What is the Gap Concept in Poker and How to Beat It

What is the Gap Concept?

The Gap Concept is the idea that you need a better hand to play against someone who has already raised in front of you. The thinking is that players want to avoid situations where someone has already shown strength, unless they know they have a really strong hand.

The advantage to being the first raiser in a hand is that you are using the Gap Concept to your advantage; that is, especially true if players behind you are timid.

In fact, if the players behind you are passive, you want to me more aggressive pre-flop. Rather than limp with calling hands like suited connectors, small pairs, middle pairs, and those trouble hands like K-J and Q-J, come in with a raise. Even if an opponent calls your raise, you can use a continuation bet on the flop to win the pot.

The Reality

You don't want to get in the habit of being a limper in a poker tournament. While you want to vary your play, always think raise first. And, if you are past the middle rounds of a poker tournament, don't even think of calling as the first player in the pot pre-flop. If your hand is good enough to play, it's good enough to raise.

Now, what if you are one of those players who tends to fold to a pre-flop raise, waiting for a premium hand? You are thinking like a player who wants to survive a tournament. If you play to survive, you will surely die.

Don't look to preserve your chips, look to accumulate chips.

In fact, if a player in front of you raises too often, realize that this player can't possibly be getting so many great starting hands. Look to re-raise this player with your calling hands, or any two cards. Make him fear your hand.

In most cases a pre-flop re-raise will get the overly aggressive player to fold. And, of course, even if he calls your re-raise, follow up with a continuation bet on the flop.

The key to winning tournament poker is the raise and not the limp.

Here is the Simple Secret to Winning a Poker Tournament

Here is the secret: Raise. It's that simple. Raise, raise & raise again.

If you are not raising, you are not winning.

Starting at the Middle of the Tournament

In a poker tournament there are opportunities starting from the middle of the tournament to accumulate chips by simply raising without big hands. One reason is that many players want to survive and play it safe. Another reason is that after a long time period, players who know winning poker is aggressive poker, revert back to their comfort zone of playing a smart, cautious style.

When you notice you have fallen into the trap of playing it safe for a long time period, you have an opportunity to raise and steal pots. When you notice that your opponents have fallen back into this style, you have an opportunity to raise and steal pots. You need to accumulate chips, and you can't do that by folding.

Remember that tight, safe play gives you the right to raise and accumulate chips because you have a tight table image. So raise and accumulate chips with a wide range of starting hands.

What about your opponents? Have they tightened up their play? A clear signal of a tight table is when most hands are won without ever seeing the flop. If so, that is another signal for you to raise with a wider range of starting hand.

It takes courage to raise without premium hands but that is exactly what the poker pros do to win a poker tournament.

Early In The Tournament

After reviewing Day 1 of Gus Hansen's Aussie Millions win, I found that only one time did Gus limp early on and win a pot! Of the 40 hands he played that day, just one limp took down the pot! The other times he limped into a hand he lost--and yes, that was only 5 times. (Note: I did not include the times he was in the BB and got to see a flop for free.)

Gus built his starting chip stack from $20,000 to $66,700 on Day 1 by raising. And, he raised with a wide range of hands based on position, cards and his opponents.

So next time you find yourself limping into hands, stop doing it! Raise, raise and raise again.

Pre-Flop Raises: Does Size Matter?

Does the Size of your Pre-flop Raise Give Away Your Hand?

One of the things that is clear from the Twitter responses on what to do with J-J is how pre-flop action differed (here are the results from a prior post on Pocket Jacks).

The key, I think, is that however you played your J-J is not to be a predictable player during the event. If you knew what your opponent has as his hole cards, you'd never lose. So why give away your hand with predictable pre-flop plays.

The other day at the card room a player just limped from an early position and won the pot with a bet on the flop. He revealed pocket Aces before he mucked. As he was stacking his chips, one opponent said "I knew you had aces because you never limp upfront." That was not a complement.

In fact, I think the easiest thing for your opponents to notice is the size of your raise as it relates to the relative strength of your hand.

Pre-Flop Action: Size Matters!

1. Vary your raises based on your position at the table.

I read an article where the author recommended making bigger raises in an upfront position, and smaller ones in the back. I found that to be bad advice since no limit tournaments are a battle for the blinds and antes. Instead, make smaller raises upfront since someone behind you can find a premium hand. And bigger raises in the back position to give the blinds worse pot odds to call your raise.

2. Don't vary your pre-flop raises at all. Be unpredictable by being predictable.

In some tournaments I will raise three times the big blind, whenever I am the first player in a pot. In one of those events, I opened the pot four times in a row with a 3x BB raise. The next hand, another player raised pre-flop the same amount and announced, "Hey, it works for him."

3. Calling is better than limping after the first few rounds of an event.

Let me make a distinction between calling and limping pre-flop, just this one time. Limping is only when you call the big blind or another player who has limped in front of you. Calling is when you call a pre-flop raise.

Since you are battling to win the blinds (and antes), when the blinds get bigger go on the attack and put in a pre-flop raise. If you limp into the hand, you are going to have to make a decision on the flop. If you raise, you may take down the pot without seeing the flop. That is one of the reasons that small ball is effective as a tournament strategy.

Calling is different since you are making a play to win a big pot. For example, a player upfront makes a pre-flop raise and you know they have a big hand. You find pocket 6's. What should you do? Don't fold right away! I will first look at my stack size against my opponent's stack size. If we are both deep in chips, my implied odds are huge, so I will be thinking about calling.

Suggestion:

If you decide how much to raise pre-flop based solely on the strength of your starting hand, you are making a mistake. You need to vary your game, and keep your opponents guessing. You win the most chips when your opponents make mistakes.

Remember a raise pre-flop has an opportunity to take down the pot uncontested, while a limp will always result in seeing a flop.