This poker article is about the tricky question of starting hand strategy. In poker your starting position is determined by where the button is and this can make a huge difference to the way the game starts and develops. To stack the odds as best as humanly possible, to coin the phrase “make your own luck” you need to know how to approach hand play from the different starting positions. In this article I am going to cover the Small Blinds.
The Small Blind – The small blind puts up half a BB (Big Bet) and the big blind puts up a whole BB. So for an example if were playing a 200nl then the small blind would be 1 dollar and the big blind would be 2 dollars. Most of the time in the blinds you get dealt awful hands. Trash hands have little to no value unless you flop a miracle, with that said I’m going to talk about the small blind first.
So you’re in the small blind and a guy from early position raised it to 8 dollars (4x BB) you look down at a K-Js (s=suited). Now even though K-Js looks like a great hand you have to A) remember your first to act if you call his raise B) Think about what he has, so you have to put him on a range. Now being he’s in early position raising he probably has a good hand. To learn more about ranges read (Its all about range). So your K-Js looks pretty but he most likely has a better hand than K-Js.
This should be an instant fold, because if you call and the flop comes K-10-5 your in trouble against an A-A, K-K, A-K, or even a 10-10. He is more likely to have the first 3 than the 10-10.
Why you ask?
Well he knows if he raises from early position then he’s first to act so he wants a valuable hand with expected value to put money into the pot with. If he shows down anything less than one of these hands I listed above except for QQ or JJ than put a note him that he does not open with only premium hands. If he does not open with only premium hands you still don’t want to call him with this hand. But that information could be very useful in future hands.
The hands you want to call a raise with from the small blind with are premium hands. You want to dominate your opponents hand. A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, A-Ks, and A-Ko anything else should be folded. Sometimes you can call with other hands, but it depends on the raise and the type of player he is.
Calling a 4x raise sometimes with small pocket pairs like an 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, can be very profitable, so if you call to see a flop with one of these if you don’t hit a set get out of the pot. If you do hit a set be careful of a bigger set. That’s why I recommend folding those from the small blind if the pot has already been raised pre-flop.
Now in a pot that has not been raised you want to only raise with premium hands because you are first to act. Those hands include A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, A-Ks, A-Ko and A-Qs. You want to raise 4x the bb +1x for each limper. Some choose 5x +1x some choose 3x +1x. Do whatever you’re comfortable with. I recommend 4bb +1bb for each limper.
Now lets say you got a 6-7o in the small blind and 2 others limped in so you already have half the bb in their. I would complete the blind and see a flop. These are the hands I would do this with and why. First I will cover the off suit connectors. 5-6o up to K-Qo I would call with these hoping to hit two pair or better. One exception with K-Qo, top pair is pretty good because I have a solid kicker. The only other off suit hands that I would complete the small blind with here is A-Qo, A-Jo, K-Jo. The K-J if I don’t hit two pair or better it’s gone right away.
Remember this is an unraised pot. Now about suited cards, any A-Xs is good. K-10s and up is ok. 5-6s up to K-Qs I would call, Q-10s is ok as well. You can also play suited gapers like 5-7s up if you would like but I recommend you don’t, but if you do, you want to flop straights or boats with these.
You have be a little careful with flushes that are not at min K high. But that is at your own discretion. This is just a basic guideline; you also want to complete the blind with any pocket pair that you wouldn’t raise with in this spot. That’s pocket eights and lower, you want a set an over pair is ok but don’t go nuts with it. Play it like its top pair top kicker.
This is just a very basic guide to the small blind. I can’t stress to you how important it is to always put your opponents on a range of hands before you choose to make your decisions. I hope this article on how to play the small blind helps improve your online poker game.
Nick, originally from the UK now lives in Sweden with wife Lena, 2 daughters and a Border Terrier called Gunnar. He is Marketing Manager for free online poker site NoPayPOKER.com where you can literally play free online poker purely for fun yet win real money! Advertisers finance the winnings so there no deposits, no buy ins, no rakes, nothing! It’s a great model as can be seen by way hundreds of new members join daily. He also runs his own poker tips strategy and education blog where you can learn about poker and find out more about NoPayPOKER.com and other free online poker sites.