New Play – Bubble Mastery – BBZ Poker
Bubble Mastery is a $29,99 video course from BBZ Poker coach Ryan the “newguy89” McEathron, focused on ICM and money-bubble strategy in tournaments. Players ask us the same thing about every course we list: does it cover spots I actually play? With the Bubble Mastery course, the answer is yes. Ten hours, 53 videos, and nearly all of it runs through real hands in HRC Pro rather than theory slides.One thing before the details. This is not a beginner product. If you’re still learning basic ranges, spend the $29,99 on fundamentals first.
What changes on the bubble
If the money and the chips are not aligned, that is the biggest problem if a bigger stack covers you, your calling range shrinks first. Your opening range shrinks second, and by less. Most players don’t get this: they stop opening but keep calling. In the first chapter attack exactly that mistake with ICM numbers, then with Future Game Simulation.
FGS is the part worth the price, in our view. It looks one or two hands ahead and factors in the blinds about to hit you. In some spots that extra step flips the answer entirely. Static ICM can’t see it. The course shows when the difference matters and when it’s noise.
A caveat, because the course itself makes it: not every bubble deserves adjustment. On a flat payout structure with even stacks, your normal game mostly holds. Overadjusting is a real leak, and one chapter is devoted to measuring bubble strength before you change anything.
A typical spot the course solves
Take the kind of hand the preflop chapters are built around. A $22 online MTT, 27 players left, 22 get paid. You sit in the big blind with 20 big blinds. The chip leader opens from the cutoff and covers everyone at the table.
In chip EV, your defend range here is wide. That’s the trap. The process Ryan teaches: first establish who covers whom, then apply the risk premium to your calling range, and only then look at your cards. In hands like this, HRC will often turn a standard call into a fold, sometimes a shockingly tight fold.
The limitation matters too. Move the same hand to a bubble with a flat payout jump, or give you the covering stack, and the call can come right back. None of this transfers as a memorized chart. It transfers as a checking order, which is the point of the course.
What not to do on the bubble
The course spends real time on mistakes, so we’ll list the recurring ones.
Don’t copy ranges from chip-EV charts once payouts are close. The charts weren’t built for this.
Don’t fold everything either. Overfolding burns equity as surely as spew does, just quieter.
Don’t attack short stacks without checking who covers you first. Order matters.
Don’t apply satellite-level tightness to a regular MTT bubble. Measure first, adjust second.
Postflop coverage, which most courses skip
Almost all bubble content stops preflop. This one has dedicated postflop modules for button versus big blind and early position versus big blind. Risk premiums after the flop, c-betting when you cover, playing when covered, check-shove spots, sizing.
The split-range c-betting section replaces the autopilot small bet on every flop. You get a structure for which hands bet, which check, and how stack depth moves hands between groups. Useful well beyond the bubble, honestly.
Who buys this and gets value
In our experience, three groups. Regulars who reach late stages often but cash small. Players who feel themselves going passive as the money approaches. And satellite or Sit & Go grinders, where ICM decides nearly everything anyway.
Coaches are a quiet fourth group. The HRC walkthroughs work as ready-made teaching material.
You don’t need HRC Pro or any solver. Ryan runs everything on screen and defines terms as he goes. Some ICM vocabulary helps but isn’t required.
About Ryan McEathron
Fifteen-plus years in MTTs, Sit & Gos and satellites, coaching with BBZ Poker. He uses solver work as the skeleton, then adjusts for how opponents actually play. Near the bubble that usually means badly, and he’s explicit about exploiting it. He also treats discipline under ICM pressure as a trainable skill, with material on it, not a footnote.
Specifications
Course Tought by: Bubble Mastery
Teacher: Ryan “newguy89” McEathron
Published by: BBZ Poker
Format: digital video, instant delivery after purchase
Length: ~10 hours, 53 videos, 17 chapters
Game: No-Limit Texas Hold’em (MTTs, Sit & Gos, satellites)
Topics: ICM, FGS, Bubble Strategy, preflop ranges, postflop play, stack coverage
Level: intermediate to advanced
Language: English
Access: lifetime, future updates included
FAQ
What is Bubble Mastery?
A BBZ Poker video course by Ryan “newguy89” McEathron on ICM, Future Game Simulation and tournament bubble strategy, preflop and postflop.
How long is the course and how do I get it?
About 10 hours: 53 videos across 17 chapters. Delivery is digital and instant, with lifetime access including future updates.
Is it beginner friendly?
Not really the target. It assumes you know ranges and tournament structure. Intermediate and up is the sweet spot.
Do I need HRC Pro or other software?
No. Ryan uses HRC Pro on screen and explains what you’re seeing. You just watch.
Which formats does it cover?
NLHE tournaments mainly. Nearly everything transfers to Sit & Gos and satellites, where ICM pressure is even heavier.
Does it include postflop strategy?
Yes. Dedicated modules cover c-betting, checking, check-shoving and stack coverage, mostly BTN vs BB and EP vs BB.
