How do you play close to bubble.. and how Should you play?

Barbarrossa

Barbarrossa

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 4, 2019
Total posts
63
Chips
0
Not a bad beat story.. really! So there I was in the big blind.. 7th out of 14 left in the ACR freeroll. As I got closer to the bubble I tightened up.. Then it happened.. A J suited in the BB. Heck I almost didn't want it.(not then anyhow) Everybody folded to the SB. He raised X3(and had done it a couple times earlier) so I raised him X3.. He sat there a minute and as his timer headed for zero he went all in. Called. He had K J offsuit so I was happy.. we shared the J and I had a pretty big advantage. Flop came and I got my Ace... but before I could pump my fist.. runner runner he has a straight and I'm out.

Top 10 are in the money.. Did I play it right? Should I have just called his bet? so many questions. But what I really would like to know is How do we/you play so close to the bubble? Hell we had 2 people inactive and blinding out.. I could have just put it on auto and got to the promised land. My problem with that is by doing that I'm pretty close to everything being an all in when I start betting again.

Just curious what the consensus is out there...

thanks!
 
B

bellicoso

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Total posts
549
Chips
0
I used to be scared of the bubble, but I've learned to simply respect it now that I've been playing for a while. In short, I try to maintain a reasonable amount of aggression. It's easy to take blinds and limp-bets near the bubble. I do NOT put my stack at risk, however. That's the only thing I would've done differently than you. I would've just called...

Anyway, you did really well getting that close to the money, so keep on playing your game! Best of luck to you! :)
 
S

spadeit

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Total posts
55
Chips
0
Online, the bubble is just a crapshoot..
 
Erpherk

Erpherk

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Total posts
330
Chips
0
I have bubbled many tourneys with AJ. I think you played it fine... you were going for the win and got unlucky. Players mostly tighten up on the bubble and play more quality hands. So i like to lower my range in this spot and wait for the bubble to pass. I'm not saying i would fold the AJ, but i might just flat and try to peel ace and take the pot down with a bet on the flop. But if i felt the guy was raising my blind light i might have 3 bet and called his all in also... poker is complicated =D
 
WiredKs

WiredKs

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 12, 2019
Total posts
176
Chips
0
In that freeroll you kind of have to be going for the win. There's just not enough of a prize pool to feel good about making the money. It was a +EV move, so there's that.
 
B

betang

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Total posts
460
Awards
1
Chips
4
Do not get nervous. Play as you use to. Only be a little more carefull.
 
eetenor

eetenor

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Total posts
2,158
Awards
2
Chips
166
Not a bad beat story.. really! So there I was in the big blind.. 7th out of 14 left in the ACR freeroll. As I got closer to the bubble I tightened up.. Then it happened.. A J suited in the BB. Heck I almost didn't want it.(not then anyhow) Everybody folded to the SB. He raised X3(and had done it a couple times earlier) so I raised him X3.. He sat there a minute and as his timer headed for zero he went all in. Called. He had K J offsuit so I was happy.. we shared the J and I had a pretty big advantage. Flop came and I got my Ace... but before I could pump my fist.. runner runner he has a straight and I'm out.

Top 10 are in the money.. Did I play it right? Should I have just called his bet? so many questions. But what I really would like to know is How do we/you play so close to the bubble? Hell we had 2 people inactive and blinding out.. I could have just put it on auto and got to the promised land. My problem with that is by doing that I'm pretty close to everything being an all in when I start betting again.

Just curious what the consensus is out there...

thanks!

Thank U 4 Posting

Bubbles are for rec players to feel good about getting a payout. If that is what your goal is then you should have shoved the AJ taking away fold equity or folded it to min cash.

If on the other hand your goal is to take down this tournament then you played exactly as you should in this hand.

"As I got closer to the bubble I tightened up.."

Why did you change your strategy to get 10th place if you were trying to win and you were successful so far?

10th or 11th does not matter if you are aiming at 1st.
When you let it matter you miss value in great spots that you fold like AJs vs KJ

Hope this helps
:):)
 
C

chuckycheese

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Total posts
258
Chips
0
I used to be scared of the bubble, but I've learned to simply respect it now that I've been playing for a while. In short, I try to maintain a reasonable amount of aggression. It's easy to take blinds and limp-bets near the bubble. I do NOT put my stack at risk, however. That's the only thing I would've done differently than you. I would've just called...

