Poker – Playing Against The Blinds Part4
A more common situation is when the flop comes and the big blind bets it out first. You're now in a difficult position as a caller, because you don't know why he's betting. Is he betting for value with a good hand, or is he taking a shot at bluffing and stealing the pot? Is he semi-bluffing with a weak, but improvable hand? Are you known as a high-card player, and he's giving you a chance to throw away your K*Q4 when the flop is 6*6*34? You just have to know your players.
My experience has been that the blinds usually do not attempt to bluff on the flop. If they bet first, it's because they have a hand with which they expect to win. You have to keep in mind that what it takes to win the hand depends largely on the flop. If the flop is all low cards, and the blind bets into a large field, he's not bluffing. He expects to win the hand. If the flop is weird-looking, like J*6*24, and the blind bets into you, it's because he usually expects to win the hand.
Over the years, I've developed a strategy for playing against the blinds that has, for me, yielded superior results. It's easy to understand and easy to remember, and you shouldn't have any trouble making it part of your hold 'em strategy also. Here's my rule for playing against the blinds: throw away slightly better than average hands if the blind bets into you on the flop.
Of course, what constitutes an average hand depends on the flop, your cards, your position, how many other players are in the hand, and your estimation of what the preflop action means.
There are several good reasons why this is a profitable strategy for you:
1. You're not going to win every hand after the flop anyway. You'll win only a fraction of the hands you play past the flop, and you will often have to get lucky to win some of those.
2. You have only one bet invested in the hand. It's not that expensive to let it go and wait for a hand where you can be the bettor, and not the caller.
3. You never really know what the blind has, so why play a guessing game? That's not the way to play poker.
4. You'll be calling the blind's bet fewer times than average, and when you do call, the blind will notice it. He will (correctly) put you on a very good hand. Because of that, he'll often check to you on the turn when you call on the flop, thus increasing your chances of winning the hand.
5. You will always have position on the blind, which means that you'll often be able to raise on the turn or river, thereby getting in an extra big bet from the losing hands. This benefit more than makes up for the times when you folded on the flop and forfeited a small bet with an average hand.
Online Casino Bonus Portal zu den besten Online Casinos mit Casino ReviewsCasino Poker Freeroll Play Poker
Tags: blind bets, online casino, poker