More bubble stories

Here are some more bubble beats:

1 - Small stack goes all-in and I raise all-in with A-J suited. Everyone folds to the button who also goes all-in and just about has me covered. The small stack has K-Js and the bubble has A-7o. No cards come until the river which is the 7 and I go out one away from the money.

2 - I raise all-in when on button with A-K. The big blind calls me and also goes all-in with K-Q. Nothing comes until the river which is a Q.

This week out of 12 tournaments I have gone out on the bubble 7 times. Possibly the worst was the Tuesday night tournament hosted by Tony Holden on Pokerstars where out of 500+ players with the top 54 getting paid I went out in 59th with QQ v 99 and a 9 popping up on the river.

Although the experts suggest you should not try to sneak into the money and should get more aggressive near the bubble if you want to win tournaments (and reap the rewards of 1st place finishes compared to the measly payout for 10th place and below) it sure does not feel that way this week.

In almost all cases I could have waited until getting in the money before getting aggressive. Some of the best young internet players have suggested this is the strategy they follow. Sklansky also suggests it might be a better strategy to follow. But far and away the most common "expert" advice is to get aggressive to try to steal the blinds of all the players who have tightened up. When this works you can really get the opportunity to win the tournament. When it does not work..... well - it just sucks!!