Your behavior during bubble with small size stack

beldin2010

beldin2010

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I want to ask everyone in this chat to share how you play during bubble with small stack. Which hands do you play from which position?
Recently I slow played AA from button and I ran into quads.
 
nabmom

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There's a lot to unpack here.

First of all, aces running into quads is not relevant in terms of what hands to play when you are short-stacked and on the bubble.

In a vacuum, I'd say that if you have less than about 12 big blinds left, you should be in shove or fold mode. No slow-playing in general. Why let someone catch up?

Then there's the aspect of the bubble. Is anyone shorter stacked than you? People tend to tighten up near the bubble, but a lot depends on the dynamics of who else is short-handed, your position, the tendencies of other players, etc. So no simple answer. There are shove/fold charts for tournaments (you can look that up by searching in our forum) and that will help you with the range to shove with.

It would be better to show us specific examples of hands and we can analyze what your best move would be.
 
pentazepam

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As nabmom said: get a push fold chart like this one:

https://floattheturn.com/wp/pushfold/


In general if you don't have a read that a mini-raise (or limp as a trap) is better against certain opponents it is easier and often better to just go all-in.

I often wait until I have around 10bb (depending on position and players).
 
JBGoode

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I want to ask everyone in this chat to share how you play during bubble with small stack. Which hands do you play from which position?
Recently I slow played AA from button and I ran into quads.
How we play with 5-25BBs either on the bubble, or Final Table bubble is truely what separates profitable MTT players from break even MTT players....

It also is the hardest aspect of all of poker to master in my opinion. There is no real simple way to help with this outside of saying either fold, or just get it in. There really isnt much of a middle range here....

Also Learn push/fold ranges, rejam ranges, and really focus on ICM. To do this you really need to invest in ICMizer. This will help you understand this play....
 
rj_montana

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With <10 bb, take the maximum allowable time per hand before folding. Except for AA, KK and (maybe) QQ, get in the money before making your move.

With 10-20bb, same strategy as above, except flat call with 88+ and AJ+.

With 25+bb, shove on opponents with <10bbs with any decent holding (most aces, most broadway, all pairs).
 
tihomir_kula

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I ve often folded monser hands. The main for me is to enter-it s a wrong tactic to win the tournament,but I ve played for 2 hours ....
 
57noona

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I tend to not be short stacked in a tournament, because I always looking for a chance to double up. I play for first place when I play tournaments. So if I'm still in it towards the end I have a bigger chip stack than being short stacked. I always looking to increase my chip stack any way I can.
 
beldin2010

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How we play with 5-25BBs either on the bubble, or Final Table bubble is truely what separates profitable MTT players from break even MTT players....

It also is the hardest aspect of all of poker to master in my opinion. There is no real simple way to help with this outside of saying either fold, or just get it in. There really isnt much of a middle range here....

Also Learn push/fold ranges, rejam ranges, and really focus on ICM. To do this you really need to invest in ICMizer. This will help you understand this play....


I really hearing of this tool and ranges thing for first time and will invest time to check it. Thank you for sharing. Can this tool help you in real time and is it allowed to use it in PS or ...


Regarding Aces I was on Button with 7-10 BB stack and limped. Why not? But person on BB had pocket tens and flopped set and improved to quads through river. I think if I shoved he would call me so output will be the same.
 
Datdude1

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I think that I play small stack the same whether it's during the bubble or not. I feel that when you are small stack you got to wait for the right hand to shove and hope for the best.
 
JBGoode

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I really hearing of this tool and ranges thing for first time and will invest time to check it. Thank you for sharing. Can this tool help you in real time and is it allowed to use it in PS or ...


Regarding Aces I was on Button with 7-10 BB stack and limped. Why not? But person on BB had pocket tens and flopped set and improved to quads through river. I think if I shoved he would call me so output will be the same.
It will not let you use it in real time. Because one it takes a second to calculate. In two if you could calculate a fast enough it's 100% mathematically correct. Thus it would give you the perfect decision every time. Thus some would consider that cheating. As for the aces losing two 10s. You got it in as over a 4:1 favorite. And you're correct he probably wasn't fold, so if that's the case you should be fist-pumping when you jam, and he calls with 10s.... yeah it sucks we take the beat but that's poker. That is why we have bankroll management, bankroll management allows us to make the right decisions where we will win 70% of the time, but be able to absorb the 30% when we lose.
 
belizebum

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I play differently every time. I have gotten down to less than one blind. A chip and a chair. Sometimes, I go all in, if my hand is premium. Sometimes, I just fold fold fold, and try and make it past the bubble. Really depends on the game, the buy in, and the players and my mood.
 
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fundiver199

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Multible things get mixed together here.

1) How to play near the bubble with a short (below average) stack. I mainly stall action, if multible tables are running, to increase the chance, someone else busts at another table, before I have to post the blinds and/or put my stack at risk. And then I take off maybe a few marginal spots. I am not going to post starting hand charts. You can find those elsewhere. The point is, if you would have jammed or called after the bubble, but its sort of marginal, then its ok to fold before the bubble.

2) If its ever correct to "trap" with a short stack, and I assume, we are meaning something like 10BB or less. Well it depends. If you have reason to believe, that a limp on BTN or SB will induce a light ship from an aggressive player with a big stack, then by all means limp the strongest hands like JJ+ and AK. You just need to understand, that you will sometimes get drawn out on, so it is a higher variance option than jamming and picking up the blinds a lot of the time.
 
VITOS

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If you have a very small stack (5-6 BB), you should understand that you have almost no fold equity left, and you almost always get a call. You no longer have time to wait for a strong hand. But you need an ACE or king in your hand (or better, any card) to put up – then you will have a good chance of doubling against a wide range of calls. It is very important to understand the following – passive bubble game is not the right solution. Passive play should be understood as a check and call instead of bets and raises. You have to set a goal not just to get into the prize zone. You need to maximize your chances of depron. You need to learn to find a balance between surviving and stacking. This is an important skill during the bubble, and it separates the professionals from the recreation lovers.
 
sharipov8090

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If I'm short then I'll probably wait for the mistakes of the players and sit up to their departure sometimes and AA does not help it's a game and only you have to feel the situation in the tournament under such circumstances.good luck!
 
cranberry

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On bubble, with a short stack I try to play carefully. If there is an opportunity to get into the prize zone, then I do not risk. In most cases, have to play push / fold. With a pocket card AA and a short stack, it is better not to slowplay, here fold or all-in.
 
EVA777

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On bubble, with a short stack I try to play carefully. If there is an opportunity to get into the prize zone, then I do not risk. In most cases, have to play push / fold. With a pocket card AA and a short stack, it is better not to slowplay, here fold or all-in.


I agree with you. But the bubble - here players with a smaller stack fly out easily and simply! Therefore, it is better to fold cards against large stacks!
 
Alekxandrovi3

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I play as tight. Surviving the bubble is the main task when you have a short stack on the bubble.
 
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I play tight and very conservative, because it s very important to survive the bubble is the main task when you have a short stack on the bubble. i play AA, KK and QQ (maybe) JJ ,AK, AKs.
 
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Call only QQ+ to any or shove versus other small stacks if possible. Your goal is to get ITM and if possible accumulate chips in the right situation
 
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Pablo22

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Many good posts with quality information in this thread.
 
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Richardszabo

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The most stressful part of competitive poker is the bubble phase. The most difficult decisions must be made here, especially short stack. Overall you have to play aggressively, slow play is not a good strategy either!
 
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