Small Blind Play in No Limit Texas Hold'em Poker
Position play is a vital part of no limit Texas hold’em poker. Where you act in the hand will determine much of how you act. A position in no limit Texas hold’em where you are most vulnerable is when you are in the small blind, and you need to know how to play from the small blind to be successful.
What is the Small Blind?
In a game like seven card stud, the initial pot is built up by the presence of antes, forced bets that each player must put into the pot before the hand begins. In Texas hold’em, instead of antes, the action is driven by blinds, forced bets that players must put in to start the game. The first player to the left of the dealer puts in a set amount, usually equivalent to half a standard bet, and the player to his left puts in a full bet. This first player is called the small blind, the second player is the big blind. The action then starts with the first player to the left of the big blind, and goes around until it reaches the small blind, who may call a raise, complete the bet if there has been no raise, raise himself, or fold.
What Do You Need to Know About the Small Blind?
Because you have already put in part of the bet, you are often getting correct odds to call with any two cards if there has been no raise. Sometimes the small blind is 2/3 of the big blind rather than half, and in these cases you will almost always call an unraised pot.
How Do I Handle Small Blind Play in No Limit Texas Holdem?
As the small blind, you are in the worst position at the poker table. Not only have you been forced to put in money without seeing your hand, but you will act first in every subsequent round, meaning everyone will know what you are going to do before they must act. This means you should only call in the small blind if you are getting correct poker odds, meaning the amount you will win when your hand improves to win far outweighs the amount it is costing you to see the flop, which frequently will be the case, and you should only raise with an extremely strong hand.
Exceptions
If everyone folds to the last or next to last player, this player will frequently raise in an attempt to steal the blinds. It is generally incumbent upon the big blind to defend the pot if this is happening too often. However, you should be more open about your hand requirements to call a late position raise like this, especially from a player who is likely to steal. If you play in these cases, you should often raise to put pressure back on the potential stealer.
If everyone folds to the small blind in a live casino poker game, the small blind and big blind will often choose to “chop”, taking back their blinds and starting a new hand. This is done because the amount the casino takes out of the pot if they continue usually outweighs the positive value of winning a heads-up pot with no action. In online poker, this is generally not an option. If you flat call in this situation, the big blind may raise on a steal. If this happens frequently, you may have to take action, either limping with a strong hand and re-raising, re-raising on a bluff, or calling the raise and playing the hand aggressively.
