When you play in large poker tournaments on Full Tilt you will definitely come to the point where you’ve made it deep into one of these tournaments and you’re nearing the payoff bubble. When you’re close to reaching the payouts in a large poker tournament the action often becomes really tight because nobody will want to go out before they make the money. Depending on the size of your chip stack you’re going to need to use some basic strategy in order to make it past the bubble.
* If you have a nice amount of chips in your stack then the only thing you really need to do is sit back and watch the action until you’ve moved into the money positions. There is no reason to take any risks at this point in the tournament if you have a comfortable amount of chips. You should wait until you have made the money before you do anything crazy. Of course if you have a great hand then you need to play it and hope that it holds up, but don’t go crazy with anything unless you have the nuts or close to the nuts.
* If you’re playing the short stack and you’re nearing the bubble then the first thing you need to determine is how many big blinds you have left. If you only have 3-5X the big blind then you’re going to need to make an all-in move unless you’re only one position away from the money and then you could try waiting for someone else to go out although typically they will wait for you to go out. Being in this situation really bites because you’re so close to making the money yet so far due to your chip stack. If you end up going all-in don’t feel bad about losing because there isn’t much you can do when you’re this low.
* If you’re near the bottom of the pokerstar chip stacks, but you’re getting close to the money positions then all you need to do is try and steal one pot every round. Since most players will be playing really tight you can usually steal the blinds once every time around the table which will ensure you aren’t losing any chips. Keep doing this until you’ve made the money on pokerstar and then you can get back to work on increasing your chip stack and making a push for the win.
When you have been playing in a tournament such as the World Series of Poker for a long time you need to make sure that you play really carefully near the bubble. One bad mistake could cost you your entire tournament and you’ll usually feel pretty upset for the next few days which isn’t a good thing either. As long as you don’t make any unneeded risks when you’re playing near the bubble you will be able to make the money without any problems. After making the money you can begin to open up your game again, but don’t do it beforehand unless you have the nuts. If you don’t have the nuts then there is no point in taking any risks until you’ve made your money in the event.