on the bubble above average chips how to play?

Washout

Hi guys...the last 5 tournaments ive found myself on the bubble with just above average chip stack.

I seem to get into battles with chip leaders each time with hands like KK AKo.

each time ive ended up in all in situation. once made the bubble and final table from there. 3 times got rivered. and once KK shot down by AA.

my question is should you not get into battles and just try and play extremly tight to the bubble?
to me thats just playing weak and if you start doing that you may introduce greater tightness into the rest of your game?

I normall play my good hands aggressive with the occassional raise to players i know to fold to raises but should i change play on the bubble?
advice appreciated

Lafortezza

I was playing a tournament last night, and it got to the bubble stage with 5 players on the final two tables. Everyone has at least 10BB so there were no very very small stacks. An hour later we had finally formed the last table.

You have to stay aggressive and try to steal from the medium stacks who are desperate to outlast the shorties. If you try to steal from the small stacks without a good hand they will gamble with the KTs and QJ type hands, and once they double up off you they're no longer in as much danger and you've lost some momentum.
Another way to steal is call on the button and bet/raise the flop if you hit any piece of it.

The Troll

I think around the bubble is the easiest place to pick up chips in a MTTas a lot of players tighten up their game and are afraid to call any significant raise for fear of missing out on a prize.

kincsem

If you are playing normally you are probably ok. Just running a little unlucky. If you are wearing out the felt with all-ins then stop it.:eek:

I found it a good idea to get up, wander over to the other table, see how the stacks are, come back and answer questions when asked what the stacks are like on the other table. If the other table has a tiny stack everyone will slow down on your table. If the other table are all evenly and heavily stacked then expect action at your table. (That was in the days when I got to final tables :mad: )

hotspur

I'd say it depends on the tournament, I mean in many of them you really couldn't care less if you bubble or collapse just inside the money if it's paying out to many players and it's not much. In a way it's a question which ought not be answered definitively by others - how you play on the bubble with say AKo is a microcosom of how you play poker generally, which is mostly a function of who you are. There are players who bubble out a statistically inordinate amount of times, these are usually players with an unconscious self-destructive streak that pops up to make them feel crap amount themselves, and bubbling is pretty good at that. If you're bubbling too much, and tilting in cash games, watch out, you may just be screwing yourself

Washout

Basically i try to keep my game the exact same throughout a tourney.

the old adage play your good hands aggresively and fold everything else.

I know alot of players midstacked would try calling BB to just see a flop and hope they get lucky but the question i always ask myself when making a bet like that is look at the hand and ask yourself would you really want to call a raise to? if so youve just wasted chips into a pot your not commited to in the first place.
midstacks galore make that mistake.

Also table reputation is vital because what can keep you afloat is stealing blinds. I like playing betfair (whatever network that is) because i find that i dont get moved around tables as much as i would on pokerstars. (thats purely to do with the numbers in the tourney).

I dont think I do anything wrong on the bubble while midstacked but was just wondering what other ppl do? things like how do you value 7-7, 8-8 in mid position? what do you guys do? call, raise or fold? I see other midstacks go all in with hands like that and i think its just wrong. but wheter to call or fold with a pp like 7-7, 8-8 i think they are more trouble than they are worth.

I should also say that id value 9-8 suited of greater value than the PP's ive mentioned is this wrong to do?

Culchie

Washout wrote:

Basically i try to keep my game the exact same throughout a tourney.

the old adage play your good hands aggresively and fold everything else.

I know alot of players midstacked would try calling BB to just see a flop and hope they get lucky but the question i always ask myself when making a bet like that is look at the hand and ask yourself would you really want to call a raise to? if so youve just wasted chips into a pot your not commited to in the first place.
midstacks galore make that mistake.

Also table reputation is vital because what can keep you afloat is stealing blinds. I like playing betfair (whatever network that is) because i find that i dont get moved around tables as much as i would on pokerstars. (thats purely to do with the numbers in the tourney).

I dont think I do anything wrong on the bubble while midstacked but was just wondering what other ppl do? things like how do you value 7-7, 8-8 in mid position? what do you guys do? call, raise or fold? I see other midstacks go all in with hands like that and i think its just wrong. but wheter to call or fold with a pp like 7-7, 8-8 i think they are more trouble than they are worth.

Small/Mid Pocket pairs and suited connectors lose their value if you are mid stacked in a tournament, if you're in the 10-15 BB Zone, especially around the bubble time. Their merits are when you maybe short stacked and desperate or when you are calling off no more than 5% of your large stack, with opponents of similar high stacks, normally early in the tournament.

I also don't understand people who 'steal' blinds out of habit rather than a legitimate raise when the blinds are in the first 3 or 4 levels or so, unless you have a legitimate hand, keep out of trouble. Then when you need blinds later on, and the blinds are worth stealing, your raise should be respected by anything other than a monster hand.