Tournaments
Bubble in poker
Definition
The stage just before the prize money starts, when one more elimination puts everyone left in the money.
The player who is eliminated on the bubble gets nothing, so the remaining players play tighter and short stacks try to survive. Big stacks use this to apply pressure.
Hand-for-hand play is used on the bubble in live tournaments, where every table plays one hand at a time so that the bubble is fair.
Related terms
- ICM (Independent Chip Model)A model that converts chip stacks in a tournament into real-money equity based on the prize structure.
- Final tableThe last table of a tournament, with the remaining players, usually between six and nine.
- Short stackA stack that is small compared with the blinds, usually below 15 to 20 big blinds.
- SatelliteA tournament whose prizes are seats (entries) in a bigger tournament instead of cash.