Bubble Play In Tournaments
We all have different reasons on why we play the game of poker but for the majority of us it’s the rush that cards can bring, perhaps the hopes of winning a WSOP bracelet, or simply for the money. Cashing in tournaments isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do so when you do cash in tournaments you want to make the most out of those situations. But before a player can enter the money stage of the tournament all players must go through what we like to call ‘bubble play’.
When the bubble comes around and players are about to cash and all the short stacks start to call time bank, this is where a player can take advantage of their table. The idea is to become a little more aggressive when the bubble play comes around because other players become scared to make a play because they want to make it into the cash. New and inexperienced players who haven’t reached this part of a tournament may not play back at you if they are low in chips and they are about to make money. They will do anything to avoid being eliminated before bubble play is over so this is the perfect time for players to take advantage of a tight table and really start to accumulate chips. This doesn’t mean get wreck less with your chips but beware of spots where you can raise when you normally wouldn’t.
Also on the flip side of this there are many players out there that are aware of the bubble play and the strategies behind it. That being said you may come across some players willing to play back at you because they quickly realize you are trying to exploit the bubble play. It’s a tricky situation in some cases and it may take a couple tournaments to pick up on certain tells. Choose your spots wisely and best of luck on making the cash.