Popping It, Bursting It, And How To Beat The Poker Bubble!

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Bubble Poker

Anyone Who Is New To Poker Or Enjoys A Game May Have Come Across The Term “playing On The Bubble” Or “beating The Bubble” And Wonder Exactly What This Means. This Is Not A Type Of Poker But Is A Stage In The Game Where You Come Away Empty-Handed When You May Have Just Been One Place Away From Winning A Prize! So Let’s Take A Look At This In More Detail So You Can Find Out How To Develop A Strategy And Understand How This Works.

What Is Bubble Poker?

Suppose You Are In A Game Of Poker And 10 People Before You Win Prizes. As The 11th Player You’re The Bubble As You Just Missed A Prize. You May Have Developed A Great Poker Technique But Nevertheless It Can Still Be Difficult To Get Through To The Prize Stage Of The Game. The Bubble Period Of The Game Can Also Be A Strange Period Where Players Change Their Style To Try And Stay Afloat In The Game. Generally, Players Tend To Err Towards One Of Two Types – Those Who Play To Win And Use The Bubble To Their Advantage To Get More Chips, And Those Who Just Want To Survive And Hopefully Go Home With Some Cash.

Poker Terms

It Is Important To Make Sure You Fully Understand Some Key Poker Terminology Before You Proceed With A Game And Some Of The Main Terms That You Will Encounter Include:

  • Blinds: These Are Forced Bets By Players That Are Posted To The Left Of The Dealer Button – The Number Of Blinds Is Normally Two But Can Be From Zero To Three. A Small Blind Is Placed By The Player To The Left Of The Dealer Button And The Big Blind Is Posted By The Next Player To The Left.
  • Folding: This Is When A Player Concedes Their Hand By Discarding The Card When It Is Their Turn In The Betting Round.
  • All-in: This Term Is Used When A Person Puts All Their Chips Into The Pot.
  • Open Raise: This Means To Open The Betting By Coming In With A Raise.

In Bubble Poker The Two Types Of Players Mentioned Above Mean That You Will See Actions Varying From People Who Fold Every Hand Including The Good Ones, Whilst The Other Types Of Player Start To Raise And Go All-In For Many Hands. Therefore, In Order To Decide How You Will Play Your Hand You Will Need To Assess The Quantity Of Your Stack And Keenly Observe How The Other People Are Playing.

Poker Hands

There Are 3 Kinds Of Positions You Could Be In Before The Bubble Hits And This Can Determine How You Should Proceed With The Game:

  • Short Stack: If You Have A Stack Of About 8-10 Big Blinds On The Bubble, You Are Classed As Short-Stacked. This Is Enough To Keep You In The Game And Can Still Pose A Threat To Other Players. However, If You Get Down To 5 Or 6 Big Blinds The Choices Are Limited To Going All-In Or Folding.
  • Medium Stack: With A Medium Stack You May Be Tempted To Stay Under The Radar And Play A Passive Game But That May Not Be The Best Policy As You Will See.
  • High Stack: This Is Obviously The Best Position To Be In And You Can Afford To Have Some Fun And Take A Gamble. Assuming You Have Many More Chips Than The Other Players – And They Are In The Short-Stack Position With Less Than 10 Chips -you Can Try A Number Of Different Hands.

Poker Strategy

Therefore, Based On The Amount Of Chips You Accumulate Before The Bubble, Vary Your Style Of Play Accordingly. If You Are In The Lucky Position Of Having A Big Stack Use This To Play An Aggressive Game And Take Advantage Of Other Players With Less Chips.

If You Are A Medium Stack Player When The Bubble Hits Don’t Play Too Safe Or You Could End Up With A Smaller Prize And A Missed Opportunity To Go For The Bigger Wins. For Short Stack Players You Are Still In With A Chance With Upwards Of 8 Big Blinds And You Can Make A Bold Stance To Players Who You Open Raise To, Unless You Go Down To 5 Or Less.