Keeping a favorable bubble alive

[Pitcher]

Hi All,

I was playing in a Party Poker $200 NLHE yesterday afternoon when I saw what I thought was a brilliantly executed play of keeping a favorable bubble alive.

The player keeping this bubble alive was profiting immensely and it was starting to put me in a very bad situation. I had to give up 2 rounds of blinds to all in bets while this was going on. I finally had to go all in with Ax to break it up several hands later. In other words, he had me right where he wanted me! /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t300 (4 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

SB (t6515)
BB (t220)
Hero (t2570)
Button (t695)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with T/images/graemlins/club.gif, 3/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
Hero folds, Button calls t300, SB completes.

Flop: (t820) 9/images/graemlins/spade.gif, K/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(3 players) </font>
SB checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t820) 9/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(3 players) </font>
SB checks, Button checks.

River: (t820) Q/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="blue">(3 players) </font>
<font color="CC3333">SB bets t400</font>, Button folds.

Final Pot: t1220
<font color="#990066">Main Pot: t820 (t820), won by SB.</font>
<font color="#990066">Pot 2: t400 (t400), between SB and BB.</font> &gt; <font color="white">Pot won by BB (t400).</font>

Results in white below: <font color="white">
SB shows 2s 8c (two pair, queens and nines).
BB shows Th Ad (two pair, queens and nines).
Outcome: SB wins t820. BB wins t400. </font>

[La Brujita]

Very interesting post. I am still mulling over whether or not it is a brilliant play but it is something I have never thought of.

[CountDuckula]

What exactly do you mean by "keeping a bubble alive"? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but this is new to me.

-Mike

[SossMan]

He means betting at a dry side pot in order to keep running over the table by playing on player's reluctance to get tangled up with the big stack when they are on the bubble.

He had nothing to gain by betting when he couldn't have beat the all in player, but knocking out the button other than the fact that there were still 4 players left.

Since he had such a high percentage of the chips in play, the bubble doesn't really affect him. It's an interesting play.

[Losing all]

hmmm, this is interesting. He either pulled an expert play, bubble boy was his boyfriend, or maybe a slight chance he just made a bonehead play(he's probably not drool bucket folk, or you would have mentioned it).

If this is truely an expert play, I don't think I'll ever be one. I just can't see the downside of getting out of this preflop (if you must play joe bully, even with the second worst hand you can get, put the button allin or out preflop)

what's the downside of letting the button knock him out?
6365, 2570, 1065 edge, and 100% chance of money doesn't look too bad to me. Say the baby stack wins, it's still 6365, 2570, 590, 475. nice position, and the button.

I just don't see how this is an expert play, and the more I think about it the more I'm leaning towards bad play over cheating. btw- nice limp by the button, what a horrible position to put yourself in. I'd rather push with any hand that had good chances of beating 1 of them than that mess.