When it get's close to the bubble do you change your play much or keep playing the same way. Do you tighten up more or play aggressive to try and steal blinds from others that are playing tight? Or perhaps a bit of both?

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~PokerDawg~
Poker Blog

that depends on the table if the other players are playing loose i ll tighten up a bit , and if the table is tight i will open my game up with loose steals in the right postion..


Good Luck at the tables

Pretty good question .

It is going to be situationally independent, depending on the types of players at your table, avg stack size, number of shortstacked players, etc. Generally speaking as the bubble approaches play tightens up because people really want to "make the money".

If you have an above avg stack I think its a great time to pick up the aggression factor and victimize the small stacks. Notice I said small stacks, don't get carried away and get into a confrontation with anyone who has a stack that can hurt you.

Jason

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I'm Not Lucky, I Have Good Karma !

Of course you change yr startegy,unless you dont want in the money.Even if you are chipleader.You can always lose.

Bubble strategy is what separates the long term winners in SNGs from the rest...

Since I have written many articles and indeed a whole ebook on this subject I'd like to see some more thoughts on what makes a 'good bubble strategy' from members here before coming in with my own opinion... so a couple of questions.

- How would the presence of a very small stack affect your bubble strategy? (assuming it is not you!)
- If you have 50% of the chips in play at the bubble and the other players have evenly distributed stacks what range of hands would you call an all-in with? What factors influence this?
- How does the buy-in level you are playing at affect bubble strategy?

This is the most important area of SNG Play... be great to hear some opinions (no right / wrong answers - let us have a good debate!)

Cheers, Mark

Depends on my opponents, thier chipstacks, and mine. if I am stacked at a tight table I will be raising every pot. If i am short at a loose table I might tighten up until I get a big pocket pair. It just depends.

One strategic point that has helped me at the bubble is to play big hands slowly when short stacked. When I pick up AA or KK in the small blind at the bubble, I usually tend to play the hand in whatever way gets all the money in the middle by the end. If you are the small stack at the table and the blinds are high, you need to play this hand to double up, not to just take down the blinds.

To this end, I like to just complete the SB with AA or KK. If the BB thinks you are weak he may raise and pot commit himself, which is what you want at this stage of the game. If he draws out because you let him see the flop, so be it.

If you push and he folds, you've lost an excellent double up opportunity. However, if he plays his Q9 and hits top or middle pair, you have an opportunity to extract many more chips.

As a short stack at the bubble I think playing the hand this way sets you up to gain chips that will increase your ability to outlast the bubble and place 1 or 2 rather than 3.

Keep in mind that I would not advocate this strategy with a mid-size stack or when the blinds are still low, then I would raise and reraise in a more straightforward manner.

Any thoughts?

Solid bubble play advice sjclar.

I agree completely when you pick up a big hand short stacked, its not enough to just win the blinds, you want to double up.

The reward of "doubling up" exceeds the risk involved of letting someone into the pot cheaply.


Jason

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I'm Not Lucky, I Have Good Karma !

Good strategy sjclar. When you're short stacked and pick up a big hand you want to be able to double or triple up if possible and not scare everyone away.

__________________
~PokerDawg~
Poker Blog

I play alot more aggressive at bubble time because people are playing super tight so that is the time I can pick up alot of blinds. If I bubble, that does not bother me because I am not just looking to cash I am looking to win it.