Give Up Those Blinds

And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"

In the past, I've given enough lectures about position, and I'll probably give more of them in the future. But today, I'm going to trot out the same old story in some new clothes. I'm going to talk about the blinds in hold'em, and how much money people throw away defending them too much.

As an example, I'm perusing a copy of Winning Low Limit Hold'em, and right here on Page 50, it says you can play 5-4 offsuit for half a bet from the small blind. What moron* wrote this book? Unless you're a world-class player post-flop, I think you should toss it, and here's why: Your position sucks. In fact, it's the worst position available at the table, for the entire hand. I mean, the dealer puts out the flop, and then he, the other players at the table, and the passing cocktail waitress all look at you and wait. Wonderful.

As I've gotten older and, thankfully, somewhat wiser, I've become less dogmatic about some things (teenager curfews) and more dogmatic about others (bike helmets and position in poker). Because this journal is not about parenting or bicycle safety, we'll stick with the position issue. In a $3-$6 game, that $1 chip in your small blind is just about nothing; it's one-third of a bet. With your positional problems, you should treat that chip as all but a gift to the pot. Pretend you're coming in for a full bet, evaluate your situation (position and all), and then proceed.

The same is true of the big blind when faced with a raise. Now, oftentimes the big blind will be offered some pretty tempting pot odds to jump into the fray, and if you have a hand that can hit big, I think those pot odds may justify a call (of one more bet if you don't fear a reraise). But too many players feel obliged to defend that dead money with an equal number of very live chips, almost regardless of their cards. K-6 offsuit is not a hand to defend. J-3 suited is not a hand to defend. These are hands that should be abandoned at the first sign of trouble, and facing a raise when sitting out of position is the "u" in trouble.

Why? Well, I'll propose some rational arguments, and when those fail, I'll resort to waving my hands in the general direction of some very good players who agree with me.

Here's the rational bit (and it goes back to the David Byrne quote at the beginning of this column): You find yourself in situations in which you have little or no idea of where you stand. That extra one-half or two-thirds of a bet (or full bet if you called a raise from the big blind) is no longer the problem. The problem is that, as the small blind in a $5-$10 game, you called $3 more with A-5 offsuit. The flop came A-rag-rag rainbow, and you bet out and got raised. Now what? Call $25 more ($5 on the flop, $10 each on the turn and river) and see if that really is an ace with a better kicker? Check-raise the turn and fold if he three-bets you? Nothing here looks very good, and you got yourself into it because three little $1 chips seemed like such a good investment with all those pretty red nickels lying around. This is what Sklanksy (or was it Malmuth?) was talking about when he discussed compounding errors. He was talking about going too far on third and fourth streets in stud, but the same principal applies. You make a small mistake and it snowballs into a minor catastrophe.

"Well, I'm really planning for the flop to be 4-3-2 or A-9-5 when I play that hand." Fine. But it's too late, and I'm too tired to figure out the odds of that happening. Maybe if every single player limps in and the big blind hasn't raised since Reagan was in the White House, you're getting the right price. But if the flop comes A-9-3 instead, you better have a plan.

"Only two people called, and they're both so aggressive that they'd raise with any ace." That's a better argument, and I can almost buy it. If, for whatever reason, you're absolutely sure you hold the only ace left in any player's hand, then sure, limp in, and if an ace hits, play it like the nuts. But this is the exception, not the rule.

OK, enough with reason. Here's the "Because he said so" argument. My friend, Tommy Angelo, plays professionally and makes a living at it. And he is both gracious and literate enough to describe quite well how he does it. Tommy loves position the way little boys love puppies. If he's on the button, he's getting ready to raise before he's seen his cards. If he's in the blinds, he's getting ready to fold before he's seen his cards. Much of Tommy's game is built around being one step ahead of his opponent, and hey, when you have position on your opponent, you're exactly one step ahead of him, because he has to act exactly one step ahead of you. It's beautiful to watch Tommy fold blinds and raise buttons all evening long, and I have come to be more generous with blinds and more aggressive with the button because of it. I believe it's made my game stronger.

Just remember, when you're one or two positions to the left of the button, they make you put some money in. But, they do not make you put in more after it to play the hand.

So, the next time you have that 7-4 offsuit in the small blind, go ahead, toss that extra 60 percent-70 percent of a bet into the pot. Or, call two cold from the big blind with K-10 offsuit.

And you may tell yourself, "My god – what have I done?"

* That moron would be me.