Poker is a card game which is so much more than that. There are all kinds of strategic elements to consider when you play a game of poker. You have to be familiar with the poker rules, learn how to construct winning poker hands, and even understand the importance of your position at the poker table. Besides all this, you also need to know how to bet when you’re playing poker. Now, when it comes to betting, one of the most important concepts is to play the blinds to win.
If you’re wondering what blinds are, then let us explain. Blinds are essentially forced bets that certain players have to place. Usually, in a poker game, there are two blinds; small and big. These players have to place certain amounts as bets before the players look at their cards, in order to build a pot and induce other placers to start placing bets, as well. And while there is talk about how players lose more money from blinds than they make, there is a way out. Read on, and all will be clear.
Poker Blind Strategy
If you want to earn money from the blinds, then you have to learn how to optimize the edge that you have and use it to earn some cash. Mainly it involves avoiding losing money and playing it smart. The tips to do that are as follows:
- Steal from the small blind more than you would from the big blind:
If you start opening from the small blind position, then you will get your hands on a lot of the dead money that is in the pot. It’s one of the smartest ways to reduce loss of money. In fact, if you want to make more money from small blinds then you should be raising higher than you normally would. The whole point here is to create an environment in which the big blind would be reluctant to call to the amount you have. If you raise too small of an amount, it allows the other players to easily call that amount. So, aim to raise much higher, up to 3.5 times or if you’re in a tournament with antes, then even up to 4.5 times. However, keep an eye on the big blind. If they pick up on your strategy, then you will have to adjust your plan to keep up the façade.
- Defend from the big blinds:
Very often, weaker players playing from the big blind tend to fold. You should aim to avoid that. Even when you’re in the big blind, you should try to play with a wider range of cards, especially because of the price you’re getting. You should be prepared to play an aggressive game when you have a good hand and battle it out for the pots. You can’t be complacent and play too passive a game when you’re on the big blind. You don’t have to play recklessly, but you have to go on the offense sometimes and fight.
- Don’t donk bet:
Donk betting is considered to be bad practice in poker. It’s usually done by weaker players, and is a move where the person who called in the preflop leads in the person who raised in the preflop. The main disadvantage to this is that the person, who has called preflop, from the big blinds, does not have the advantage of having very strong cards that can make up a strong range. Whereas the person who raised probably has that wide a range. So, essentially you would be placing a bet on a weaker hand. The second issue when you donk bet is to balance out your range so that the fact that you have a weaker range is not picked up by your opponents. When you avoid donk betting, not only do you not lose money in the long run, but you also don’t give out any information about the cards you hold.
- Check raise in an aggressive manner:
It’s better to be an aggressive check raiser rather than caller when you’re in the blinds. This usually helps to defeat any bluffs made by your opponents and flushes out any marginal hands, as well. This makes their decision making process a lot harder, especially in the future rounds. This strategy is especially good if there are chances that the future rounds will turn up some dangerous cards. Either these cards could potentially destroy hands that you’ve built, or give your opponents any added advantage. When you flush out the competition earlier in the game by check raising, you can avoid these pitfalls.
Now you can say that you’re fully equipped to make some money, playing the blinds to win. So, come join us at Spartan Poker and get playing poker online!
