Fear the Reaper, Not the Bubble
By: SCOTT MERSKY

Here's the situation:

You are playing in a 10 person sit-n-go Texas Holdem tornament. There are 4 players left, including you. Only the top 3 players will cash. How do you maximize your chances of cashing?

The situation I described above is called being on the bubble. DON'T FEAR IT. This is your chance to shine. As a general rule, this is the time when players are much more likely to fold to pre-flop raises and check raises than any other. Why? because they have made it this far in the tournament and want to make sure they are "in the money". TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. Forget what you learned in Sunday school (i.e. Thou Shall Not Steal". In poker, stealing is a good thing. A good rule of thumb is to try to steal at least once every time around the table to pay for your blinds. Also, don’t let other players bet you out pre-flop if you have a decent hand in decent position. Perhaps most importantly, DON'T BE AFRAID TO LOSE. In general you will find that the most successful tournament players are fearless!

Here are several other really good tips for playing on the bubble.

If you have made it this far by playing tight and you have a short stack LOOSEN up your game. Here’s why:

1) Players that have watched you only play premium hands respect you, but more to the point, they respect your raises.

2) At this point in the game it is safe to assume the blinds are taking their toll on your stack. If you keep folding the blinds and not reloading it won’t matter if your next hand is monster because you will at best get to where you were 3 trips around the table ago. DON'T GET BLINDED OUT.

Once again, BE FEARLESS!!! You will cash in many more tournaments if you are.

On the other hand, if you have gotten this far in the tournament by catching some nice draws and you are the large stack, and are folding your small blinds every trip around the table, you are giving away your money. THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO BE CHARITABLE. Don’t play loose, but don’t just give your chips away by folding. You are the king of the table and in the best position to make other players lose. If you were picked on in school by a bully, now is the chance to turn the tables, BULLY other players around with middle pairs or a flush draw and watch what happens. Sure, you may double up a shorter stack, but more often than not, they are going to fold.

Repeat to yourself "FEAR IS MY ALLY AND I WILL USE IT TO MY ADVANTAGE." Don’t fear the bubble, and you will win more tournaments.

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