Do you use it #4-The Gap Concept

[ungarstu132]

The Gap Concept is very well known among intermediate to advanced poker players. The difference between the hands would would CALL A RAISE with, and the hands you would RAISE with is refered to as the "Gap Concept".

In holdem, you can raise with quite a variety of hands, BUT you would NOT CALL A RAISE with that wide variety of hands. The hands you would CALL A RAISE with would have to be much stronger.

For example:

Seat 1-SB 50
Seat 2-BB 100
Seat 3-Folds
Seat 4-Folds
ME (seat 5)- I hold AJ, a decent hand, and im in middle position, so i will raise to 350 (a standard raise, see Do you use it #1-The standard raise for more details)

BUT, say that this happened

Seat 1-SB 50
Seat 2-BB 100
Seat 3-Folds
Seat 4- Bets 350
ME (seat 5)-I still hold AJ, but i definatly am not going to call or raise with this hand because there is a raise in front of me. I am folding without even thinking. This is called the GAP CONCEPT.

See, i would raise with AJ if there were no prior bets, but once sombody bets before me, i am folding my AJ.

This shows that it takes a STRONGER hand to CALL a raise, than it does to MAKE A RAISE.

Many players make the mistake of not knowing what the Gap Concept is. If you call a raise with AJ everytime, you will net a LARGE LOSS. And this applies to MANY of those hands you would raise with, that ARE NOT premium hands.

I hope many players here can learn from this and improve their game !!

I would like to hear other opinions on this, and if you use the GAP CONCEPT or not.

Im glad I can help this community on poker players !!

[frob23]

It should probably be noted that the gap concept applies much more strongly for tournament play and that it applies to more than just Hold'em. In almost any game, you need a stronger hand to call than you would to open raise. In extremely loose games there might be no gap but beyond that, it should play a role in your hand selection. How large of a role is based on the magnitude of the gap.

Where the stacks are especially deep, people aren't worried about going broke, and where you can rebuy... the gap is not going to be very large. The reason the much larger gap exists in a tournament is because players are less likely to play weak hands and risk going broke with them. In limit tournaments, the gap concept is so strong that it becomes almost certainly wrong to limp with any hand you would open with (barring extremely weird circumstance). This doesn't fully apply in NL because you don't know how much a raise might cost you but you should still lean towards open raising any hand you would be willing to play.

Also this applies not just for calling a raise. ". . . in a tournament it is often right to open raise with hands far inferior to those you would need to call someone else who open raised." -Sklansky in "Tournament Poker For Advanced Players" [emphasis mine]

Basically, you should be raising with weaker hands than you could call with if someone open raised from that same position. This is the real power of the gap concept. Understanding that you need to have stricter calling requirements because of the gap is simple. But you need to have looser open raising requirements because of that same gap and because gap-aware players will be unable to call without strong hands.

Also, the gap concept applies less when the people at your table are unaware of it and are likely to open weak. Those same players, who are not aware of the gap concept, will also call more often so you will need to tighten your open raising requirements back up. Knowing if your opponents are aware of the gap concept is especially important in determining how strong the gap might be. In the same respect, if a player on your right is obviously very aware of the gap concept when it comes to open raising then you might need to lower your standards to call because his actual gap is less than normal.

I use the gap concept all the time, although cautiously at the start of a tournament when open raising until I get a feel for the table.

[ungarstu132]

It should probably be noted that the gap concept applies much more strongly for tournament play and that it applies to more than just Hold'em. In almost any game, you need a stronger hand to call than you would to open raise. In extremely loose games there might be no gap but beyond that, it should play a role in your hand selection. How large of a role is based on the magnitude of the gap.

Where the stacks are especially deep, people aren't worried about going broke, and where you can rebuy... the gap is not going to be very large. The reason the much larger gap exists in a tournament is because players are less likely to play weak hands and risk going broke with them. In limit tournaments, the gap concept is so strong that it becomes almost certainly wrong to limp with any hand you would open with (barring extremely weird circumstance). This doesn't fully apply in NL because you don't know how much a raise might cost you but you should still lean towards open raising any hand you would be willing to play.

