Playing the Bubble with a Deep Stack

Being deep stacked on the bubble of a SNG is the ideal situation to be in. It's less stressful than being an average or short stack for one thing. It's also much harder to bubble when you're deep stacked, much less finish in a worse position outside the top 2-3 spots depending on the SNG you're playing. It's just difficult to screw anything up as a deep stack on the bubble period.

And yet, I think that presents a problem. Players who have deep stacks on the bubble tend to tighten up a bit. They either are afraid they'll screw up or they become temporarily complacent. They have a lot of chips, so they have nothing to fear.

These are bad feelings to have on the bubble, both for the same reason. I'll explain what that reason is and how you should approach a SNG bubble as a deep stack below.

How NOT to Play a Deep Stack on a SNG Bubble

As I said above, many players are either timid or complacent on the bubble. This is not the way to play the bubble as a deep stack.

The reason why this isn't the way to play the bubble is because the bubble doesn't usually end quickly. It can last a long time seeing as how everyone is trying to hold on and make it into the money. And until it bursts, you're going through the blinds at the rate of once every 3-4 hands or so. At that rate, it'll only take a few orbits for your deep stack to dwindle down to an average stack. Then you're back to worrying about bubbling and having to take the risk of playing marginal hands just to stay afloat.

How to Play a Deep Stack on the Bubble

The better approach to playing the bubble is to play it aggressively. There are a number of ways to do this. Some ways are going to be better than others depending on how deep you are and how deep you are in relation to the other players.

One of the ways I like to play aggressively on the bubble is by shoving any two cards when I'm first to act. The reason why you're able to do is ICM - the other players cannot call you light.

The best situations do this in is when the shortest stack isn't in the hand. For example, say you were the chip leader in an 18-man SNG and were in the cutoff. The player under the gun is the shortest stack who folds. This is such a great spot to shove in because no one wants to fold before the short stack, especially since he's going to go through the blinds next.

To better show you what I mean, take a look at this individual hand history. If you have a hand history replayer, just copy/paste the hand into notepad and drag/drop the .txt file into it.

PokerStars Game #49287740739: Tournament #308951400, $6.00+$0.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2010/09/07 16:01:15 PT [2010/09/07 19:01:15 ET]
Table '308951400 2' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: ijzercart (3644 in chips)
Seat 2: El Stricho (6701 in chips)
Seat 5: NTL89 (1325 in chips)
Seat 7: MATTGEER (11485 in chips)
Seat 9: Pipe E.M. (3845 in chips)
ijzercart: posts the ante 25
El Stricho: posts the ante 25
NTL89: posts the ante 25
MATTGEER: posts the ante 25
Pipe E.M.: posts the ante 25
ijzercart: posts small blind 200
El Stricho: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MATTGEER [2h Th]
NTL89: folds
MATTGEER: raises 11060 to 11460 and is all-in
Pipe E.M.: folds
ijzercart: folds
El Stricho: folds
Uncalled bet (11060) returned to MATTGEER
MATTGEER collected 1125 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1125 | Rake 0
Seat 1: ijzercart (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: El Stricho (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: NTL89 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: MATTGEER collected (1125)
Seat 9: Pipe E.M. (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

As you can see, I shoved super wide here because of the short stack sitting out. What else is great about this shove is that I'm going into the 2nd deepest stack at the table. He's the one who has to call me the tightest - something like QQs or KKs plus.

Now, if you can't avoid the shortest stack from being in the hand, than at least try not to shove any two when he's in the big blind. This player is going to call you the lightest, has the most money invested and will have the best odds. If you do decide to go ahead and shove, it should at least be something with showdown value.

Something you will need to adjust for is the players who have shown that can call light (incorrectly) or a random maniac. You won't want to shove as wide as 100%, but with hands that will play well if called like strong aces, kings or hands that won't likely be dominated like suited connectors.

Another aggressive strategy I use as a deep stack on the bubble is to 3-bet shove ATC. It's the same idea as open-shoving ATC except this time you're doing it to someone who opened.

This is a really gross way to abuse the bubble because it's obvious that the opener liked his or her hand enough to open-raise with it. It just puts them into such an awkward spot. They can call, race and take the risk of bubbling or they can fold and give up a large portion of their stack.

Just like open-shoving ATC, it's best to avoid doing this to the shortest stacks. If they're opening, especially instead of open shoving, it's likely for value. Even if it's not it's unlikely that they'll fold. You're much better off shoving into deeper stacks that have more tournament equity at risk.

Here is an example of a 3-betting spot. Again, just copy/paste into notepad and upload the .txt file into your replayer.

PokerStars Game #49287597296: Tournament #308951400, $6.00+$0.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2010/09/07 15:57:09 PT [2010/09/07 18:57:09 ET]
Table '308951400 2' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: ijzercart (8532 in chips)
Seat 2: El Stricho (6163 in chips)
Seat 5: NTL89 (1250 in chips)
Seat 7: MATTGEER (7135 in chips)
Seat 9: Pipe E.M. (3920 in chips)
ijzercart: posts the ante 25
El Stricho: posts the ante 25
NTL89: posts the ante 25
MATTGEER: posts the ante 25
Pipe E.M.: posts the ante 25
NTL89: posts small blind 200
MATTGEER: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to MATTGEER [7d 9h]
Pipe E.M.: folds
ijzercart: folds
El Stricho: raises 800 to 1200
NTL89: folds
MATTGEER: raises 5910 to 7110 and is all-in
El Stricho: folds
Uncalled bet (5910) returned to MATTGEER
MATTGEER collected 2725 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2725 | Rake 0
Seat 1: ijzercart folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: El Stricho (button) folded before Flop
Seat 5: NTL89 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: MATTGEER (big blind) collected (2725)
Seat 9: Pipe E.M. folded before Flop (didn't bet)

With this hand, notice that I have the button covered by only 1k chips or so. This is very important. If we were closer to being equal, it'd be a much harder spot to 3-bet stuff it in. Something else I want to point out in this particular spot is that although I'm not the deepest stack at the table, pulling this move off increases my stack enough to be tied with first. One more play and I will be the chip leader. The difference between taking a spot like this or not can easily ride on whether or not I'll be the chip leader afterward.

Summary of How to Play a Deep Stack on the Bubble

The last thing you want to be as a deep stack on the bubble of a SNG is timid, passive or complacent. What ends up happening more often than not is your stack dwindling down to the point where you aren't a deep stack anymore, but an average or short stack. Then you're back to worrying about whether or not you'll cash at all.

Instead, the best strategy to playing with a deep stack on the bubble is to be selectively aggressive. By open-shoving or 3-betting with any two cards (or close to it), you exploit the fact that the other players can't really call you, all the while building your lead further and making it more likely that you'll take the entire SNG down.