Anyway, you did really well getting that close to the money, so keep on playing your game! Best of luck to you! :)
I personally play tight , make the bubble then go for it. it works most of the time
 
G

gryphon3005

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 3, 2018
Total posts
353
Chips
0
I know a lot of folks talk about playing for the big money in the final 2 or 3 spots but isn't the point to at least make the money? In a lot of mtts you can easily spend 3 hours or more before reaching the money. After all that time and work why throw it away on an aggressive play? AJ is not a powerhouse hand. When you called the shove you had to know you were close to flipping so what you were doing was gambling you're tournament on you're read of the other player. You thought you were seeing a bluff that turned out to be a semi-bluff. And something else...when you changed your game and tightened up did your table image go a little on the weak side? Perhaps the sb shoved because of his read on you.
 
Misofer

Misofer

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 11, 2010
Total posts
162
Chips
0
To be honest it really depends on the tournament and the prize. If it is a big payout even for last places I'll probably play more tight. But most of the time you can get away by playing more aggresive because almost everyone will play to cash out.
 
S

sheltowee420

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Total posts
252
Chips
0
Just fold, and wait for the bubble to burst, and or go all-in, and take advantage of others doing the first.
 
TheDude6622

TheDude6622

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Total posts
2,348
Awards
2
Chips
0
If you are playing to cash, you slow down completely before the bubble and don't play any hands. If you are playing to win, you are picking your spots to steal, playing your better hands, and moving up the leaderboard.
 
wildwildwes

wildwildwes

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Total posts
124
Awards
1
Chips
0
I know what I would do I write some notes on him. And then the next time you know how to play him.
 
3

300HPGOD

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Total posts
1,462
Awards
11
Chips
111
There was no mention of stack depth here or how much of a lead you had on 10th place. I think both of those factors should be in play to decide your bubble moves. The farther you are ahead of 10th the more weak you can be. If you are in 7th but only ahead of 10th marginally than I think you need ts treat those situations like you are in 10th or 11th and be more aggressive.

From the end of the post you said you were out so the villain must have had you covered. In this spot (depending on stack size) I think the right play is to call his raise and play the flop in position or just jam it pre. He does not want to bubble either remember. When you raise 3x after his raise he is probably priced in and will call and then it is inevitable that all the money will be going in the middle.
 
nuttea

nuttea

Visionary
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Total posts
504
Awards
3
Chips
0
Not a bad beat story.. really! So there I was in the big blind.. 7th out of 14 left in the ACR freeroll. As I got closer to the bubble I tightened up.. Then it happened.. A J suited in the BB. Heck I almost didn't want it.(not then anyhow) Everybody folded to the SB. He raised X3(and had done it a couple times earlier) so I raised him X3.. He sat there a minute and as his timer headed for zero he went all in. Called. He had K J offsuit so I was happy.. we shared the J and I had a pretty big advantage. Flop came and I got my Ace... but before I could pump my fist.. runner runner he has a straight and I'm out.

Top 10 are in the money.. Did I play it right? Should I have just called his bet? so many questions. But what I really would like to know is How do we/you play so close to the bubble? Hell we had 2 people inactive and blinding out.. I could have just put it on auto and got to the promised land. My problem with that is by doing that I'm pretty close to everything being an all in when I start betting again.

Just curious what the consensus is out there...

thanks!

Therefore, you should avoid risky distributions on the entire stack, but at the same time look for opportunities to earn chips, because the dough is a great opportunity to grow your stack. In order to be profitable to play at this stage, you need a very competent adjustment for opponents.
First of all, you have to understand (you had time for the start of the tournament) who is a good player (regular) and who is bad (a fish). Secondly, you need to understand how bad players at your table play (aggressively / passively, loose / tight). Good players play about the same, with little personality, of course. Next, you need to analyze the available information and develop a strategy

that we play aggressively, attacking the blinds, while giving up, meeting resistance and aggression. But this recommendation is too general, we must take into account the features of the game of our opponents, as well as the size of their stacks.it s a easy)
 
F

fundiver199

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Total posts
13,217
Awards
1
Chips
233
Bubble strategy depend a lot on your stack size. As a small or medium stack, you should generally tighten up and try to make the money before risking your stack. As a big stack, you should loosen up and put pressure on the small and medium stacks. Sometimes as a medium stack you can also take advantage of other medium stacks playing to tight and adopt a "go strong or go home" mentality, especially if you have a nice stack size for open jamming or rejamming.

