The bubble is the period of the tournament just before the payout slots are reached. The imminence of payment for the players changes the dynamic of the tournament considerably.
Many players will look to be locking up a return on their investment and their play will become more passive, ensuring they aren’t knocked out just before the money.
This is sensible, right?
Well it may be sensible but it isn’t the correct strategy if you are looking to maximise your return.
Gun for the top spots
The payout slots around the bubble will be smallish, usually just 120-200% of your investment, whilst the really decent payout slots are on the final table and the top few places.
Bear in mind you should always be gunning for these spots as finishing first one time in 20 is usually considerably better than finishing in 19 min-cash positions.
With this thought at the forefront of your mind, take more risks around the bubble. Raise more frequently – take advantage of other players’ passivity. Go on the attack.
Picking Targets
Medium and small stacks should be your prey in this situation. They will be the most at risk of getting knocked out and will likely be the most cautious types of players, so be prepared to raise their blinds, and also to put pressure on their raises by moving all-in should they raise in likely steal positions (late position etc.).
There are plenty of chips for collecting around the bubble so make sure they end up in your stack.Players may start to limp in, unwilling to build pots with medium strength hands. If you get a number of limpers when it comes round to you, consider making a big raise or moving all-in to pick up this dead money.
Watch Out For The Big Stacks
Big stacks may also be looking to muscle in on the action, so you may target their raises by moving all-in. Apply common sense to these situations as well though.
If a very tight player makes a raise, consider they may well have a premium hand and be prepared to back off. If there is a lunatic on the table, who is going hell-for-leather, consider re-stealing their raises rather than raising and being forced off your hand when they move all-in.
Also, bear in mind the bigger stacks will be able to put more pressure on you, so exercise some caution when raising their blinds.
Overall though put the pedal to the metal and build your stack through this period. You may fall afoul every so often and find yourself on the rail and bubbling, but if you can use the bubble period as a key time to accumulate chips, you will find yourself winning more tournaments.
After you’ve mastered bubble strategy you can move on to the finer arts of MTT final table tactics.