Big Blind Play in no-Limit Texas Holdem Poker

In No limit Texas Holdem poker, the ideal spot to be in is on the button. You act last, meaning you have plenty of prior actions to inform your decisions. On the other end of the spectrum is the big blind. In the big blind, you have to put in a bet before knowing anything, even your own hand! How you handle this situation can have a significant effect on your Texas hold.em profits.

What Is the Big Blind?

In No limit Texas Hold.em, the action is driven by blinds, rather than antes. These are forced bets put in by the two players to the left of the dealer. The first player puts in half, or 2/3 of a bet, known as the small blind, and the player to his or her left puts in a full bet, called the big blind. If there is no raise, the big blind can see the flop for free, as he or she has already put in a bet. If he or she likes, he or she can raise even if no one has before this. After the flop, the big blind acts after the small blind, or first if the small blind has folded.

How Do I Handle the Big Blind in No Limit Hold.em?

If the pot is raised, you should not think of yourself as obligated to call simply because you already have money in the pot. However, depending upon the size of the raise and the number of people who have called the raise, you may be getting correct pot odds to call, meaning the amount you win if you win the pot is greater than the amount you lose all of the times you call the raise with this poker hand and have to muck your hand somewhere down the line. For example, the blinds are $3 and $5. Someone in early position raises to $15. Three other players, including the small blind, call. There is now $65 in the pot (four players who put in $15 and your $5 blind) and it will cost you $10 to see the flop, so your pot odds are $65 to $10, or 6.5 to 1. This means if you think your hand will win at least 1 out of every 7 times you play it, you should call (the 6 times you play and lose will cost you 6x $10=$60, the 7th time you will win $65, for a positive overall value of +$5). When you factor in the fact that if you do flop strong with a weak starting hand, it will be well disguised and you will probably win future bets down the line, calling with many hands will be correct.

What Else Do I need to Know About Big Blind Play?

If most of your opponents fold pre-flop, the last or next to last player may raise to try to steal the blinds, since they know they only have to get two or three opponents to fold. You do not need to defend your blinds from these players every time, but if it happens frequently, you should take a stand. If you do decide to defend your blind, it is often correct to re-raise and play poker aggressively throughout, putting pressure on the possible stealer. After the flop, you will be out of position for the rest of the hand. For this reason you should only raise pre-flop with a very strong hand (unless you are trying to discourage a steal), and you should proceed through the rest of the hand with great caution.

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