• Poker Stone Bubbler
• Stone Bubble Poker Meaning

Action is over on Day 1 of EPT Online 19: $530 NLHE [8-Max], and the day ended with players on the stone bubble. There are 120 players coming back for Day 2 action, but only 119 of them will get paid. 'julik433' leads the way into the second day of play with more than 2.5 million in chips, but Ognyan 'cocojamb0' Dimov isn't far behind in second place. Andre 'PTFisherman23' Marques rounds out the top three as the only other player with more than 2.4 million chips.

The reality is that if you play enough poker tournaments, you will go out near or even on the stone bubble. If you want to avoid becoming one of the players donating to the prize pool, here are a few tips on how to play through the bubble period. Players to Target. There are three types of players you want to target heading into the bubble period. Free poker - free online poker games. 247 Free Poker has free online poker, jacks or better, tens or better, deuces wild, joker poker and many other poker games that you can play online for free or download.

It took less than 90 minutes to hit the $500,000 guarantee and the 1,000 entry maximum, and it played quickly from there. Two hours later there were less than 400 players in the game, but one player who jumped in late and built a stack was PokerStars Team Online member Arlie 'Prince Pablo' Shaban, who bagged a stack of more than 500K for Day 2.

Top Ten Stacks

Action of the Day

They got underway at 2:05 p.m. eastern time today, and hit the 1,000 entry maximum within the first hour and a half of play. That meant 119 players would share in the $500,000 prize pool and there were still 777 players in the game. Shaban wasn't the only member of the PokerStars Team in this one as ambassador Kalidou 'KalidouSow' Sow also tried his hand. He busted early however, leaving Shaban to carry the flag.

Daan 'DaanOss' Mulders ended the day in 38th place with $2,109 in bounties, but he spent a good portion of the middle part of the day near or at the top of the counts, while Simon 'DaDumon' Grabenschweiger got there in a few spots where he was dominated to bag a 21st place stack of more than 1.25 million, and pocket more than $1,300 in bounties so far.

Action on Day 2 gets underway at 2:05 p.m. eastern time tomorrow, and they'll play down to a winner before they finish. Check back here as PokerNews will be there till the final hand is dealt to bring you the action.

When playing in a Texas Hold’em Tournament all players want to experience the buzz of the bubble stage. It is what you want and where you want to be, as long as you are not the next person out!

What is the bubble?

This is the point in a tournament where the next player out does not take any winnings. The remaining players will take something away from the table.

Example: The tournament you are in states that the top 25 players will win money and there are 26 players left. These 26 players are “on the bubble”. The one player that is knocked out and gets no reward is said to have been knocked out “on the bubble”.

Poker Stone Bubbler

Playing the bubble – Different strokes for different folks!

Make no mistake when the bubble period is reached in a tournament, things change. It really is the do-or-die time. It is fairly common to find players changing their style dependent upon the stack in front of them.

This affects whether they decide to look at survival which will ensure they get a share of the prize on offer, or whether they should play with the intention of busting out other players.

Two general categories of bubble player

Stone Bubble Poker Meaning

• Survival: This category of player has their priority on surviving. By doing so they will be safe in the knowledge that doing so entitles them to take home some winnings

• Playing to win: This player’s intention is to take no prisoners. They are playing to win the tournament and have every intention of using this period to their advantage in order to accumulate more chips

Different styles and strategy of bubble play

The different styles and strategy of bubble play should be studied. Not just during a tournament that you are playing in, but also while on the sidelines. Such analysis will help in future tournaments and give you a greater chance of not only surviving the bubble, but of also increasing your chances of scaling that prize ladder.

• Different styles: Some players will fold just about every hand, even good hands. Their playing style will be as tight as can be. Others will start raising and going all-in on lots of hands. The size of a player’s stack and how the other players are acting will affect these decisions.

• Strategic decisions: The number of players left at your table will affect your strategy. It determines such things as how many hands a player can survive folding with the antes as well as Big Blind (BB) and Small Blind (SB). Conversely, if a player has a big stack then an effective strategy can be to play loose/aggressive in order to accumulate chips

Being “the bubble” hurts, but…

There is no easy way to put it. Being knocked out “on the bubble” hurts, but it is important not to dwell negatively on the fact for too long. Remember you got to within one of taking something home. With positive analysis of mistakes made during play, you can determine how plays could have been made differently.

Don’t just assess your bad moves, look closely at the good ones. By combining this knowledge and putting it into action in future tournaments the buzz of the bubble will be yours in a very positive way!