Not bursting the bubble can help reduce stacks and make final-table action more interesting
There are some players out there who like using the tactic of keeping the bubble of a Sit-and-Go Texas Hold’em tournament alive to continue to abuse it. It is something that is typically done by keeping constant pressure on the bigger stacks at the table, as well as giving the shortest stacks walks without caring for what cards you are holding or the odds you might be getting. By doing this, when the bubble finally bursts, everyone is so short in their stacks that the mission to kick out players becomes a lot easier.
Like everything in poker, there are several factors that need to be considered before deciding whether to keep that bubble alive or not. The first thing to consider is the size of your own stack. As a general rule of thumb, if you have at least 1- to 1.5-time chip lead over the player that has the second-largest stack, it is worth trying. It doesn’t make any sense to keep the bubble going if you don’t have enough stack to abuse it.
Another factor to consider is your position in relation to the deep and short stacks. The best position to be in is where the short stack is to your immediate right and the deeper stacks are to your left. In that way, you can fold to the short stack when necessary and open-shove next to abuse the deeper stacks. If your position is backward; however, it might still be possible though it will be more difficult. You can still fold to the player with short stack to keep him in the game but when you need that player to fold it might be harder because he is the one who needs to gamble the mot to build that stack up.
