Tournament Poker: The Gap Concept
The term "gap concept" was first introduced by the excellent
poker writer David Sklansky. This concept means that you will
usually need a better hand to play against someone who has opened
the betting than what you need to open with yourself. The difference
between the hand needed to call an opening bet with and the hand
needed to open with is called the gap. Depending on whether your
opponents are playing tight or loose, the width of the gap changes.
The tighter they play the bigger the gap, and the looser they play
the smaller the gap. This means raising when first in with a lot of
hands you would never call a raise with normally. If you are sitting
in late position playing Hold'em with a decent stack and no one has
entered the pot, it would be correct to raise with hands as weak as
22, A-x and K-9s. Of course, if a very aggressive player is sitting
in the blinds and he plays back a lot you will have to be more
selective.
|
