Part: Part Thirteen - Miscellaneous

The satellite bubble bully

Pre-flop
Blinds 400 / 800Pot 1,200 (1.5 BB)Satellite bubble • seats almost lockedBTNK♦7♦● 70,000 (87.5 BB)YOUyou cover the tableSB● 16,000 (20 BB)Mediumfolding to surviveBB● 18,000 (22.5 BB)Mediumfolding to surviveD

Satellite bubble - one elimination from everyone winning a seat. You're the big stack, and the others are folding everything to survive. Folded to you on the button with K♦7♦.

Satellite bubble, you're the big stack, everyone folding to survive. Folded to you with K♦7♦. Best?

WhyOne bust-out from everyone qualifying, the medium and short stacks will surrender almost any hand rather than risk the seat - that hands you the most extreme fold equity in the game. Attack the blinds every orbit and let their survival instinct feed your stack; K-7 suited is beside the point when they are folding to preserve a seat.
What happensThis orbit a blind wakes up with a real hand, calls, and cracks you - but the raise was still correct: fold equity that high prints far more than the rare call costs, and one lost pot barely dents the big stack. Keep pressing.
When everyone else folds to lock a seat, relentless aggression from the big stack is a money-printer - the odd time a blind snaps you off, the strategy is still correct because the folds outnumber the calls many times over.

The satellite bubble is the peak fold-equity spot in poker - as the big stack, apply pressure with any two cards, and judge the play by its long-run yield, not one pot.