Tournament Theory – The Gap Concept

The gap concept is fundamental if you want to be a successful tournament player. In essence it means that a hand that you call a bet with, generally need to be stronger than one you open the betting with yourself. The difference between the calling hand and the betting hand is called “The Gap”. The size of the gap depends on the playing style of your opponents. Against tight players the gap is wider and against loose players the gap is narrower. The reason for this is that tight players only play strong hands – loose players have much lower standards.