Gap cards are cards like 4 6 or J 9. There is a gap between the two of 1. I like to play 8 6 or 5 7, usually suited. Early on in a game when you are on the button or in the cutoff you might consider giving these hands a try. Why ? Because if you happen to hit the gap your 3 cards on your way to a straight. If you hit the gap and one other you have an open ended straight which is much better than a gutshot because you have more outs.

I also consider these hands if I am the short stack and don't have many hands left to decide when to pull the trigger. You don't just want to wait for the blinds to get you to push with any 2 cards. I will play gap cards heads up as well. The potential for this hand has to be given some weight when your deciding what to play heads up given that your opponent is probably playing a much larger range of hands as well.

In the right position (button or cutoff) and under the right circumstances (everyone folds to you) gap cards are certainly worth a play if you can limp in.

Give it a try sometime !

The gap concept states that a player needs a better hand to call a raise with than to open the pot themselves. Noted poker author David Sklansky first introduced this concept years ago.

The gap between the kind of hand you need to open a pot and what you need to call with increases as the tournament goes from the early stages to the late stages. You don't even notice the gap to much early on in the tournament as you get a lot of players playing junk hands or certainly less than premium hands. A lot of these players are usually eliminated as the match goes on. You really start to notice this gap more and more as you start to approach the bubble. At this stage if a player opens a pot with a raise holding A 10 for example, it is likely he won't be called unless his opponent is holding a much better hand. I would even fold a hand as high as A Q at this point. Of course this all depends on your read of other players and their relative chip stacks. Of course a short stack will push with a lesser hand like K J for example. There are always exceptions to poker concepts in general and the gap concept is no different.

Remember that poker is very much a situational game. You can have the same cards ten times and play them differently ten times. There are no hard and fast rules as to how to play. There is no ‘right' way to play. There is only your way and that way should be constantly fine tuned as you understand more and more about poker.

Take a look at concepts like the gap concept and understand when and how you might play gap cards. Who knows ... it may work !