QQ), or with strong hand like (AK, JJ, TT) if yu have a good stack. Playing with a deep stack on the loot can be a good way to raise the stack, at the expense of allins in order to steal the blinds. After all, for many to survive the bubble is so important.

I used to think like that too and there are hypotheses in which I continue to opt for this type of strategy but at the same time it is a stage of the tournament in which because the table is passive, you can carefully increase the chips

If you are the large stack at the table you can bully short stacks and stealing their blinds with much wider range. If you are the short stack you want to tighten up a bit but QQ+ is way too tight if you want more than just get in the money.

That guarantees for you never become a really successful player in any level. It is not even tight, it is total insane. Most of the times the blinds are going to eat you, as most of the tourneys built up in that structure, that in the bubble you must steal by using your hole stack.
Against most of the cards in hand, you still will have 30-40% chance to win with mid range cards...


It is okay online in satellites, if you have enough chips to sit out the prize, I do not see it worthy in any other case.

In my opinion, you must have less tight range in bubble, than at the beginning or any other phase of the tourney. Of course, if you want to win it or at least reach top 3.

Bubble play is all about:
If your deep its about denying anyone free shots at chips or antes applying pressure.
mid but somewhat vulnerable stacks: picking your spots and picking up dying or dead money.

Shallow: looking for a non pure shit spot to play a very strong hand or a hand with good blockers and decent value in an exceptional fold equity spot.

The way I would play such a hand is most influenced by the following things: how many chips I have, my table position in relation to the dealer - how many players are left in the hand, and how many chips do they have. The style of play of the players still at hand and the payout structure of the tournament are also factors that should not be overlooked.

I don't think we can be so exhausting, we have to analyze the situation well, because letting good hands pass can make us have a complicated situation in the tournament, with a very small amount of chips. I, at least, do not spare AK, AQ and JJ.

Your game doesn't always depend on your cards on the bubble. AK vs T9 has almost the same odds when you put all in. If there is an opportunity to get into the prize zone, it is mathematically not profitable to take risks. A big stack has a wide call range. Here is another situation for example. You can get a ticket to a major tournament that you've always wanted to get into. There are 31 people in the tournament, 30 get tickets. Many players with large stacks simply push to knock out small stacks. You have an middle stack and your hand is AA. You can leave the tournament from random opponent cards.

Dear even having the three axes you listed above with which you intend to go all-in, I want to tell you that the probability of your price with two aces is 18% and you want to risk everything to lose and not get into the prizes your strategy is initially losing read more books your task is to get into the prizes and there is no other

If you limp in sb and the effective stack in bb is not a tight player goes allin, you can call with an Ace above average and a pair above average. He can have any pair or ace of average strength or worse. With any premium hand, he will aim to win as many chips as possible and will not go allin against you knowing that he will lose value against a weaker hand.