Playing AFTER the bubble

woodsy44

woodsy44

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I play a lot of MTTs and often get into paid positions and often finish on the bubble. There are a lot of threads about bubble play but i cannot find any about how to play once you have reached the money.
The first money places tend to be rubbish amounts, not much more than the buyin. Once i get within the money i never seem to progress much further and often end up with an amount of prize money that i do not deem adequate.
I am wondering how you all play once you reach this stage; to get yourself to the final table and towards a decent payout
 
newbie in training

newbie in training

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Im not the best by all means but I can tell you this sometimes there is an allin fest where basixally winner wjns the tourney and your faced with the choice of calling and winning ot folding and trying to take 3rd or 2nd and I generally play tight after the bibble since people are going to be more willing to gamble since they thinknthey are in the green (only in micro stakes ex $1-$3)

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loafes

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Sounds to me like you might be playing too tight before the bubble and ending up with a short stack by the time it bursts. really by the time the bubbke bursts most of the time you should either have a really big stack becuse youve been continuously chipping up or you're extremly short because you had better ev based on your stack size by tighten to limp into the bubble, this should happen pretty rarely.

for the most part when the bubble does break most people will lossen up considerably and go into a shove fest so typically I'll tighten up at this point. having said that with certain stack sizes and prize structures it can be well worth gambling at this point as well to try and hit the bigger money because usually it wont be until the FT that the pay jumps take on any meaning.

Basically play loose before the bubble and once it breaks tighten up and pick your spots, but if you are fairly short you can take gambles to aim for the FT
 
woodsy44

woodsy44

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Sounds to me like you might be playing too tight before the bubble and ending up with a short stack by the time it bursts. really by the time the bubbke bursts most of the time you should either have a really big stack becuse youve been continuously chipping up or you're extremly short because you had better ev based on your stack size by tighten to limp into the bubble, this should happen pretty rarely.

for the most part when the bubble does break most people will lossen up considerably and go into a shove fest so typically I'll tighten up at this point. having said that with certain stack sizes and prize structures it can be well worth gambling at this point as well to try and hit the bigger money because usually it wont be until the FT that the pay jumps take on any meaning.

Basically play loose before the bubble and once it breaks tighten up and pick your spots, but if you are fairly short you can take gambles to aim for the FT

That is exactly what i am doing. Limping into the bubble and ending up short stacked when in the money. I will start playing it the other way round from now on. looser before the bubble and tighter afterwards. TY
 
AlfieAA

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i usually loosen up on the bubble as the short/mid stacks are not interested in playing so you can exploit that and get the chips....and if a big stack min raises on the button and i have a mid stack i will sometimes go all in, depends though, have to be confident on that one...but yeah the bubble is a good time to get some scared chips then you can pick spots and tighten up when it bursts.
 
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matiusaa

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after the bubble, you have to play depending on the stack you have, and how the prices change through positions. In most mtt's, the only momennt that is worth surviving is on the final table
 
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haihai

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Take advantage of the tight players right before the bubble. Pick up some free blinds and chips so that after the bubble, you can play a bit tighter and just wait for a hand to double up.
 
newbie in training

newbie in training

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Oh yea tgats another thing dont play too tight or too loose after a while you will learn the right balance for you (super aggresive,agressive,tight) and dont be afre
Aid to steal some blinds with not so premium hands but willing to call a short stacks shove like 10J 10 9 stuff like that

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zingbust

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I often find that the play continues to be too tight right after the bubble breaks, everyone seemingly suddenly interested in the next money jump. When it's like that, you can keep pounding your way to the final table, and sometimes, with a little luck, you can get your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.
 
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Julia_H

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I certainly find myself getting in the money but not great a lot, and it's largely from tightening up too early, around the time where antes kick in and you find a lot of short stacks waiting for the moment to double up. They will do serious damage should you call their shoves and be wrong, and there's always the table big-stack just waiting to come over the top - the short stack doesn't care but it'll scare away middle stacks. So it's tempting but wrong to wait passively through a long run of average hands.

