subject: Playing Against the Blinds in Texas Hold'em Part 1 [print this page] Playing Against the Blinds in Texas Hold'em Part 1
The blind bet in Texas Hold'em is a forced bet designed to promote action in the hand. There are two blinds at most games, the small blind (SB) and the big blind (BB). The SB is generally half the size of the BB. The blinds are positioned relative to the button with the SB seated to the immediate left of the button and the BB to the immediate left of the SB.
Because the blinds are forced bets, the hands held by either the SB or the BB are unlikely to be hands that would qualify as opening hands. Remember, the probability that one is dealt a playable hand in hold'em is around 30% making the blinds 7:3 underdogs to holding a hand they would otherwise play. In short, the blinds are more often than not two random cards that are not connected, not suited, not paired and not big.
When a player either calls or raises the BB that player is announcing to the table that they have a hand worth seeing a flop. If they are tight then they announced a big hand, if loose they announced a hand that is within their broad range for the position from which they entered the pot. You still know nothing about the BB or SB.
If the SB calls a bet or raise he is entering the pot for a discounted price but you now have some information about the SB. If the SB is a player who usually folds his hand and he calls a bet or raise he is telling you that his cards are good enough to see a flop. If the BB checks his options you still know nothing about his hand. It simply means that there were no raises in front of him and he is closing off the betting with a random hand. If, on the other hand, the BB calls a raise in front of him then he is announcing strength.
Check, Raise or Fold from the Blinds
I believe it is generally unwise to raise from the BB. A SB raise is, however, useful if, when in the SB, you hold a range of hands you would normally play and the table has folded to you. A SB raise in this place may steal the BB. Otherwise, I generally play my playable hands from the blinds with just a call. A raise from the BB announces strength and is unlikely to get action unless an opponent holds a monster hand like AA, KK, QQ or AKs.
Raising from the blinds to build the pot when you are holding big cards has too many disadvantages to be profitable. Let's look at a few of those disadvantages:
A raise from the blinds does not disguise the real strength of your hand. It has the unwanted effect of causing your opponents to play tighter against you.
The extra bet or two is likely to earn you less money than the raise you make on the turn to check-raise or raise.
Your position is bloody awful on all remaining betting rounds because you are likely to be first to act post-flop.
What do you do when you miss? Will you bluff at the pot from early position at the end of the hand? Too many decisions for early position.
For these reasons and a few more, I am generally unlikely to raise with a big hand from the BB. There are, of course, exceptions to this general rule. First exception, if there is one raiser ahead of you who is a loose, aggressive player and you are holding a monster hand, AA, KK, QQ, AKs, AQs and maybe even JJ or TT, then you might consider defending your blind with a raise. You might induce the tight player to fold and take the pot right now or he might just call and you most certainly hold the better pre-flop hand. He may even play back with a re-raise which you certainly will call.
The Difficulty of Playing Against the Blinds
The BB checks his options or just calls a raise in front of him. What do you know about his hand. The simple answer is zilch, nothing. Because his bet was forced his position doesn't reveal anything. You are not likely to get a read on his hand from a physical tell because the BB didn't choose to bet here based on his cards. He could be checking or calling with any two random cards. You can't deduce anything from probabilities other than the broad, and otherwise useless, knowledge that the BB is a 7:3 dog. But that goes out the window if he has a strong hand. In that case he may even be the favorite. In short, the forced blind bet keeps you in the dark regarding the strength of the BB's hand.
All that being said, how do you play against the blinds. That's a topic I'll discuss in the next post.
