If you ever find yourself playing in a live cash game in Las Vegas and the action folds to you on the small blind, don’t be surprised if you get a dirty look when you raise. It was long ago decided by Vegas grinders that blind-on-blind action was too high variance for words and that if play folded to the small blind the two players would simply ‘chop’ and take back their antes. When playing online this isn’t possible, and you know what? That’s a good thing for you because there are a lot of players out there who don’t know how to play in the blinds and end up making a lot of mistakes, which means more winning opportunities!
The crucial thing to understand is that, whether you’re playing full-ring or six-max, when it folds to the blinds you’re effectively playing heads-up. And what does that mean? Well, in heads-up play the most aggressive players tend to win the most – even if they do occasionally get their fingers burnt. With only two players left the chances of running into a premium hand are that much lower and as such you can value your own holdings that much higher. In most cases it’s the player who puts in the last raise who wins. Just don’t make the mistake of raising without the goods into a player who is obviously pot-committed because of their stack size.
Tight versus loose
Paying attention to the playing styles and tendencies of the players directly to your left and right is incredibly important, as they’re the stacks you’ll be involved in pots with most frequently. Doyle Brunson once wrote that you should play tight on a loose table and loose on a tight table, and never has that been truer than when you’re in a blind-on-blind fight. If the big blind to your small blind is on the tight side you are making a huge mistake by not raising the majority of your hands when the action passes to you. Likewise if you don’t factor in that your opponent is aggressive you’ll be throwing away chips if you enter a pot without being ready to adapt.
Read part II