As for post-bubble, my last mtt seems typical: 4500-ish entries, 200 places paid. With about 250 survivors, most players apart from the leaders playing as passively as possible and some on my table deliberately using their entire time-bank each hand to slow things down in order to hold on. It took nearly an hour to go from 250 to 201 players. I was 197th with less than 1BB left when 201st was eliminated. The moment that happened it became a shovefest, and although I only won one hand after that point I finished 121st. That may be a reflection of the structure, relatively tiny increments in prizes right up to the final table, so clinging on from 200th ($6) to 180th ($6.50) isn't really worth it compared to taking a wild shot at glory.
 
olliejjc16

olliejjc16

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play aggressive as possible within the limits of the table dynamic that you are at, it would surprise you how many players care more about sitting tight for small pay jumps rather than the big money so you should be the one taking the initiative, every time you play a tournament dont aim for the money aim for the final table, you might end up going out more often, but those big pay days will easily make up for that and then some
 
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kmichaels

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I usually play a lot of hands aggressively before the bubble because everyone wants to get paid. However, after that stage every short stack will gamble and try their luck to get a better position. So if you have a nice stack be careful because a lot of short stack players might play same hand. Otherwise, if you are on of them (short stack) my advise is: If you have a nice hand shove and try your luck, and if not just wait for the right spot.
 
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sillymunchie

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well one thing to consider is there are 2 bubbles, first is pay day, and 2nd is final table, people believe that the mid section ends when the bubble bursts, the truth is, play doesnt change
if your table is tight, you play loose, if your table is loose you play tight
 
lulu pk

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That depend on my stack size.
If i m short stack early position i go all in whit AT or better,if i m on late position KTs or better.I don't like to shove whit any A on early position.
If i have a big stack i play aggressive on the bubble, not after.
Good luck
 
Loonbat

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The comments here are pretty spot-on. If I burst the bubble and have a good-sized stack, I will tighten up (let the bubble fade) as the shorties engage in a ship fest. HOWEVER, you'll notice the table will settle down again and this is when you should amp your aggression back up. I notice too many players who do well on the bubble but then tighten up too much post-bubble, finding themselves short once it hits 36 or 27 players left.

Also, be aware of prize jumps ... other bubbles may exist (ie dramatic jumps) where you can use bubble-type play to your advantage again.
 
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rhombus

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depends what you want from the tournament or what type of tournament it is

If the money at the bubble stage doesnt mean much to you then be agressive and go for the top places, usually where the steep payouts make it worthwhile.

If you qualified for a big game via a satellite then play really tight and ladder up as the money wil mean alot more to you.

If its one of your regular games then table observation is very important, watch for the ones who want to ladder and are playing very tight. Those are the ones you need to open up and steal from and exploit and the aggro ones tighten up your range or resteal if deep
 
A

aznman08

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After the bubble bursts, play tends to be more aggressive since short stacks are happy for the min cash. As whats posted above, it all depends on your stack size as play will level out once the short stacks have busted while in the money
 
babydrago9

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You shouldn't be limping because the bubble is coming up and therefore being short stacked; this shows you haven't got the greatest hand and so will be bullied off the pot by people knowing you don't want to lose. Instead, this is what you should be doing, do not show any weakness playing at the bubble. Show your fearless and even be more aggressive towards almost all players; by doing this you will not be short stacked unless something bad happens. You can then play the best you can after the bubble with an average stack or possibly a big stack; just playing your game getting to better payouts.
Also since your saying that the 1st cashes aren't adequate; why try to get passed the bubble to win the small payouts? Playing with the shortstack 3 times after the bubble < playing with a big stack after the bubble.
 
Jacki Burkhart

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most players will be tight at the bubble and then loose as soon as the bubble bursts.

do the opposite of this.

whenever you find yourself at the bubble stage, loosen up to exploit tight play. Pick out a few players who are not defending their blinds...usually the medium or just below average stacks are good targets.

once the bubble bursts, tighten way up and let the all-in fest happen.

yes you will end up not cashing sometimes, but when you do you'll cash for more, in the end you'll make more money and have more fun.
 
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RNG

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Depends on your stack, lots of players will be shoving to build a stack or bust and min cash. Play good hands, if you're under 20bb i think its a good idea to go all in with your big hands. If you have a big stack, dont call and hurt your stack to these smaller shoves.
 
Vhyre

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I play aggressively as possible up to the bubble, as it nears you can chip up very nicely off of the passive hangers on. pick your spots after the bubble but always with an eye to the FT.
 
shanest

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I play aggressively as possible up to the bubble, as it nears you can chip up very nicely off of the passive hangers on. pick your spots after the bubble but always with an eye to the FT.

Exactly what this guy said! ;)
 
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