The Bubble is considered by many to be the worst finishing position in a Poker Tournament. It is defined as the highest finishing position in the Tournament which DOESN’T get any prize or payout. I can vouch for it personally as I’ve Bubbled Out a few times and it really sucks to play for hours, get so close and miss out. I’d rather be the first player eliminated from the Tournament than finish with the Bubble and since many others feel the same way it does change the way the game is played late in the Tournament when the Bubble gets close...
Some players focus purely on Surviving the Bubble stage while others will take a few small risks to increase the chance of eliminating someone. Then there are those who exploit other players fear of Bubbling to ramp up their aggression with Bullying Tactics. For me, when I started I would just focus on Survival but recently I have been taking a few more risks...however that can easily backfire as it did for me in my last outing.
Often when there are 1 or more Short Stacks when the Bubble is looming it is not hard to get them All-In on a hand. The Blinds are usually getting quite big at this stage and Short Stacks often have no choice but go All-In when the Big Blind inevitably comes around and especially if their stack is less than 1 Big Blind itself. In that scenario I’ve noticed there are some people who will Limp In on the Pot and just Check Down all the Streets to let everyone get to Showdown and increase the likelihood that the Short Stack will be eliminated by one of the several players remaining. Technically it’s not Collusion for multiple players to do this, but it can be an unspoken understanding that Limping and Checking with multiple players is a good strategy to eliminate a Short Stack and get past the Bubble….
Not everyone agrees though. When a Short Stack is All-In then usually there is a Side Pot put aside – which is all that the Short Stack can win and the remaining players with LIVE stacks can bet into a NEW Main Pot. This is called a Dry Pot when there is nothing in it – as is often the case when 2 or more players just Limp or Call the Short Stacks All-In. When one of those deeper stacked players Bets Into a Dry Pot with Cards still to come out, they better be having a good hand and I’ve seen more than one unhappy player fold to a big Raise in this scenario because they were forced out of an opportunity to eliminate a player and get past the Bubble.
This is similar to what happened to me in my last game. I had Limped into a Short Stacked All-In alongside 2 other Deep Stacked players with a hand that I probably should have folded (Ace + Four of Clubs). I thought I could get a Cheap Draw while the Streets were Checked Down. After the Flop I hit the Four and one Club, but one of the other players started Betting. I was annoyed but called him because I wanted to eliminate the Short Stack and then a 2nd Club came out on the Turn. Now I had a Flush Draw with Bottom Pair and the best Over Card so I had a good number of OUTS and I shoved my Stack with a Semi-Bluff….got Called….missed my OUTS and got eliminated when my opponent turned over Top Pair. On the bright side the Short Stack WAS eliminated at the same time and so he got the Bubble and I ended up with a Min-Cash payout. I'm still kicking myself for playing that hand though. It definitely pays to know the sorts of players you’re on a table with and keep your cool.
