Playing the Blinds: Some More Examples - Part V

In the last issue, I discussed that it is sometimes correct to three-bet a late-position raiser before the flop with a rather marginal holding, under the following circumstances:

. You are in the big blind. (Don't make this play from the small blind with a marginal hand. It is simply too expensive.)

. You were planning to call anyway; that is, your hand and/or the situation seems too profitable for a fold.

. The raiser often raises on light values, especially in position.

. The raiser respects your play, and does not think you are particularly tricky; that is, he will give you credit for a hand when you three-bet.

. You think that by three-betting, you will be able to take the initiative away from your opponent (so that you can expect to pick up the pot when both you and your opponent flop nothing).

Hands like 10-9 suited and Q-J suited are excellent candidates for making this kind of move every once in a while. To fully understand the strength of this play, you should put yourself in your opponent's shoes. If you have read him correctly (for a steal or semisteal), he might well hold a hand like A-8 offsuit, K-9 offsuit, or something like J-8 suited or 8-7 suited – and maybe even worse. How do you think he will feel when he gets popped before the flop when holding these types of hands – and not by just someone , but by you , a very, very tight player who hardly ever enters a pot. I guarantee you that he will be looking for reasons to fold his hand after the flop . If your image is correct, he will fold not only if he receives no help from the board, but if he receives some help. Now, knowing that it is 2-to-1 against someone holding two random cards to flop a pair, if there's also the added chance of him folding when he does flop a pair, it should be obvious that three-betting in this type of situation can be a very powerful play, indeed.

Example Hand No. 1: A-A

Now, the reason this can be such a powerful play is that your opponent fears you might have aces or kings – or at least a very strong holding. (Remember, a late-position player who raises as the first one in is always afraid of someone waking up with a real hand behind him, especially because the players in front of him obviously didn't hold much. This is called the bunching effect , meaning that, at least in theory, there might be relatively more high cards left in the deck, now that so many players have folded their hands). Now, let's say that you do have aces in the big blind, and once again a late-position player comes in for a raise. Should you trap by just calling or play straightforwardly and three-bet? Well, in this case there is something to be said for just calling. After all, your call closes the betting, as there are no players behind you whom you will either have to force out or make pay for the privilege of seeing the flop. So, just calling may enable you to trap your only opponent on the later streets, as he will probably give you credit for all types of hands, but not aces.

Having said that, I usually like to play my aces straightforwardly. Because I sometimes play my hands as if I have aces , I don't think it would be right to do things differently when I finally get them. Your opponents will certainly notice if you are someone who likes to play his premium hands deceptively, so the next time you try to represent aces, they will be less likely to fall for it. Even though quite a few good players I know do things differently than I do, I always raise with aces before the flop – in any type of situation and from any position, regardless of the action in front of me. Because so many situations come up in which you would play a hand like A-Q or even A-J as if you had aces (for instance, three-betting an early raiser who is on your immediate right – and who is known to raise on light values – with a relatively marginal hand like A-Q offsuit in order to get rid of all players behind you to play heads up, in position, with a hand that figures to be the best), I think you should also play your aces like aces, and raise and reraise with them wherever you can. (Continuing with the A-Q or A-J from above, if players know you are less likely to make this three-bet play with aces or kings, they may call or even raise you with hands like 9-9 or A-Q – hands they might have folded if they figured you for aces or kings. Now, you definitely don't want this to happen. You don't want to be sandwiched between an aggressive player who might bet with anything and someone behind you who has shown strength, and who may or may not have you beat. You don't want this; you want all the players behind you to fold.)

I always treat aces for what they are, the best possible starting hand in the deck, and I will therefore try to get as much money into the pot with them as possible. Because your opponents will often hope you have A-K or A-Q rather than aces, and thus will call you down after the flop with any pair, I think it is best to always bet the hell out of your aces – even though in some cases, like this example, there is something to be said for just calling to make your move later.

Example Hand No. 2: J-7 Offsuit

Contrary to what most people do, I usually don't even complete my small blind with this hand in unraised pots, let alone defend my big blind with it against a raise. Regardless of the situation and whether or not the raiser is likely to have a big hand, if he catches me in the blind with this type of holding, the pot is his. The J-7 offsuit is not only a bad hand when you're out of position in a heads-up situation, but also in a multiway pot. This is because (a) you cannot make the nuts, and (b) you are holding cards in the playing range of your opponents – and on top of that, they're slightly worse. It is for this reason that J-7 types of hands often have negative implied odds : You are simply more likely to lose money after the flop with these cards than win some additional money with them.

Some Final Words

In this series, I have discussed the subject of playing the blinds and shared with you the considerations and reasons why you should or should not defend them – and if you should, how you should continue on the later streets. Even though lots of writers don't like to focus on blinds defense (because it is so "personal" and requires "feel" more than anything else), I have done my best to give you some sort of guide to rely on when facing the question: Should I defend or not? If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at any time.