Don't get intimidated by the large field size of the upcoming $20M GTD partypoker MILLIONS Online. Jason Koon and Jonathan 'proudflop' Proudfoot offer some advice on getting through them.

Playing through a money bubble can be tough.

This is especially true when there are millions upon millions of dollars up for grabs. That is exactly the situation during the partypoker $20M guaranteed MILLIONS Online. The field will be packed with professional players, shot takers and plenty of qualifiers. Many of those players will be playing in their very first big buy-in tournament and hoping to take home a score that could change the face of their bankroll.

After successfully navigating the early levels (and fading a bad beat or two) the players remaining in the tournament watch the lobby as their fellow competitors hit the rail. Soon enough the money bubble approaches. Depending on your situation, there may be a few different ways to approach a massive money bubble like the MILLIONS. It’s going to be the largest online tournament of all time by a long shot. This means that there is a lot at stake. Playing your “A” game during the money bubble can go a long way to carving out a new career-high cash.

Knowing its importance, we reached out for advice on how to handle the crucial money bubble phase.

“There’s a lot of ways to look at it,” said World Poker Tour Champion Mike Leah. “You can look at it in a true ICM way where depending on your stack sometimes it’s more valuable to make sure you get into the money. So…maybe passing on marginal or close spots close to the money.”

Sure, there may be an “optimal” way to perform during the money bubble but with partypoker runnings so many qualifiers and adding seats to their satellites, the MILLIONS Online field could potentially be filled with players that clawed their way into the tournament from the centrolls. A min-cash could represent a significant portion of a young grinder’s bankroll.

“But, you know, then there’s also emotional equity, if you want to call it that. Some people on the bubble of the World Series of Poker Main Event will fold whatever, kings, queens even aces, just because they want to make sure they cash because it’s important to them and it means a lot and they’ll never forgive themselves if they bubble. So it really depends on the person.”

partypoker ambassador Patrick Leonard is no stranger to making decisions on the money bubble. As one of the UK’s top grinders, he routinely smashes the high roller scene online and has seen just about every situation unfold.

“Whilst there will be lots of people clinging on, there will also be lots of regular players pushing edges, getting into ego wars and making some ICM suicide too,” said Leonard. “Think about the aggressive Skandi and the aggressive German playing with six qualifiers. They will want to raise every pot, the other guy will take a stand and then ego gets in the way and ‘over collide’ this is very common in all tournaments.”

The aggression from some players may be ramping up around the money bubble. That doesn’t mean that an aggro style is best suited for everyone.

“If the bubble is big for you, you should absolutely play a little bit tighter. The min cash can be huge if you got in from a satellite. Once you’re close to the bubble that can be your first target and then you can go from there. I am old and tight though, maybe Ludo [Geilich] or Joao [Simao] will suggest a looser approach for you!”

Leah understands that suggestion too. There’s no single way to grind out a money bubble because that min-cash may mean different things to different people. Tournament poker can be tough and, for some, just making the money is a very big deal.

“ICM wise maybe you shouldn’t fold certain hands. But if you are going to be that upset or mentally distraught if you end up bubbling then you gotta do what’s right for you,” Leah continued. “There are a lot of chips to be made on the bubble as well. You can approach it a lot of different ways depending on what your goals are.”

The partypoker $20M guaranteed MILLIONS Online takes place from November 25 through December 5. There are five starting flights and a $2.5 million guaranteed first place prize.