Improving bubble play

[snayan]

I've played about 130 10+ 1 SnGs to date and the results have been alright, i have a ROI of about 17%, not good... but to make money while learning i'm happy. i play a pretty typical game, tight for the first 3-4 levels of blinds. but my bubble play is less than great. Is there anything in particular i can read/do to improve my play? would anyone be willing to critic my play if i posted one or two games? thanks

[Myst]

Remember this sentence and youll do well.
Push more. Call less.

[DangerGoodson]

[ QUOTE ]
Push more. Call less.

[/ QUOTE ]
100% true
Beyond level 3 if I'm playing I'm usually raising, and usually those raises are all-in.

[snayan]

on this note... this may be a weakness in my play, what exactly should i push with, i find myself pushing to much with low/middle PPs when i'm short/middle stack with 4-6 players left(so many 10+1s going to level 5/6/7 with 4/5/6 players left lately.... its getting rought)

In short.. when do i push?

[wiggs73]

Well, 6 way, your pushing standards should obviously be higher. So once action gets to 6 way or so, and blinds are significant, it is an absolute must to start stealing. Raise the blinds with reasonable hands. Continuation bets also become quite important here. You're often heads up if you get called on a steal attempt, so even if the flop missed you, there's a good chance it missed your sole opponent as well. And since you showed strength pre-flop, he is likely to fold to a bet on the flop. Obviously, there are times not to do this. Say for example, you raised pre-flop with 99 and the flop comes AKT with 2 clubs. If someone called your raise, they are likely to have a significant part of this flop. However, if you raised with AK and got called and the flop comes 249 rainbow, then fire away.

The decision to raise or push comes down to stack sizes. If you're the short stack, the only way you have any real fold equity is to push. If you're the big stack, you can steal with rather modest raises because people will be scared to play with you since you can take them out. You can win more blinds with less risk this way.

Basically, I've found that the key to good bubble play is controlled aggression. You certainly want to open up your play from when the table was full, but at the same time, 6-way action is not quite the time to go into push / fold mode unless you have a short stack. Steal when you can, but try to make sure if ALL your chips go in, you have the best of it. Be more aggressive 5 way, and more aggressive than that 4 way. I really cannot stress enough the importance of stealing blinds at this level of play.

If you really want help, post some hand histories and let people critique them. It'll probably help a lot more than just getting general advice.

[El Maximo]

Do a search on "Shove EV". This was a great article that helped me improve my bubble play. Get Poker Stove and start using it.