When the Big Blind is the Small Blind, or, Explain This Blind Structure to Me!

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to play in many different venues, not only in the United States, but around the world. Between directing an occasional tournament here and there, traveling to all the fantastic places that my partnership in Card Player Cruises takes me, playing poker in Costa Rica, and traveling to tournaments, I see many things. I really do believe that I have seen it all. I hate to listen to poker stories, and will tell folks who start to tell me one that unless it is something I have never heard before, I don't wanna listen! Of course, they finish telling me the story, anyway. But, I digress.

I was playing at the Oasis Resort Casino in Mesquite, Nevada, recently during the Oasis Open, and was surprised to find that the blind structure in its $1-$4-$8-$8 hold'em game is $1-$2, not the $2-$4 that I am accustomed to. Of course, many places use the same structure, including The Orleans in Las Vegas. What was really interesting is that I realized I needed to adjust my play to the different demands of the smaller blind structure. How would I alter my play? What are the differences in the two structures? There really are several differences, and by noticing how the other players adjust to those differences, you can gain quite a bit of information.

When you are playing with the smaller blinds, you can loosen up your starting-hand requirements. You are getting to see the flop at half the regular price (assuming you are used to the "normal" structure), so you can take advantage of that. A preflop raise can be between $2 and $4, making it $4 to $6 to see the flop. With standard $2-$4 blinds, a raised pot must be $8. Also, when you are in the small blind and the pot is merely called around to you, you need to add only $1 to complete the bet and see the flop. This, of course, assumes that the big blind does not raise. If you have a good feel for the game and know that the big blind doesn't raise too often, you can call the $1 to complete the small blind with nearly any two cards. There are many players who actually will call with any two cards, but I don't recommend that!

What I do suggest is that you play some of the marginal hands that you wouldn't play in a game with the $2-$4 blind structure. Even though calling that extra $1 is a lot of money over the course of a session (at 35-40 hands an hour, it will cost you $3-$4 per hour), it may be money well spent. If you play a six-hour session, it will cost you about $20-$25. If you bought in to the game for $100 (a reasonable and average buy-in) this is 20 percent to 25 percent of your buy-in; however, you are giving yourself many opportunities to win large pots. Some of these marginal hands include small suited connectors and high cards, suited or not. For example, I don't generally play hands like K-9, but if I was in the small blind in a game with this type of structure, I would likely play it for the additional buck. Or, if I had 7-5 suited, I would call. In fact, I would call with any hand that I had to stop to consider. Hands with which I would never call, even for $1, include 7-2, 9-4, unsuited paints with small kickers, and so on. I would, however, play hands that could flop completed hands (straights or flushes) or good draws. I might occasionally play paints with small suited cards, depending on the number of players in the pot. The more, the merrier. These hands go up in value when there are several players in the pot, as you are getting a better price to play them. I also would call the extra $1 with any small or medium pair, hoping to flop a set and win a big pot.

These are the types of hands that can win you a large pot when you get lucky and hit the flop. They also are hands that are easy to get away from if you miss. If I protect my $1 small blind with A-6 offsuit and the flop comes J-7-2, it is pretty easy to muck. Also, if the flop comes A-10-2 and it is bet and raised, I can fold. If no one bets, I probably have the only ace. So, sometimes it is correct to loosen up a little and play more hands when you have the opportunity to get lucky. If you don't give yourself chances to hit big flops, you will become a predictable player and will limit your winnings. Looking at flops with these types of hands certainly is not the strategy I would recommend in games with larger blinds, but in these games, gamble! Class dismissed.

As always, please contact me with your poker comments and questions, and suggestions for column ideas. Please see the Card Player Cruises website at http://cardplayercruises.com, and contact me for any poker cruise information you would like.