At the end of part 1 of this series (‘The importance of the button in Sit & Go’s’), we made the point that if you love the button, poker in turn will love you. While it’s certainly true that the positional advantage is a big asset that should not be ignored, there’s always a facet to these rules of thumbs that keeps us strategy writers in a job. In this section we’ll look at knowing when it’s the right time to raise and when you should take a breather.
It’s easy to fritter away chips out of position when playing too many hands or trying too hard to defend your blinds. You know the routine: the button raises, you have a hand such as K-Q or A-9s and decide it’s one you can defend the blinds with. The flop misses you by a country mile, you check and the button nicks the pot. It’s a nuisance when you get those hands in the blinds, isn’t it?
Fighting fire with fire
However, players are wising up to this constant aggression from the button and have come up with a counter-plan that all button abusers need to be aware of – they’ve started three-betting! No longer is K-Q a defending hand, instead it’s regarded as something to counterattack with, and rightly so. With everyone having read an article about the button being the box seat, we ALL know button raises are just attempts at thievery.
So, back to the button. How do you adjust? If you find yourself up against a player who seeks to defend his blinds more with three-bets, tighten up your hand range. Hands like pocket Threes are now going to become troublesome, so think about mixing your game up and perhaps limping the button with them early on. Ultimately though, the best way to fight fire is with fire. When you open from the button, ask yourself, ‘Am I happy to commit with this hand if they reraise me again?’ Make sure that when you’re putting your chips over the line you’re bringing the big guns such as A-Q+ and 9-9+ and you’re putting yourself in a better position to handle the little blighters.
Of course, all of this depends on the blinds and how many players remain. As you get shorter stacked, opening raises for 3x when you have 11BBs becomes suicidal. If you’re happy to play the hand at all, stick them all in and leave that aggressive blind defender to call off his chips.
Players are getting smarter and are more aware than ever of button abuse, so make sure you adjust accordingly. And remember, no matter how aggressive they are, you’re the one with position.
Read Part I
Read part III