Bursting the SNG Bubble

One of the keys to becoming a successful Sit

& Go player is learning to master bubble play. The last thing

anybody wants is to be the Bubble Boy, which means you need to get

the most out of every hand you play during this critical stage. If

you make solid moves from good positions and manage your chip stack

wisely, you'll find yourself in the money before you know it.

Let's say that you're short-stacked with

just five or six big blinds. How you play your hand in this

situation depends less on your cards and more on your position and

the size of the other short stacks at the table. For example, you're

in the small blind and the hand is folded around to you. If the big

blind doesn't have you covered by very much, it's time to jam. This

play makes it really hard for him to call because he's risking his

tournament in a very tenuous spot. You put him in a position where

he's the one who has to call you, and that's a big advantage.

Now let's change things up a little. Say

you're sitting on about eight big bets on the button and the chip

leader is in the big blind. If the action is folded to you in this

situation, you can be much more selective about the hands you play.

You still have plenty of chips to work with before the blinds come

back around, which means you can afford to try and pick your spots.

Personally, I'd fold hands worse than Q-10 here, but I'd probably

play KJ, KQ, any Ace, and all pocket pairs.

If you're sitting on just four or five big

blinds in this same situation, you'll have to open up your game a

little and play more hands. You've got to take some chances here and

get your chips in, even if you may be no better than 50-50. Waiting

isn't an option because the blinds will eat you alive if you let

them.

If you're playing a medium-size stack, you

have more room to play, but still have to be careful about when --

and from where -- you put your chips in the middle. Making a standard

3x or 4x raise with 15 or 16 blinds can still be risky because

there's a good chance a bigger stack will re-raise and try to force

you all-in before the flop. You really can't afford to make that

call without a premium hand like Aces or Kings.

You definitely don't want to call with

something like AK or AQ because you're just a coin-flip against any

pair and are dominated by pocket Aces or Kings. Folding here is a

smarter move, especially if there's a short stack left to play

behind you who is likely to call with a much wider range of hands

and give you a better shot of making the money.

Of course, nothing is more comforting than

having the big stack when you're sitting on the bubble. As the chip

leader, you can practice selective aggression and apply pressure to

the smaller stacks. You especially want to focus on the players in

second and third place, as they aren't going to want to put their

chips at unnecessary risk.

Because the shorter stacks are going to try

to double up through you, you need to be careful about making loose

calls just because you think you can afford them. For example, let's

say the small stack raises 5x the big blind from the button and the

small blind folds. You're in the big blind and it's only four more

bets for you to call, which means your odds are slightly less than

2-1. While calling here may in fact be the right decision, it's not

automatic as far as I'm concerned.

I recommend taking a few seconds to really

think through the situation, even if you're holding a pretty strong

hand like A-8 or up, KQ, KJ, or any pocket pair. Think about your

opponent and how he's been playing. If he raises every time he's in

that spot, widen your calling range. But if he's a particularly good

Sit & Go player or playing tight, he may not play many hands and you

shouldn't call as frequently.

More often than not when I'm the big stack

in this situation, I'm not just flat calling here. Instead, I'm

moving all-in. This is particularly effective because it puts all of

the other players at the table to a tough decision. Again, the

players in second and third aren't likely to get involved without

huge hands, which lets me isolate the smaller stack.

In the end, winning a SNG is about using

whatever edge you've got. When you're down to the final four, take

advantage of position and play your stack aggressively. Know when to

back off and when to go for it. You'll still be at the table -- and

in the money -- when the bubble bursts.

Peter 'Nordberg' Feldman