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June 12, 2006
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Poker Lessons)
Poker Lesson: Big Blind Play in
Limit Hold 'em
Author: Jennifer Harman
In Limit
Hold 'em, the big blind is one of the toughest position to
play. You're out of position, and that's never a good thing, but
usually, you'll be getting excellent odds to continue with the
hand. Against a single opponent who has raised, you'll be getting
better than 3 to 1 and, in most hands, you're no more than a 2
to 1 dog. The problem is, you'll often find yourself going into
the flop with shaky cards and, at that point, you're sure to face
some tough decisions.
Before I talk about some tricky situations that
develop in the big blind, I want to note that you can make your
life a little easier by folding some hands pre-flop. If you're
holding a medium Ace and you're facing an early position raise
from a player who you know plays only good cards up front, then
fold. It may seem like you're getting a nice price to continue,
but in this spot, you're only going to get into trouble. When
you miss the flop completely, it's going to be tough to continue
and, if you hit an Ace, you may lose a lot to a hand that has
you dominated. I'd rather play 6-7 against an early position raise
from a tight player than A-7.
There are some hole cards that are just hopeless.
If I'm facing a raise from any position and I find something like
J-2, T-3, or 9-4. I'm going to surrender the hand.
The really difficult situations arise when you hold
a mediocre hand, something like A-8 or pocket 6s, and you face
a raise from late position. Many players will raise with just
about anything in the cutoff or on the button, so it's tough to
know where you stand with these medium
strength hands.
What should you do?
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. My best
advice is to vary your play so as to take advantage of a particular
opponent's tendencies. For example, if you hold A-8 in the big
blind and face a late-position raise from a player who tends to
be a little weak after the flop, you should probably re-raise
pre-flop and then follow up with a bet on the flop most of the
time. Against this type of player, this kind of action will force
a lot of folds.
If the opponent who raises in late position is tricky
and very aggressive post flop, I'll often call the pre-flop raise
and then check-raise on most flops, whether or not I got a piece
of the board. Even if the check-raise doesn't win the pot, this
move helps keep a tough, aggressive player off balance.
Of course, you'll need to consider the flop as you
move forward in the hand. If you call a pre-flop raise with pocket
6s and see a flop of T-Q-K, there's little point in going to war.
Give your opponent credit for some hand that beats yours and look
for a better spot. But this doesn't mean that you should be willing
to give up on anything less than top pair.
Against a single opponent, I'll play second pair
pretty aggressively. Sometimes, I'll lead at the pot with this
hand, and sometimes, I'll check-raise with it. Taking this aggressive
approach with a shaky hand allows me to play my big hands in the
same manner. When my opponents see me check-raise, they won't
know if I'm making this play with as little as second pair or
as much as a set.
As I said earlier, playing from the big blind in
limit poker is tricky. In my opinion, it's one of the toughest
spots in all of poker. My best advice is that you should stay
alert to your opponent's tendencies and look to mix up your play.
If you're on your game, it will be tough for other players to
put you on a hand while you'll have a pretty good idea of what
they're doing.
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