in the SB

[junYUN]

question here...if you're in the small blind, when is it ok to lay down you blinds, and when is it not? meaning...how strong does your hand have to be to give that extra amount to stay in to see the flop at the discounted rate? i notice a lot of pros rarely lay down their SB, just curious to see how you guys feel about it.

edit: in cash games OR in tourny play

[Penguinfan]

I never call a raise with a hand that I would normally not play, as far as if it is not raised, well I probably make a mistake here but if it's a hand I would normally play then I limp in, if it's a hand I would normally throw away I will still limp in if there are 4 callers or more before me, I mean you know the pot will have 6 bets in it and for the discount price I think any two are worth a peek.

EDIT to add: I am assuming a cash game here.

[Kidd7138]

If I'm in the SB and there arent any raises I would play a lot more of the mediocre hands that I normally wouldn't play. It's a cheap way to see if you can get lucky if you limp in with connectors or one high card.

[eddo31]

i will play many more hands in the small blind. generally, for half a bet, there arent a whole ton of hands that you arent getting the right odds to call with. what i look for in small blind hands is usually how connected the two cards are. if they are suited that is a bonus, and if they are high cards, i might have played them anyways.

[Aequitas58]

Cash Games
-Generally, I never call a raise when I'm in the blinds. I'm in the worst position after the flop. I'd really have to have good cards to call.
-If there is no raise, and more than two callers, I'll usually play any suited cards or connectors. Also big cards, but usually not any ragged high card.
-If all fold but the button, and there is a raise, I will call with less (because I'll put him on a blind steal.) If I have anything decent, I'll re-raise.
-Any A or K, and I'll attempt to blind steal if noone else has limped.

Tournaments
-A lot of it has to do with chip count, type of players, the bubble/cashing situation, and what the cards are (obviously).
-I'm tighter in a tournament than in live play. For whatever reason.

For addtn'l information, Tommy D (?) has a really good article about calling a raise from blinds. Check it on Cardplayer.

Hope this helps.

[junYUN]

does help a lot, just trying to increase my poker IQ as much as i can. where would i find this article? sorry if i'm ignorant but where would i find cardplayer?

[GeoffM]

I usually like to protect my SB when playing O8B. You tend to hit a lot more flops well and I hate throwing away chips without seeing the next 3 cards.

[eddo31]

i actually tighten up in the blinds in o8. essentially i think that playing too many ahnds, and having poor hand selection is the biggest mistake that i can make in that game. playing marginal hands, and then getting married to them postflop has always been a good way for me to lose money.

of course, if i just threw away the marginal hands postflop, everything would work itself out, but i find that more difficult than folding out of the small blind.

[Aequitas58]

If you're into expanding your poker IQ, then check out this page:



TONS of articles by a lot of players. You can spend weeks just going thru all of them. Some of it is really interesting stuff.

[SirFWALGMan]

I lay them down when it makes sense. You really need to know when your beat with weak kicker hands. If you play A4o and the flop misses the 4 but gets the A, what do you do? Your kickers sucks. You could lose alot of money calling down to the river, or you would just need to fold immediatly. So why give people the extra couple of bucks? My guidlines usually let me play weaker flush draws and things like that in SB, but if I miss the draw on the flop I have to fold. Even when I make it sometimes I will get dominated by a higher flush, but that is Poker for ya!

[junYUN]

funny thing is right before i read this i had just found this page, tons of info. wish danny n wrote more "how to," but what are ya gonna do, eh?

[Aequitas58]

Yea. He does have good info in his articles, but usually it's just a description of one big hand in a recent tournament.

[DaTruPoker]

I play almost all connectors-suited or not. but fold any other hand I would normally fold. i often get in trouble with hands like Q10 and K8, so I am trying to force myself to fold them for 1/2 price.

[drewjax]

I tend to think more about the size of the limp in, meaning if it in a fixed game and is small, or in a tourney late or short stacked etc. this may not be the best way to decide, but i guess i limp with almost anything if it is cheap enough. I have a decent amount of success playing from SB I find, particularly in NLHE tourneys.