You may have heard something called the Gap concept in online poker tournaments before but were unsure of what it was. Well the gap concept basically implies that we need a stronger hand to call a raise with, than we need to actually raise with if we are the the first to act in a hand. For poker tournament strategy, understanding this in critical.

Originally described by this guy, David Sklansky in his game changing book, Tournament Poker for Advanced Players. In it he gives an example of folding KsQh to a early position raiser, but raising with that same hand if you are the first one in the pot. Now the range of this gap will be effected based upon how tight or loose your opponents play, but in tournaments the idea here is that you avoid confrontations with player who show strength from early position, while seeking opportunities to put pressure on players behind you who do not want to waste chips.

 

 

Here is a typical hand that many new players misplay, not understanding the Gap concept. You are in middle position with AJs and you are facing a raise from an early position player. Well in this spot, AJos can get you in a lot of trouble. Firstly, a raise from early position could very well mean you are getting involved in a dominated situation. Secondly half the table still has to act behind you now with very good odds to get involved in this hand with a wide range of hole cards, perhaps even reraise you. Also, the chances are the flop is going to completely miss your hand, and you won't really know where you are in the hand, even if all players miss. As you can see, to call here is potentially asking for a series of difficult, even costly decisions.

Now does this mean you should never play AJs when there is a raise in front of you in a poker tournament?? Well, no, of course not. Even though most of the time it probably is a fold, it really all depends on your opponent's starting hand range. The more hands he plays, the wider his range. In fact, if he plays let's say 50% of the hands dealt to him, then there is really no GAP at all with your AJos, and I would strongly consider a reraise here to isolate a player who you are very likely ahead of pre-flop. With this move, you also take control of the hand with position on him.

Now if he is a tight player and preflop raises very little, your AJos can be up against hands like these, AK, AQ, KK, AA, QQ, JJ which will more than likely be disastrous for you. This a very narrow GAP for you. In fact the best you can hope for is if he has an under-pair, but that may still mean difficult post-flop play for you.

 

So even though the GAP concept dictates you need a better hand to call a raise with, than you need to raise with, the real determination for your decision may very well be what range of hands you can put your opponent on. Don't forget to try Tournament Indicator which keeps track of what hands player play, and how often your opponent plays them, so you will have a very accurate idea of their range.