Gap Theory, or the Gap Concept, was first presented as a tournament strategy by David Sklansky. However, many poker authors have made similar statements regarding calling raises. According to Sklansky, when you consider calling a raise preflop, you need a stronger hand than you need to make the first raise yourself. For experienced, successful players, this concept may seem self-evident, since most players know there is a gap between a hand that can make a successful raise, and one that can call a raise.
In Texas Hold’em, a hand like King-King may always be worthy of a first raise, but a hand like Ace-Jack may not. When played just after the blinds (under the gun), Ace-Jack (suited or not) may not be worthy of a raise, but late in the action, especially close to the button, the hand’s value goes up. It does this because nobody has yet shown strength and because after the flop the hand position figures to be last to act.
For an example, based on the structure of the tournament, your read of your opponents, and your current stack, you might figure any top 20 hand is worth a raise. However, you’ll need to narrow that gap of hands to call a raise. Perhaps there are still three hands you can re-raise with (AA, KK, AK suited), but instead of there being 17 additional hands to get into action with, you might only want to call a raise with three or four. The remaining hands that might have looked good (like that AJ) is probably going to be a fold.
What the Experts Say About Position
According to Doyle Brunson, having position is often more important than holding a hand, and he states that if he had position all night he could play without even looking at his cards.
That’s wonderful. For those of us without his skill and experience, simply understanding that making a raise under the gun requires a very strong hand because it may get played back at (re-raised) is very important, as is knowing that being first to act in each subsequent betting round is a huge disadvantage.
The Gap Concept in Tournament Play
While the concept of gap theory is important in any game of Texas Hold’em, in tournament play it is imperative that a player preserves their chips from bad calls, because (usually) there is no chance to re-buy. In addition, players must battle for the blinds whenever possible. From late position, with either a limper or no players in the hand, players should be fairly liberal raising the pot pre-flop in order to make a steal. When you raise, you can win immediately. When you call a raise, you cannot. That’s critical! A raise from early position says “I have a strong hand,” while a raise from late position says “I have position, but may hold a hand.”
When back to thinking about calling a raise, if your hand isn't stronger than your normal raising range you risk "being dominated." Any time you and your opponent share your biggest card but they have your kicker beaten, you are dominated. When you hold, for example, AJ and your opponent has AK or AQ, you are dominated, and in serious risk of losing your stack if an Ace hits the board.
You can avoid this situation in a tournament by simply narrowing your gap of raise-calling hands. Is that a fancy way of saying play tighter? No. Because that would imply that you aren't playing very many hands at all. The power and rewards of the gap theory is that you will be less likely to get into dangerous pots, and less likely to be dominated, by understanding the range of hands your opponents are likely to raise with, and adjusting your play, and yes, that means tightening up on the hands you are willing to call a raise with, even when you have position.
The Pot Committed Trap
The other side of the gap theory, although sometimes overlooked, is that when you call a raise with a wide-range of hands, especially in a tournament, you are likely to get pot committed. Suppose you have 5000 tournament chips and call 400 under the gun. There is a raise of 1000 and a call, the blinds fold, and now you can call a pot of 3400 for 1000, so you do, with your pocket 9's. You didn't follow the gap theory and fold, so now things go sideways. The flop comes three babies and you bet 1600 so the raiser can't knock you out with a continuation bet. The original raiser comes over the top for another 3000. The other hands fold. Now what?
The pot is 10,600 and you can fold, or call for 2000 and get all in. You are pot committed because you put most of your stack in and the pot is substantial. You are probably a 3-1 dog, but the pot is paying more than 5-1, so you call-off your last 2000 and the raiser shows you Q-Q and you don't improve. Bummer.
The end result is that you risked your tournament against a raiser, with position, on a pair of 9's. That's obviously a mistake. In a limit game you can take that shot and live to play another day. In a tournament your are done for the day. The gap theory is your friend, follow it wisely.
In Texas Hold’em, a hand like King-King may always be worthy of a first raise, but a hand like Ace-Jack may not. When played just after the blinds (under the gun), Ace-Jack (suited or not) may not be worthy of a raise, but late in the action, especially close to the button, the hand’s value goes up. It does this because nobody has yet shown strength and because after the flop the hand position figures to be last to act.
For an example, based on the structure of the tournament, your read of your opponents, and your current stack, you might figure any top 20 hand is worth a raise. However, you’ll need to narrow that gap of hands to call a raise. Perhaps there are still three hands you can re-raise with (AA, KK, AK suited), but instead of there being 17 additional hands to get into action with, you might only want to call a raise with three or four. The remaining hands that might have looked good (like that AJ) is probably going to be a fold.
What the Experts Say About Position
According to Doyle Brunson, having position is often more important than holding a hand, and he states that if he had position all night he could play without even looking at his cards.
That’s wonderful. For those of us without his skill and experience, simply understanding that making a raise under the gun requires a very strong hand because it may get played back at (re-raised) is very important, as is knowing that being first to act in each subsequent betting round is a huge disadvantage.
The Gap Concept in Tournament Play
While the concept of gap theory is important in any game of Texas Hold’em, in tournament play it is imperative that a player preserves their chips from bad calls, because (usually) there is no chance to re-buy. In addition, players must battle for the blinds whenever possible. From late position, with either a limper or no players in the hand, players should be fairly liberal raising the pot pre-flop in order to make a steal. When you raise, you can win immediately. When you call a raise, you cannot. That’s critical! A raise from early position says “I have a strong hand,” while a raise from late position says “I have position, but may hold a hand.”
When back to thinking about calling a raise, if your hand isn't stronger than your normal raising range you risk "being dominated." Any time you and your opponent share your biggest card but they have your kicker beaten, you are dominated. When you hold, for example, AJ and your opponent has AK or AQ, you are dominated, and in serious risk of losing your stack if an Ace hits the board.
You can avoid this situation in a tournament by simply narrowing your gap of raise-calling hands. Is that a fancy way of saying play tighter? No. Because that would imply that you aren't playing very many hands at all. The power and rewards of the gap theory is that you will be less likely to get into dangerous pots, and less likely to be dominated, by understanding the range of hands your opponents are likely to raise with, and adjusting your play, and yes, that means tightening up on the hands you are willing to call a raise with, even when you have position.
The Pot Committed Trap
The other side of the gap theory, although sometimes overlooked, is that when you call a raise with a wide-range of hands, especially in a tournament, you are likely to get pot committed. Suppose you have 5000 tournament chips and call 400 under the gun. There is a raise of 1000 and a call, the blinds fold, and now you can call a pot of 3400 for 1000, so you do, with your pocket 9's. You didn't follow the gap theory and fold, so now things go sideways. The flop comes three babies and you bet 1600 so the raiser can't knock you out with a continuation bet. The original raiser comes over the top for another 3000. The other hands fold. Now what?
The pot is 10,600 and you can fold, or call for 2000 and get all in. You are pot committed because you put most of your stack in and the pot is substantial. You are probably a 3-1 dog, but the pot is paying more than 5-1, so you call-off your last 2000 and the raiser shows you Q-Q and you don't improve. Bummer.
The end result is that you risked your tournament against a raiser, with position, on a pair of 9's. That's obviously a mistake. In a limit game you can take that shot and live to play another day. In a tournament your are done for the day. The gap theory is your friend, follow it wisely.
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