Small blind strategy

Playing hands out of the small blind can sometimes be tricky. You can often find yourself involved in a pot with a marginal hand that has hit the flop, but isn’t so strong a hand that you feel comfortable playing out of position. However, when you do play these sub-par hands, because you’re priced into a blind, you can sometimes find a flop and crack a big hand.

Advantages

Limpfest
When I am at a table where the players are doing a lot of limping and seeing a lot of flops, I tend to join the ‘limp parade’ as well. When seated at a table like this, there will probably be many opportunities on the small blind where I will be getting the right odds to see a flop. This means that if the blinds are $5/$10, the big blind puts up $10, I put up $5 on the small blind and assuming three other players limp for $10 each, the pot would be $45 when the action gets to me. This means that if I complete the bet for $5, I’m getting 9/1 pot odds, which is pretty good. In this situation, it’s very tempting to play, regardless of the starting hand. When I find myself in such a situation – even with 8-4 offsuit – I almost always call, hoping to hit a gin flop like 8-4-K or 4-4-8.

The chances are my opponents limped with drawing hands like Q-J, J-10, 7-8 suited. This is also why it is advantageous to take a flop when the price is right, even with junk hands because I probably don’t share any of the same cards with my opponents and could be outkicked, like Q-10 versus 9-10 – In other words, I have live cards.

Small vs big
It can also be quite good to limp from the small blind to the big when it’s folded to you and you’re heads-up with the big blind. In general, I prefer to either raise or fold when I’m heads-up with the big blind. There are few hands I will fold heads-up when I have the small blind, especially if the player is tight. I will almost always raise a tight player on the small blind. Knowing the tendencies of the big blind is another very important aspect to limping from the small blind. You must ascertain what type of player the big blind is. Are they aggressive? If you limp, will they raise every time? If this is the case, I will limp to the aggressive big blind with a big hand, like A-A, K-K, or A-K. From there, I might re-raise or flat call, but if you know the player will raise nine times out of ten, this is another instance in which limping from the small blind can be profitable.

Disadvantages

Poor position
While there are some advantages of being on the small blind, it is widely acknowledged that it is the worst position at the table. When I play any type of hand from the small blind, I do so with extreme caution. Any play from this position is complicated by the fact that before the flop you are vulnerable to a raise from the big blind and after the flop you must act first. If you are not confident in your skills in playing out of position, you should be very selective with your hand requirements from the small blind.

Another disadvantage to limping from the small blind is when you have a mediocre hand, like A-8, A-7 or worse, because you need to take the lead of the hand so as to not get beaten by a bluff or a hand that shouldn’t be in the pot. When you don’t raise with these hands, you’re giving a chance to your opponent to flop a pair or bluff you out with a bad hand.

Don’t show weakness
When you just complete from the small blind, it may be seen as a sign of weakness as opposed to raising. Most good players will raise you with a pretty loose range of cards if you continually choose to limp from this position. However, because table image is so important in poker, this tight/weak image can occasionally be used to your advantage. For this concept, I refer back to how important it is to know the tendencies of the big blind. If I know the big blind will raise at any time, I’ll merely complete the bet. I like to limp with big hands and hands that I really want to see a flop with, like J-10 suited and other suited connectors. Conversely, if the player is tight and does not defend his blind, I will certainly raise with these hands.

Beware of the trap!
When you limp from the small blind, there are certain scenarios in which you can quite easily be trapped. Let’s say, for example, you’ve limped into the pot with J-3 suited. There are a couple of different flops in which you must be very wary, since hitting your flop could mean trouble. The most important factor to consider is that you must be brutally honest with yourself, regarding your skills as a poker player. If the flop is J-7-2 rainbow, are you the type of player who is able to determine that you are outkicked and lay down top pair as a result? It isn’t easy to lay down top pair in hold ‘em, but when you play hands like this, it is not unlikely that someone has limped with a hand like Q-J and has you beaten.

Another possibly dangerous situation with the same hand – let’s say J♠-3♠ – is drawing to or making the fourth nut flush. If the flop comes down with three spades, are you able to navigate the hand without going broke with a Jack-high flush? Will you be able to determine when not to draw to this type of hand?

Poker is a game of incomplete information; good players are able to recognise situations where their opponents are holding a hand that could possibly have their hand drawing dead. All of the mentioned scenarios are possible, which is why you must be extremely careful when playing hands from the small blind.