One of the most intense times in a large multi-table tournament is the breaking point between which players cash and which go home with nothing. This is known as ‘the bubble’; the point where mediocre players turn weak-tight to sneak into the cash and good players steal blinds and antes without mercy; where big stacks bully and small stacks cower.

Most intermediate players make the mistake of tightening up at the bubble - this is wrong. Take, for example, the Full Tilt Poker Early Double. This tournament typically gets 950 or so entrants, and 153 get paid. If you’re a medium-to-big stack with 154 players left, don’t use that as an excuse to relax and cruise into the money: steal blinds, pressurise shortstacks; burst that bubble yourself!

In the above example, the 153rd-placed finisher recieves $7.50. Did you really play for four hours and beat 700 people to make $1.50 profit? It shouldn’t matter if you finish 950th, 400th, 154th or 153rd. You’re playing to win.

With a board of 3c-5c-Js-7c I was put to a decision for all of my chips on the bubble of a large MTT. I held 53o, and was well aware that if I called, dozens of hands beat me - flushes, straights, sets and higher two pairs. But I made the call, because I had a decent read and I didn’t care if I bubbled, and was shown Ac-Jd. The river blanked and I doubled through to 2nd in chips. I went on to take down that tournament, and that hand was a turning point. It was the first time I’ve ever seen an entire table type “good call” into the chatbox too.

So if you’re faced with a big decision on the bubble, treat it as you would any other time. You’re not playing to make less-than-double your buy-in. You’re playing to win.

Categories: Poker Strategy
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Lots of people have trouble with this very simple and fundamental concept in poker, both live and online - I’ve put this in the online poker section, though, as that’s where most people try to build bankrolls.

When deciding how big your bankroll should be you should look at a number of things:

-How much money can you afford to lose? If you only have a part-time job earning $150 a week then it’s not a good idea to start off playing anything higher than the very smallest stakes (this applies even if you’re a poker God).

-What’s your game like? If you’re a Hellmuth-esque nit then you can probably go with the bare minimum of 20-25 buyins. If your game is wildly loose and bluffy then max out. I know one guy who plays NL5 with an $800 roll - he’s a total freakin’ nit when it comes to bankroll management but at least he’ll never go broke. He probably needs it anyway; he raises suited connectors under the gun.

 

For a solid, tight player who isn’t too aggressive, 20 buy-ins is probably enough for full ring cash games, with 25-30 for 6-max. A tight-aggressive player probably needs 25-30 for full ring and 35-40 for 6-max. If you’re an incarnation of Sam Farha go with 50+.

These are all NLHE guides - I’ll leave it to Nima to write the limit section.

I would say have 5x the roll for tourneys that you do for cash - there is far more variance, especially in MTTs. In single-table sit’n'goes you can probably afford to have only a little more in your bankroll than if you’re a cash player. In turbo STTs, you need literally hundreds of buy-ins.

Let’s use an example - Bob is a solid player, who prefers shorthanded cash games playing no limit hold ‘em. He also plays tournaments. His cash game is quite tight for 6-max but he is aggressive; he runs something like 22/18/4.

He plays NL200 but when he’s on a good upswing he’ll occassionally take a shot at NL400. He plays a lot of MTTs, usually freezeouts with a $25-$50 buy-in and some single-table tourneys of the same level, but not many. What is a sensible sized bankroll for him?

a) $4000

b) $15,000

c) $7,000

Answers on a postcard, please - I’ll post tomorrow.

Ciao.

Categories: Online Poker, Poker Strategy
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Omaha Eights-or-Better Hi-Lo Split is in many respects a game of aces. It isn’t terrible advice to throw away any hand without an ace or two in it – they can make the nut straight, the nut flush, top pair and the nut low. They are probably Omaha-8’s greatest weapon.

But in some situations it is advisable to play a hand consisting of only high cards (that is 9 or above). Sometimes it can be profitable to pretend you’re playing Omaha Hi. When? Position helps. If I hold KQJJ in late position after some limpers I will gladly call. One third of all flops will contain two or more high cards. If the turn then comes another high card (not a terribly unlikely outcome) then there is no low hand possible and your high cards can very likely scoop. Added to this, in a multi-way pot many of your opponents will be playing low hands, and those will interfere with each other and lessen the likelihood of a low draw. Let’s look at an example:

You’re playing limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split, $5-$10. An early position player raises the blind to $10 and three people call. You look down on the button at 9TTJ double-suited. You’re getting 4.5-1 on your money and will are 2-1 to have a majority-high flop. You call the $10 and both blinds fold. With a $55 pot the flop is J-5-Q rainbow. You’ve flopped a pair and an open-ended straight draw, and when it is checked to you you bet it and get two callers, both with A-2-4-x. A $75 pot and the turn is a rainbowed 8. You’ve got the nuts and they’re still chasing their low. But there are very few low cards in the deck now after the sensible low chasers folded the flop, and when the turn comes >8 as it usually will your high will scoop the whole pot. Added to this, many players who had a hand like A-A-2-5 might call a river bet, thinking you too were chasing a low and that their pair of aces might be good.

This is a highly contrived example but it just goes to show how playing by the book might not always be proper.

Categories: Poker Strategy
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