Free Poker Strategy: Playing From The Blinds

There are over 20,000 archived stories on Card Player, many of which feature invaluable information on poker strategy from the best minds in the game.

With the Poker Strategy game and concept search, Card Player readers can instantly be shown hundreds of articles on specific topics such as Bet Sizing, Board Texture, Hand Selection, Psychology and many more, for a number of games including hold’em, Omaha, stud and other mixed variations.

Each week, we’ll pull a few of our favorites from the archives, giving you a look at what can be discovered using this resource.

General Concept: Playing From The Blinds

“The first thing you should look at is stack sizes. Deep in a tournament, your ranges are really wide, and you can play a lot of different hands. So, in order to three-bet from the big blind, you need to be about 30 big blinds deep. If an opponent raises from the small blind with a stack size anywhere below 55 big blinds, he’s not going to be able to four-bet you. So, that makes it a good spot to three-bet him, because you’re now pressuring him to risk his entire chip stack.”

— Faraz Jaka (Head Games: November 2010)

“From the small blind with 30 big blinds, it’s correct to start limp-calling some of your hands that play well post-flop. These are hands with which you wouldn’t want to get shoved over if you raised preflop from the small blind. With hands like Q-8 suited, you would limp-call, but not raise, because you don’t want to get reraised all in by hands like K-3 off suit. You can easily balance your preflop raising range and your limp-calling range from the small blind by trying to see flops with hands that play well post-flop — basically, hands with which you don’t want to get it all in preflop.”

— Ashton Griffin (Head Games: November 2010)

“In no-limit when the pot is medium or relatively big, you’re out of position, and checking would normally be the play, sometimes it’s advantageous to bet a small amount (usually the minimum bet) rather than the obvious check. As long as the pot is reasonably large relative to the size of the bet, the additional risk is minimal.”

— Dusty Schmidt (Checking With A Chip: November 2011)

If advanced concepts are over your head, or if you are just looking for a nice refresher course on the basics, head on over to the Card Player Poker School to earn your poker diploma. The program is free for Card Player readers. Enroll today!

Related Articles

Jonathan Little: When Should You Turn Pro?

Strategy With Jonathan Little: Basic Hand Reading

Strategy: 8 Tips For Mastering Online Tournaments

Most Viewed Articles