Bubble Play: Attack While Others Surrender

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Congratulations! You have been playing well thus far. You are getting deeper and deeper into the tournament with every hand dealt and every player eliminated. You are quickly approaching the money and even closer to that mystical place in time know as “The Bubble.”

The Bubble refers to the time in a poker tournament just before the money starts to be awarded. Suppose you enter a tournament where the top 50 players get paid. The player that finishes in 50th place will receive $1000, while a player who busts out one hand prior will receive nothing.

The bubble concept is an important factor in tournament poker. Certain strategies can be applied during this time to pick up valuable chips at this critical point of game. In general, many players will tighten up when the bubble is looming, but if you are a smart, aggressive player, you will be able to take advantage of this common weakness.

Players often tighten up because they are looking to lock up a payday. To avoid this mental pitfall, only buy into tournaments that you can afford. Whether you buy into an $11, $100 or $10,000 tournament you should have the bankroll to support your investment. When a player fears losing their buy-in, they will be happy just to cash as the bubble comes along, even if the prize is only their original money back. But when you initially bought into this event did you just want to cash? No, of course not. You wanted to win! Playing it safe on the bubble may help insure you get your money back, but you must play your most aggressive poker now to put yourself in a good position to take down the whole tournament.

So you decide you are going to play for the victory, not just a simple payday. What do you do to extract chips from players that are too conservatively? Attack their tightness as if you were laying siege to an enemy's stronghold, relentlessly firing bullets in their direction. The two most important factors in your plan of attack should be position and stack size.

When action is folded around to you in late position and the players yet to act have small to medium stacks, raise. Most times it shouldn't matter which two hole cards you hold - raise, raise, raise! Try open raising for a bit more than you usually would to scare of any pretenders; perhaps 4-5 times the size of the big blind if your chip stack allows you to comfortably do so. If you are on the button you should utilize the power of position, consistently raising when action is folded around to you.

Stack size also plays a large roll in your bubble strategy. If you are on a big stack you should be looking for potential situations and players to be going after.

Observe the table for short and medium size stacks that are playing ultra conservatively trying to fold their way to the money. Identify these players and look for any and all situations to attack.

In the past I have seen a player in the big blind with a stack size just under the average fold pocket Queens face up to a single late position raise. With that kind of tight play you have to pick up more than your fair share of blinds and ante by raising the short stacks.

Now lets say that you are on the flip side of the coin and are sitting on a less then ideal stack. Don't be scared and turn into one of the bubble folders. Maintain aggression against small stacks and be ready to defend against large ones. As a general rule you do not want to attack large stacks that could potentially bust you, however, if you discover that they are playing aggressively against the shorter stacks, show them you won't be push around. Come over the top of them with big hands when they raise your blinds, or even call and lead out on flops with good texture to make them lay down their hand and pick up their chips they tried to bluff you with.

In addition to solid early tournament play, attacking the bubble will help you accumulate chips and put you in a good position make it deeper into the tournament.

Always play to win, as the pay scale is heavily favored for those who finish near the top, not those who finish just within the money. If we understand the tendencies of players on the bubble we can use this knowledge to make plays at them accordingly.

While no one ever wants to be the Bubble Boy of the tournament it should never be an excuse to become a folding machine. Attacking these tight players and you might see yourself not only making the money, but sitting at the final table.

By Tom Bostic
- Poker Expert