Also this applies not just for calling a raise. ". . . in a tournament it is often right to open raise with hands far inferior to those you would need to call someone else who open raised." -Sklansky in "Tournament Poker For Advanced Players" [emphasis mine]

Basically, you should be raising with weaker hands than you could call with if someone open raised from that same position. This is the real power of the gap concept. Understanding that you need to have stricter calling requirements because of the gap is simple. But you need to have looser open raising requirements because of that same gap and because gap-aware players will be unable to call without strong hands.

Also, the gap concept applies less when the people at your table are unaware of it and are likely to open weak. Those same players, who are not aware of the gap concept, will also call more often so you will need to tighten your open raising requirements back up. Knowing if your opponents are aware of the gap concept is especially important in determining how strong the gap might be. In the same respect, if a player on your right is obviously very aware of the gap concept when it comes to open raising then you might need to lower your standards to call because his actual gap is less than normal.

I use the gap concept all the time, although cautiously at the start of a tournament when open raising until I get a feel for the table.

thanx for the reply, and i agree completly..

any other opinions...??

[Latrocinium]

I was aware of the gap concept from the same place as frob. (got my quote, lol)

I do use it, but more when my game starts to loosen up. At the beginning of a tournament or when the table gets full again. I tighten up. If I come out firing, chances are I'm the favorite.
But as the table tightens up or more players drop. I open up, then I start applying things like the gap.

I'd say I start to loosen up, when there's 7 players left at the table. By the time it's 5 I'm fairly aggressive and I start raising preflop more. So then I apply the gap concept.

Like frob said

I use the gap concept all the time, although cautiously at the start of a tournament when open raising until I get a feel for the table.

You have to watch yourself in the beginning of a tourney and a full table.

[ungarstu132]

I was aware of the gap concept from the same place as frob. (got my quote, lol)

I do use it, but more when my game starts to loosen up. At the beginning of a tournament or when the table gets full again. I tighten up. If I come out firing, chances are I'm the favorite.
But as the table tightens up or more players drop. I open up, then I start applying things like the gap.

I'd say I start to loosen up, when there's 7 players left at the table. By the time it's 5 I'm fairly aggressive and I start raising preflop more. So then I apply the gap concept.

Like frob said You have to watch yourself in the beginning of a tourney and a full table.

are you refering to sngs, because in mtts, tables dont lose players till the last 5 tables

[Latrocinium]

are you refering to sngs, because in mtts, tables dont lose players till the last 5 tables

yeppers or shootouts or final tables

[ungarstu132]

yeppers or shootouts or final tables

then you are very correct, and i have had A LOT of experience with that because im a major sng and mtt playerl.....

any specific thoughts to mtts...oter than the C bet works great when you get to 50/100 blinds?

[Latrocinium]

mtts are a funny beast. You never get that break you do in the sng's. (By the table going down in size)
You can build a stack quick @ 6p sng table. 50/100. After they've seen you be nothing but TAG for those first 2/3 ppl.(Depending on where u play)

I will c bet more like 80-90% in a mtt. The players are usually changing out pretty quick. So they are less likely to see a pattern.
However, if people start to stay at my table. Then I revert to my sng strategy.
Unless I've built a decent stack. Then I will tend to bully. jus a lil. lol


Although, I would have to say that the gap concept before the table starts to shrink. Is a hole in my game. I should probably make an attempt to use it, but the tables I get there's usually a lot of preflop action. Before I can get to it too.

[ungarstu132]

mtts are a funny beast. You never get that break you do in the sng's. (By the table going down in size)
You can build a stack quick @ 6p sng table. 50/100. After they've seen you be nothing but TAG for those first 2/3 ppl.(Depending on where u play)

I will c bet more like 80-90% in a mtt. The players are usually changing out pretty quick. So they are less likely to see a pattern.
However, if people start to stay at my table. Then I revert to my sng strategy.
Unless I've built a decent stack. Then I will tend to bully. jus a lil. lol


Although, I would have to say that the gap concept before the table starts to shrink. Is a hole in my game. I should probably make an attempt to use it, but the tables I get there's usually a lot of preflop action. Before I can get to it too.

thanx for the great reply....any other opinions?