Gap Concept in Sit N Go's

[Pitcher]

Hi All,

This was mentioned in the post about patience and I had to chime in about something. I am normally the only player on the table that uses the Gap Concept. Few of my opponents on Party Poker are aware of it. They call with marginal hands late in tourneys all the time and it is very problematic because whether they hit or not, they will play back at you. Being generally cautious, I tend to give up in these situations. That is why my table image is so important because it keeps some players from calling with marginal holdings. Why they don't call has nothing to do with Gap Concept and everything to do with fear that you are playing premium or above average cards.
I always keep the Gap Concept in mind when calling raises, but some players will attempt to steal every time with anything. You can't throw every hand away, so I pick a hand that is better than a random hand and play back at these players. Once is usually enough if you win the hand....if not, you may have to do this several times. This is counter to the Gap Concept.

Pitcher

[Utah]

I pick a hand that is better than a random hand and play back at these players. Once is usually enough if you win the hand....if not, you may have to do this several times. This is counter to the Gap Concept

I dont think this is really counter to the gap concept. You are stealing and you are using your image to do so. That is different than tangling with marginal hands.

You pointed out the problem with the steal. The person who keeps stealing might be thinking, "Okay, he had a good hand that time. Big deal. Back to business as usual. He is still an easy steal target".

Because of this, I will often play back at them strongly with a weak hand and I will show them the hand to let them know that I am not just playing premium hands and they are in danger of being reraised when they try and steal. I find this slows them up much more.