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Playing the blinds

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Every poker player knows that the blinds are special positions. Being on the left of the dealer, you won't be in a good position for any upcoming betting rounds, but , by virtue of the fact that you contribute to the pot when no one else does - a contribution, which is a must and is not generated by a decision of yours - you'll have an edge over your opponents in the hand to follow. Look at this edge as if it were the compensation for an inevitable sacrifice that is required from you.

Because you have such an edge, it'd be a huge mistake to simply just let it go and not take full advantage of it. This is why reasonable poker strategy recommends solid play from the blinds positions. The big blind is something that just screams for you to defend it, but what about the small blind?

The small blind is the one poker element not even good players can optimally deal with, as it's a lot less talked about than the big blind, and it places a player who's just been through a big blind in a position of uncertainty. Is it worth to defend? What lengths should I go to when attempting the defense of the small blind?

A factor that further complicates the situation of the small blind is, that the big blind will have exactly twice as many reasons to aggressively pursue his own case than the small blind. That can be quite a deterrent.

So, should you simply surrender your small blind to the big blind without putting up your dukes? No way.

Let's look at the situation when everyone folds, leaving you and the big blind in a heads up. You should call. Simple as that. The pot odds will justify such a move. Just think about it, if you were in a game of 2/4, you'd get a chance to go for 6 dollars by making an investment of 2 dollars. Otherwise put, you get 6 for 2. Those are 3-1 odds and you've got to like such odds.

Generally, it'd probably be a bad investment to call for $4, but calling for $2 is a different matter. If you decide to call, you need to take another thing into consideration: what kind of player is the person in the big blind?

Does he defend his big blinds fiercely? If he does, you need to reconsider the pocket hand you're about to call on. In this case you either need to have a positively superior hand ( KK, AA,) or at least something better than what you'd normally call on.

The following question is: what if you don't call but jump right in and raise?

Let us consider the following situation: you and the big blind are heads up. He posted the $4 and you decide to raise another $4. ( you call his $2 and you raise $4) He calls your raise.

Now you have a $6 for $10 situation. Does that still give you a 3-1 edge? It gives you a 1.66-1 edge, to be specific. That is just not the same, is it?

So, it's safe to say that if you fail to make the big blind fold with your raise, you pretty much lose. Obviously, then, what the whole issue comes down to is how many times your opponent would fold in the big blind. If he folds about 20% of the time, then you should consider raising.

If he's more aggressive just go with calling. If he's a maniac, don't call on anything but monsters. The reason you need to act this defensively is not that he gets better pot odds than you, to start with, ( well that is part of it, too) but you'll also be acting before him in every betting round. You'll also be hindered by position on top of a bunch of other things.

If other players stay in the hand ( in online poker that will usually be the case) you'll need to limp along paying as little as possible. Do not raise or reraise. Do not call if someone before you raises. There could be an exception if someone raises in a late position. That might be a clue to the fact that the guy doesn't really have something solid.

General and simplified advice for playing the small blind: call.

- by James West