There is a now- common strategy called the Gap Strategy that applies mostly to tournament poker, and was introduced by David Sklansky in one of his many poker tactics books. The general idea is that there is a gap between what range of cards you can play at any given moment in a poker tournament, and that the width of the gap is dependent on your position at the table, the size of your chip stack, the size of your opponent’s chip stack, and where you are in the process of the event.

The larger your gap, the more starting hands you can play, so a large gap equals more freedom at the table, a more loose style of play. The smaller your gap the fewer options you have with starting hands, or the more tight a style of play.

This general concept can get pretty specific, down to “I will play Ace Queen because I am in the small blind and have a middle stack in the early state of the event, but I can only play Ace King if I am the short stack in the same situation.” On the other hand, the gap concept can be used a bit more instinctually, as long as you understand the basic principles involved.

Here are the items that add up to a large gap: the chip lead (or at least being among the chip leaders), having your opponent covered in heads up situation, the early stages of a tournament, and being in late position. If you have all of these in your favor, you could play just about any starting hand.

Here are the items that add up to a small gap: being short stacked, being covered by your opponent in a heads up situation, the later stages of a tourney (typically before the bubble or before a jump in payout) and being in early position.