It also depends on the tournament structure. Most MTTs and multitable SnGs on pokerstars have a structure, where a min-cash is just a little over a buyin. In that situation the bubble tend to not matter much, and often play does not even change noticeably around the bubble. MTTs on 888 Poker have a somewhat different structure, where a min-cash might be 2-3 times your buyin, and then after that you need to run really deep to win significantly more. With such a structure you really don’t want to bust on the bubble, and the bubble tend to affect play a lot more.
 
Z

zhilipp

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 1, 2020
Total posts
113
Chips
0
I hate the bubble its so annoying you get hardly any action...

Alsways try to play a little more lose but its not easy ....
 
M

Mikeloti13

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 11, 2017
Total posts
479
Chips
0
If you have a short stack play tight and not so often. If you have medium or big stack you should still be tight but aggressive. You dont want to run down your stack stupidly. But you can increase it by being aggressive in right spots and steal blinds and small pots, still you should be careful
 
P

popstani

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Total posts
635
Awards
1
Chips
1
I know a lot of folks talk about playing for the big money in the final 2 or 3 spots but isn't the point to at least make the money? In a lot of mtts you can easily spend 3 hours or more before reaching the money. After all that time and work why throw it away on an aggressive play? AJ is not a powerhouse hand. When you called the shove you had to know you were close to flipping so what you were doing was gambling you're tournament on you're read of the other player. You thought you were seeing a bluff that turned out to be a semi-bluff. And something else...when you changed your game and tightened up did your table image go a little on the weak side? Perhaps the sb shoved because of his read on you.



I totally agree with you, why we have to risk 3 hours, or more hard work to not be payed? Only thing I would add, if hero not folding, only right decision is to show all in this situation, . All depends on stacks ,type of player, and opponent tendencies
 
blueskies

blueskies

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Total posts
3,641
Awards
9
Chips
295
If you are the big stack, you should be looking to steal blinds.

If you are 1 or 2 spots from the cash, you should play very conservatively and try not to butt heads with people that have you covered unless you have a premium starting hand. QQ+.

I just saw this dude (guaranteed losing player without even looking him up) do this:

1 away from the money. He can comfortably fold into the money. He has BTN with AJos. The dude on SB is blinded out. Literally, if SB did not win this hand everyone else cashes.

Two big stackers limp. This dude on BTN shoves! He forces the two big stackers to fold to get to heads up. SB had 62 and AJ wins.

But that's just a dumb play. In heads up, he gives SB a better chance of surviving. And he put himself at risk with nothing but AJos.

The dude was playing any ace it was QQ+ so it's not surprising. But you would think he would have some situation awareness. He has none.
 
riverlizard3

riverlizard3

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Dec 11, 2019
Total posts
189
Chips
1
bubble trouble

If i knew that two were just blinding out and i would be inside the bubble for sure, i would not bother to take a chance on all in. It always seems to be the case for me as well, a temptation to build up, but a risk to be out of the money. So unless i had a big stack to speculate, i wouldnt risk it.
 
R

ritz_avalanche

Visionary
Bronze Level
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Total posts
757
Awards
1
Chips
15
I generally tighten up during bubble play ..
 
OmgCandy1907

OmgCandy1907

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Feb 15, 2020
Total posts
10
Chips
0
and what to do in such a situation, a couple of people and the prize money will begin. the whole table is fold, but the tilt player (2 position in the tournament) on the dealer makes 3 bets and puts much more. I, being on bb, have AK in my hands, raise all-in and he calls with 9 10, and on the river, 7-j street closes. My stack was a little smaller than this guy, what should I do in such a situation? I - opened a bottle of beer and wanted to remove the stars.
 
mkdrummey

mkdrummey

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Total posts
912
Awards
1
Chips
2
There's a psychological thing going on when you have sitouts at the table, at least I feel that way. I never want to be busting out while a lower stacked sitout player is still in. The problem I've found is I always seem to be at a table with a big stack or 2 approaching the bubble, where the opportunity to steal becomes non existent because these players are doing the stealing and will call your shove with anything.
 
okeedokalee

okeedokalee

Glory To Ukraine
Loyaler
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Total posts
5,536
Awards
22
NZ
Chips
124
Close to the bubble you should be stealing from those who you out chip. They fold because making the money is their goal and they don't want to tangle with you
 
Top