Blog crosspost: Blind play

Enjoy!

/FP

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Around 20% of your time at a full table, you’re going to be posting a blind and statistically, chances are you’re going to suck from that point on. Statistically? Yes. I find that the vast majority of players have no idea how to play from the blinds - which is no surprise, given that the vast majority of players aren’t very good to begin with, but most of them get even worse as soon as they look up and see that they have already invested money in the pot.

My next couple of posts in this blog will deal with the blinds, therefore, in the hopes that my reader (readers? Let’s be optimistic!) gets a chance to improve this important part of his or her play.

The complete beginners will not even reflect over the fact that they’ve posted a blind. They will apply the same (most often loose) standards to whether or not they should call, fold or raise as they would had they been on the button. Odds does not factor in, the only thing that matters are their own two cards. They’re not necessarily even aware of the fact that there are other players at the table. Ironically, these players make the right decision (but for the wrong reason) in the blinds a lot more often than the next guy:

The (weak) tight player folds too often. He worries about domination. He will usually call with strong-to-decent hands, but will fold all marginal hands, even hands like 87s. He will only re-raise with the top pairs, AA and KK - maybe AKs - but never a hand like KQs or other strong preflop hands, because he figures he’s out of position. Oh, and he wants to add deception. Both are good reasons to be cautious, but neither really make up for the missed bets that failing to re-raise causes. What misses bets? Why, the preflop raises that will invariable be called by

the loose player. This guy will call with anything - yes, anything - from the big blind. These guys don’t talk very often (I’m guessing it’s because they get verbally abused a lot when they do), but when you do hear them explain why they called with 62o pre-flop, it’s usually along the lines of “I had the odds to call”.
So what’s the secret? Well, playing from the blinds is a broad and complex area, and I’m not going to cover it in one entry in this blog. But a few tips that should get you started:

Recognize that you’re out of position. Hands lose value from this. Usually - virtually always - this is made up for the fact that you’re getting better odds on calling a single preflop raise than anyone else at the table, but consider it. Specifically, consider what your own position is relative to the preflop raiser; suited connectors like to have their preflop raisers immediately to your left and high cards like it when he’s to your right (small blind or button). Let me explain why:

Suppose you call a preflop raise with KTo from the big blind. There are four other people in the pot, and the flop gives you what you wanted:

K-T-8

You have the top two pairs. However, anyone playing AJ, AQ, QJ, Q9, J9, J7, 97 or 96 has a straight draw. What’s your play? That depends entirely on where the preflop raiser sits. Understand that most people will automatically check to the preflop raiser, who will usuall bet again (the continuation bet, which for some reason is considered automatic and always proper). See, what you’re trying to accomplish is isolate the preflop raiser, and get anyone who has an inside straight draw out of the pot. The only way to give inside straights insufficient odds to (profitably) call is if you can somehow force them to call two bets cold - and to accomplish that you need to tactically use the preflop raiser to play along with you, unknowingly.

Therefore, if he’s to your immediate right, you could bet out on the flop, hoping that he has a hand like AA, AK or KQ, and that he has the brains to raise your bet. Everyone else, between him and you, would then be forced to call two bets cold to see the turn. With 5 of you preflop, the pot was 10 small bets, and they would now be forced to pay 2 SB to a pot that is laying them about 7-1. You’re forcing them to make an unprofitable decision, if they want to continue with their inside straight (note that you won't really be able to ever make it unprofitable for someone to call with an open ended straight - but then it's still good to make it as expensive as possible for them).

What if the preflop raiser is to your right - in the small blind? Well, that makes it even easier for you. He’s presumably already bet out, and you can raise him yourself, causing the exact same problem for the rest of the players. But if he’s to your immediate right, but on the button? Ah, that’s when you need to say your mantras just right. You’re going to check here, see, and hope that everyone else checks to him, and furthermore hope that he bets. It’s not going to work every time, but it’s going to work often. Remember, people are passive by nature and love to check to the guy who raised preflop. So use that. Then, after he bets, you will be first to act and can go ahead and raise him, again forcing people to call two bets cold if they want to chase their straight.

But what if the preflop raiser is in the middle? If there were an early position limper, then the raiser, then two more limpers? That’s when you should consider laying down KTo in the big blind preflop*, unless you have good reads on the other players and know how they will act postflop. The reason for laying down a relatively big hand despite getting great odds is that now you have the worst possible position. You will act first on every street, but you will not have the luxury of being able to manipulate the preflop raiser to do your bidding for you.

This applies specifically to a hand like KT and KJ, where you can fear domination preflop, because you need to either hit a straight draw on the flop, or two pair, or a pair of tens with no overcards for your hand to be worth something. The problem will be that when you do hit your hand just right - two pair - there will always be a possible straight draw, and very often someone will have that draw, since people like to play big cards. This is why it’s important to mind your position vs. the preflop raiser, because you might need his - involountary - help after the flop.

More on blind play in the next post.

A closing note: Don’t ever - ever - consider slowplaying a hand like KT on a flop like K-T-8. Your hand isn’t strong enough for that. The exception could be if you’re heads up preflop, and you know that your opponent is loose and aggressive, but in the example I gave above - with a 5-handed flop and a preflop raise - you should play it as aggressively as you can and work to force people out of your pot.

/FP

* Now, I wouldn’t fold KT from the big blind often. In fact, the only time I would fold it is if I the raise came from one of the players who I know raise only with AA, KK and AK. But what I’m trying to say is that if you’re not a strong postflop player who can play marginal hands expertly, then being in the worst possible position in regards to the preflop raiser with this particular hand is going to be negative expected value for you - just a fair warning.

Absolutely brilliant post F.P.

Without a doubt the hardest part of the game to come to terms with for me was playing out of the blinds. Even now after having read numerous books and playing thousands of hands it is still the hardest position to play from.

Anyone that is registered here at CC and is not reading Freddies articles and blog is doing themselves and their game a disservivce in my humble opinion. This man has a brilliant knack of being able to make the most complex poker theory understandable to everyone.

Keep up the great work mate.
Rocka.