Playing the Blinds in Limit Hold'em Part V - Small-Blind Play With No Raise

So far, we have looked at play from the blinds when someone has raised preflop. Oftentimes you find yourself in one of the blinds when there has been no raise. When should you fold, call, or raise from the small blind?



Even though it has an effect on the decisions you would make in the situations covered previously, I have avoided discussing the size of the small blind in order to keep a complex subject under control. We need to look at that now.



Four factors enter into your decision on how to play. In no particular order, they are:

• The size of the small blind

• The big blind's raising tendencies

• Your hand

• The number of preflop callers



The size of the small blind: In most limit games, the small blind is half the size of the big blind. When half of the big blind would be a fractional amount, casinos select an amount totaling either one-third or two-thirds of the big blind. Most low-limit games use one-third (in a $3-$6 game, the small blind would be $1), and higher-limit games use two-thirds (in a $15-$30 game, the small blind would be $10), but there is no standard rule. In any case, how much more you need to put in definitely affects your decision of whether or not to complete the bet if no one has raised. Obviously, the more money you have already committed, the more likely you are to complete, but which hands do you decide to play?



The big blind's raising tendencies: Often overlooked is how likely the big blind is to raise. Most big-blind players are quite passive, but some love to raise whether you and I think they are correct or not. If the big blind is a significant threat to raise behind you, you must be prepared to muck many weaker hands that you would otherwise be willing to play. I will not raise this issue again as we consider cases, but you need to keep it in mind.



Your hand: Of course, you need to consider your hand. I will discuss hand types and how to play them in various possible scenarios.



The number of preflop callers: The final major factor in your decision is the number of players who have called preflop, and to some extent their position. We will examine these cases:

• One player has called.

• Two or three players have called.

• Four or more players have called.



One player has called: To me, this is the most interesting case. The pot is quite small, but there is only one voluntary player, and he has shown no real strength. With any hand of quality (a pair, two Broadway cards, any ace, suited connectors down to 8-7), you should raise. You intend to eliminate the big blind as often as possible, and play heads up with the lead against the player with the weak hand. Even if he holds a better hand than yours, your aggression will still win lots of pots if the big blind folds and you both miss the flop, which happens frequently. If the big blind calls or reraises and you miss the flop, you can always give up on the hand and avoid sustaining a big loss.



If the big blind "defends" all of the time, you should simply complete with your weaker aces, small pairs, and suited connectors. In general, though, if you are unwilling to raise with your hand, you should throw it away unless you have already put in two-thirds of a bet and the big blind almost never raises.



Two or three players have called: You still want to raise with your best hands, such as A-A, K-K, Q-Q, and A-K suited. If you think you can eliminate the big blind, you can raise with A-K offsuit, A-Q, and A-J, as well. The advantage of raising is that you almost certainly have the best hand, and should be willing to build a pot. The disadvantage of raising with A-K, A-Q, or A-J is that you lose your strategic advantage to bet, check-fold, check-raise the flop, or check-call the flop and check-raise the turn depending on how you like the flop and how your opponents play. If you have raised, you are pretty committed to leading whether you hit or miss the flop, and playing from out of position without being able to read and evaluate your opponents' actions. I prefer strategic play, and therefore will frequently just complete the small blind with all but the top four hands listed above.



If you do not have a premium hand, generally proceed as follows:

• With two-thirds of a bet in, complete with any two cards.

• With half a bet in, complete with pairs, any two suited, and all one- and two-gappers.

• With one-third of a bet in, complete only if you have a normally playable hand.



Four or more players have called: Now we have a multiway pot, with you and the big blind making at least six-way action. You still should raise with A-A and K-K, because these powerful hands have such a premium over the field that you should be willing to build a pot anytime you see them. However, you also need to think about building a pot with some hands that play very well in multiway situations. The best among these are pairs lower than jacks. If you are going to have five or more opponents, you usually should be willing to raise with them. You will still typically check and fold after the flop if you miss your set, but when you do hit a set, you would like your opponents tied into a larger pot and chasing with one-pair hands or overcards while drawing nearly dead. In addition, playing a set does not have the positional disadvantages that one-pair and drawing hands do. (While position always matters, a set is such a powerful hand that your actions are easier to determine and less dependent on the actions of the other players.)



For variety and image, you also should raise with K-Q suited, Q-J suited, and J-10 suited at least part of the time. This provides some variety and balance to your game, as opponents will see that you are not raising out of the small blind with just big pairs. These hands are sometimes difficult to play after the flop from out of position, so if you are not an experienced player, make this play more sparingly.



If you do not have one of the mentioned holdings, you are still going to play many hands here:

• With two-thirds of a bet in, complete with any two cards.

• With half a bet in, complete with all but your worst hands.

• With one-third of a bet in, complete only if you have a normally playable hand.



Conclusion: Many players don't think much about how to play the small blind with no raise. They toss in their completing chips and wait for the flop. I hope this column has convinced you take this, as well as all other poker decisions, very seriously. These seemingly small but very frequent decisions can have a much bigger impact on your overall win rate than a brilliant decision in a hand that almost never comes up.

Barry offers poker lessons tailored to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the individual student. Please visit his web site at http://www.barrytanenbaum.com/ or e-mail him [email protected].