Mind the Gap

In physics, there is the Theory of Relativity. In baseball, there is OPS. In poker, there is the Gap Concept. People interested in each field know about all of these things and even know basically what they are, but many don’t actually fully understand them. Perhaps it is because they just never took the time to really learn these things, or maybe it’s they just assumed they knew enough about them because they were supposed to. In this article, I want to introduce, or re-introduce if that’s the case, you to the Gap Concept in poker, an important concept to understand in order to play a solid game.

The Gap Concept was developed by David Sklansky and states that a player must have a better hand to call a raise than he needs to initiate a raise. It may seem like a rather obvious statement, but not enough people really bother to follow it and end up seeing their poker games suffer at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars or at their favorite poker room as a result.

Now, why do you need a better hand to call a raise than open the betting with a raise? It primarily comes down to perceived hand strength. If someone raises, they are displaying strength. And for most people in most situations, this display will truly reflect strength in their hand (someone can always be bluffing, but let’s assume that’s not the case right now). So, when the action gets around to you, you know that at least one person already has a good hand, so it would not be the wisest decision, in most instances, to call the raise with a marginal hand. You want to feel confident that you have the best hand (or at least have a reasonable shot at having the best hand), so if someone already has something strong, you will need something stronger to play with them.

Now, if the action folds around to you, you can raise with a monster hand, a good hand, a marginal hand, or a weak hand and your remaining opponents will think you have a strong holding, unless they have good reason to believe otherwise. You are in command of the hand. The later in the hand you act, the weaker a hand you can have to justify the raise, since there will be fewer players left to act and thus a lesser chance for someone to be holding a hand strong enough to call a raise.

Additionally, you will need a stronger hand to call a raise because when you call, you can only win the pot by having the best hand. Thus, you are going to want to feel good about your chances to win with what you’ve got. If you are the aggressor and put out the raise, you can still win the hand by forcing everyone else to fold. And in that case, you can have anything: once you raise, the only thing that determines whether or not you win the pot right then and there is your opponent’s hand.

The size of the “gap” is really up to you. Say you have A-J in middle position. If the player under the gun raises, is your hand good enough to make the call? It might be, it might not be. If your opponent is the average player who understands basic concepts like the power of position, then chances are, he has something very strong like A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or A-K and your hand needs to be thrown away. If he’s a maniac, then your A-J might be good. If he’s an ultra-nit, then there is almost no way you have the best hand, or even one that stands any reasonable chance to win.

If you are in the big blind, however, and the button raises after everyone else folded, that gap might be smaller. The button might just be making a move to steal the blinds. You may even consider re-raising in order to now put him to the test. Is his hand strong enough to call a raise from someone who is not only out of position, but just saw a raise before he acted?

None of this is to say that you should never call a raise with a sub-premium or marginal hand. Implied odds, for instance, may make it worth the risk. You may have the guy pegged on a narrow range, so you know you can take him for a lot of money if you do hit your hand. Or maybe you have him pegged on a narrow range, but he is a very passive player, so you feel confident that, given the right flop, you may be able to take the pot away from him in the next betting round. So, while understanding the Gap Concept is fundamental to success in poker, your ultimate decision when you act is still subject to many variables. Like in pretty much every poker situation, there is not always one correct move. It usually just “depends.”