Sit and Go Tournaments: Through the Bubble Strategy

As you get closer to the money bubble, a lot of players will tighten up and try and creep into the money. This can be a strategic mistake, but how you play in this key stage of a sit and go is dependent on your stack size and that’s what we’ll look at in this lesson.

What is the Bubble?

The bubble is defined as the time when the players remaining are down to the last remaining place where a player can get eliminated and not receive any prize money.

In a normal single table SNG then this is when it is down four players. Since three are paid, the “bubble” will soon burst for one of the four. Bubble play is marked by extreme aggression and large all in confrontations. If the stacks are small relative to the size of the blinds, this period of the SNG is completed very quickly.

Depending on the speed with which the first several players were eliminated (and the speed of the increase of the blinds), the average stack at this point could be anywhere from five to twenty big blinds. Somewhere in the middle, around 12 big blinds, is most likely.

How you play this stage of the tournament really depends on your stack size.

Big Stack Bubble Play

If you are fortunate to have the largest remaining chip stack, you are in a commanding position. You are very likely to make the money, especially if the stacks are small (12 BB or less).

Take note of the stacks of the other three players at the table. If the second largest stack is on your right, you have a major advantage acting after them. The second largest stack doesn’t want to bust out, and may avoid confrontations with you — especially if they are a cautious player — knowing that you’re the only one who can knock them out.

In the situation as the big stack, strategically, you’re generally expected to apply pressure to the two short stacks with well-timed all-in bets, only backing off when their stacks get below about 3.5 big blinds. At that point, they’re likely to be pot committed and may feel pressure to call with a very wide range — so aim to have a stronger hand when making your move, especially if you expect them to call.

When you are the big stack in the big blind, you generally should respect raises from the second stack, but be prepared to go over the top if you sense weakness (too many raises, for example). If one of the short stacks goes all in, you’ll often have the correct odds to call if their push was for 3 big blinds (giving you 3-1 pot odds), even with a wide range.

Second Stack Play

In typical Sit and Go tournaments, you will find that the big stack gets very aggressive on the bubble. That’s usually their prerogative, and it is usually wise to let them have their way.

You can get very aggressive when in the money and try to steal that advantage from them, but for now, if the big stack is aggressive, let them knock out the shorties and cruise into the money yourself.

If you are on the big stack’s left, you can take advantage of the times they fold. This leaves you as the effective big stack for that hand, giving you opportunities to raise and apply pressure to the short stacks — particularly when they have at least 3 big blinds, as this gives your raises more folding equity.

Short Stack Play

Playing the short stack on the bubble is a tough situation. If you are very short along with a second short stack, you can afford to be slightly more conservative — looking for an opportunity to raise all in against against the other short stack or second stack to steal the blinds, or waiting to see if another player is eliminated before you.

If you are the only short stack, survival alone is not a viable path. Letting your stack drop below 5 big blinds reduces your ability to make effective moves — so it’s important to pick a spot to move all in when you believe the situation offers the best chance to gain chips — whether by forcing folds or getting called with a weaker hand.