How do you play a big stack in a NL hold em' tourney near the bubble?

Question

MULLETS77

Answer 1

it depends on what your objective is. If making the money is important to you, I would play pretty conservatively and not go all in or risk your entire stack.

If you want to win the tournament, then you know you can bully the table since everyone knows that you are near the bubble and won't be playing any hands. This is probably the smart way to play it and accumulate chips. Bully the table and everyone will fold to a big bet, just don't risk your stack and stay away from the big stacks.

Is your objective to make the final table? How many people have to be eliminmated to have to get to the final table....If there are not too many, you can play conservatively.

Answer 2

I think it depends on the exact payout structure of the tournament. Some tournaments are more top heavy than others, so first place is significantly more than second or third. It also depends how many places pay and the size of the tournament.

A single table sit and go has a bubble when there are four players left (only three pay). Last years WSOP main event paid over 800 players, but the lower prizes were nothing special at all (relative to the buy in).

So clearly the number of remaining players and the number of players at your table is going to be a factor.

The advantage of being a big stack is that you can put smaller stacks to a decision for all their money. You can put them at risk of going home with nothing, based on a single hand. That's a lot of pressure you can apply, and it will allow you to pick up blinds and pick off limpers. Just be sure to know who you are isolating and pay special attention to position. Misplaying here can let too many players into a pot and you lose control of the situation.

Aggressive is usually the winning strategy, but it has to be selective aggression, and sensible aggression. Playing loose aggressive all the time can have a negative effect pretty quickly. You get into a coin flip with a small stack, lose, go on tilt and get into a confrontation with a medium stack and before you know it you have lost that advantage you worked so hard to achieve. This can put you even more on tilt and if you are not careful you are the one going out on the bubble.

NLH is not always fair nor is it forgiving. A couple of mistakes or even unlucky results can cause you to lose a bunch of your stack.

Answer 3

I play a little more aggressive then normal because people will be playing tight and no one wants to go broke on the bubble so they will fold marginal hands and will only push back when they are strong, so it is a good place to get some chips with very little risk. I would say go after the medium stacks and leave the big stack and small stacks alone for the most part.

Answer 4

If you are sporting an above average stack near the bubble then you need to force people all in, even with mediocre cards. They will most likely not call you and try to fold to the bubble. If a shorter stack does call then you still have a decent chance to win so long as they don't have a pocket pair higher than BOTH of your cards. If someone ahead of you has a bigger or even 3/4 of your stack then you need to approach with caution. Forcing the weak stacks all in my backfire if the bigger stack whips out Aces at the wrong time. The amount you will accrue in blinds will most likely take a huge chunk out of your loss as well as having the chance to bump out the dead weight.

Bottom line though is that you can't play good poker without getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar.

Answer 5

it all depends on what u want to accomplish. If your only goal is to win the tourney, and u could care less if u get second or bubble one off the money, playing agg near the bubble can build you a nice stack of chips. if your concerned about making the money. just lay low and only play your nut hands (AA KK QQ).

Answer 6

play aggressively and look to steal the blinds of the players who will just be looking to make the money...you can pick up a ton of dead money that way until the bubble bursts, and you will have increased your stack a good bit if all goes well...also, if you get played back at, you will need a stronger hand to call with than usual, unless you're getting a big price to call, because you can expect your opponent to have a better hand than he usually would

Answer 7

aggressive against the stacks that could make it through the bubble when you think they are stealing.

never let anyone limp.

beware the low stack, they typically will not fold an at best you'll be a coin flip but likely they are moving with a premium hand or not moving at all.