The Gap Concept is a poker theory which applies to both poker tournaments and cash games. It was first introduced with the famed poker author David Sklansky also it’s an important concept for every serious poker player.
Simply speaking, the Gap Concept states that it requires a stronger hand to call a raise than it will not make a raise yourself.
Let us use an example to Sky777 Login the Gap Concept:
Let’s say you’re sitting in centre position with a hand such as ATs. Under ordinary conditions, it could have been a totally acceptable play to start the pot with a raise with this hand. But what if somebody in early position creates a raise first? In that situation, you almost certainly wouldn’t need to telephone because the hands is too iffy to play with an early position raiser.
That is a perfect example of this Gap Concept. Since you can see, there is a difference between the comparative strength of this hand in each circumstance. After increasing, we feel totally at ease our hand nevertheless if facing an increase, we fold the exact same hand.
Momentum
The Gap Concept is present as it requires less strength to make a raise as it will not predict a raise. Once you lift with one hand, you also have the benefit of momentum moving into the hand. When you’re the raiser, it’s easier to get your opponents to fold because you’ve already shown strength.
On the opposite side, it has a stronger hand to call a raise because you lack momentum. You’ll need to fight harder to get the pot because your hand appears counter. In order to obtain your opponent to fold, you will need to gamble more money by making a raise (where as he simply has to produce a bet).
Position
When an opponent increases first and it’s your turn to do something, that translates to the competitor is acting out of an earlier position than you personally. As you should remember out of basic poker strategy, individuals are inclined to play stronger hands from early position.
When we look back to our example from above, the competitor that increased was in early position. Whenever some one rises from early position, he knows he still has to find beyond every other man at the table. This early position raiser believes his hand is stronger than everybody’s hands without even having seen their handson.
Using the Gap Concept
The Gap Concept will eventually develop into an instinctive part of your poker game. You understand that when folks raise before you, you need to get a stronger hand to predict this raise. There are always exceptions to this rule however it’s really a generally safe rule to followalong with
Steal the Blinds
Once you’re playing in late position and that the dining table has folded around to you, you can raise with a wider range of handson.
As you’ve got the bonus of momentum and so are up against fewer hands, you are able to raise weaker hands than you could from any different position. The alternative applies to a competitors that have to behave out of location. They will have to possess stronger hands to shield their blinds due to the fact that they don’t have the initiative and so they’ll certainly be working from out of position.
Defend the Blinds
If you are the person in early position and you suspect somebody is using the Gap Concept to steal your blinds, you’ll be able to counter that by putting in a re-raise your self. You know that there’s a good chance they are raising with a poor hand. So it is possible to represent an even stronger hand by building a re-raise from out of position.
Naturally, your opponents will probably realize that some times you’re simply making a defensive play and so they’ll play straight back in you with still another raise. At that stage, you should have to work out whether or not you are thinking on precisely the same degree as your opponent. Some times he really can possess a solid hand.