Read Part II
In blinds-only conflict the big blind always holds the higher ground postflop, and whether you have the bigger stack or not, having position makes it a lot easier to thump your opponent out of the way. If you don’t make the occasional move you’re missing out on using that position to its full effect. So when should you call, raise or fold?
Folding
This is obviously only an option should your opponent raise from the small blind. In this situation you have three primary concerns: your hole cards, your opponent’s aggression levels and the stack sizes. If you’ve got a premium hand you’re obviously playing on, but if you’re holding absolute rags in most cases you’re best simply ditching your hand. It’s when you have a marginal hand that you need to consider your play more. Against super-tight or very good players you’re best mucking most marginal hands, particularly ones that could be easily dominated.
Raising
In no-limit hold’em there’s a lot to be said for raising. You either take the pot down preflop or build a bigger pot that you’ll hopefully scoop on the flop, playing as you are with position. Against a raise from the small blind you’re even more likely to win with a chunky three-bet given that the small blind’s range is that much wider than, say, a player in middle position. A lot depends on your opponent here and how often they’ve been raising, as well as your own image. If you’ve folded the last few times they’ve raised you should find it that much easier to make a credible three-bet.
Calling
Calling a raise with hands that can flop really hard is often the better approach when both you and your opponent are deep-stacked. Small pairs and medium suited connectors are perfect to call with here. In tournament poker, if you have fold equity, shoving your pair may be the better play if you’ve established that your foe won’t call lightly. Calling against a player who has shown himself to be quite straightforward postflop is also a solid play, as you can out-flop them or steal the pot away from them when they check to you.