Small Blind Problem
The interesting discussion of small-blind play on this week’s Lord Admiral Card Club podcast got me thinking about some recent hands I’ve played in SNGs. The small blind is indeed the trickiest position to play well. Try thinking out the following hand; it’s not a real hand but is a composite of many. The way I’d play it is written in white letters underneath the action on each street. Highlight the blank spaces to see my take. No reading ahead, and no copping out by saying “I would have played it differently on an earlier street”. Pretend your buddy played the hand up to that point and then had to run to the bathroom.
Level 1 of a $55 no-limit hold’em SNG, first hand. All players have 1000 chips. The blinds are 10/15 and you’re on the small blind. You’re dealt AdKd. A mid-position player limps and the button limps. What’s your play and why?
Answer: This decision is a lot closer than it appears. You’ll be playing out of position for the rest of the hand, and in no-limit hold’em your position is almost as important as your cards, especially when the money is deep. However, suited Big Slick is a very strong hand, and you’d be wasting an opportunity if you didn’t try to extract maximum value. I’d put in an approximately pot-sized raise. Raising here is the equivalent of doubling down with 11 against the dealer’s 10 in blackjack – a +EV but high-variance play. With a slightly weaker hand like AKo or TT, I would be more likely to simply call.
You raise to 75, the big blind folds and both limpers call. The pot is now 240. The flop comes 9d 6d 4h. What’s your action?
Answer: Bet! That’s a great flop for your hand. You have two big overcards and the nut flush draw, giving you 15 outs twice against an opponent with one pair – that’s just about even money. And by betting, you may induce incorrect folds by opponents with hands like 33 or 76, as well as correct folds by hands like QJ (you’d rather bet and have QJ correctly fold, than check and give a free card). You know how everybody says you should play tight-aggressive? Well, this is the aggressive part. You need to make a sizable bet, at least 2/3 of the pot. If you said “check and call”, you are playing weak-tight. That’s a serious leak in your game that needs to be addressed before you play SNGs above the $10 level.
You bet 160. The first limper folds and the button calls. There are now 560 chips in the pot and you both have 765 chips left. The turn card is the Jh. What’s your action?
Answer: Poker is a tough game, isn’t it? You don’t have much information about your opponent’s hand – that’s the drawback of playing out of position. I will say that you are unlikely to be way behind at this point. It would be hard for him to have two pair on such a ragged board. A set is always a possibility, but you can’t live in fear of that. So your options are essentially: check with the intention of calling a reasonable bet; bet all-in; or bet a lesser amount. Checking is the worst option. If your opponent is drawing, a check gives him a free card; if he has a pair, your check tells him that his hand is good. The second-worst option is betting all-in. An all-in is, ironically, more likely to be called than a smaller bet, because by overbetting you are clearly saying that you don’t want a call. I believe the best play is to bet about 300. That’s an effective pressure bet against an opponent with one pair: you are representing an overpair, and you have enough chips left to potentially make a large bet on the river. An opponent holding a hand like T9 or 88 will have a very tough call here. This is what Ciaffone and Reuben refer to as “knowing when to fire the second barrel”, i.e. lead out on the turn after betting the flop. It’s one of the trickiest decisions in no-limit hold’em.
You bet 300, and the button quickly calls. You each now have 465 chips and the pot is 1160. The river is the As. What’s your action?
Answer: You must check. Checking seems counterintuitive, because the river improved your hand, but with a little thought, the logic becomes obvious. If your opponent has a smaller pair, that ace will likely convince him that he’s beaten (if he wasn’t already) and he won’t call a large bet. If he was drawing to a flush, he obviously cannot call anything. If he made aces up, he will happily go all-in no matter what you do. So betting makes no sense; you can’t make a superior hand fold, and a lesser hand is unlikely to call. Check, and give him a chance to bluff at this big pot. (You might want to hesitate a little before checking, as a false tell.) Call any bet. If he made aces up, so be it. There’s no way you can release the hand at this point. Note: another option would be to make a small “milking” bet of 150 chips or so. That’s a more advanced play that deserves a post of its own. Suffice to say that in this situation I’d rather try to induce a steal.
You wait about 15 seconds and then check. The button goes all-in, and you call. He shows QdTd. He had quite a few outs, but that ace wasn’t one of them. You doubled up on the first hand! Well played!
Level 1 of a $55 no-limit hold’em SNG, first hand. All players have 1000 chips. The blinds are 10/15 and you’re on the small blind. You’re dealt AdKd. A mid-position player limps and the button limps. What’s your play and why?
Answer: This decision is a lot closer than it appears. You’ll be playing out of position for the rest of the hand, and in no-limit hold’em your position is almost as important as your cards, especially when the money is deep. However, suited Big Slick is a very strong hand, and you’d be wasting an opportunity if you didn’t try to extract maximum value. I’d put in an approximately pot-sized raise. Raising here is the equivalent of doubling down with 11 against the dealer’s 10 in blackjack – a +EV but high-variance play. With a slightly weaker hand like AKo or TT, I would be more likely to simply call.
You raise to 75, the big blind folds and both limpers call. The pot is now 240. The flop comes 9d 6d 4h. What’s your action?
Answer: Bet! That’s a great flop for your hand. You have two big overcards and the nut flush draw, giving you 15 outs twice against an opponent with one pair – that’s just about even money. And by betting, you may induce incorrect folds by opponents with hands like 33 or 76, as well as correct folds by hands like QJ (you’d rather bet and have QJ correctly fold, than check and give a free card). You know how everybody says you should play tight-aggressive? Well, this is the aggressive part. You need to make a sizable bet, at least 2/3 of the pot. If you said “check and call”, you are playing weak-tight. That’s a serious leak in your game that needs to be addressed before you play SNGs above the $10 level.
You bet 160. The first limper folds and the button calls. There are now 560 chips in the pot and you both have 765 chips left. The turn card is the Jh. What’s your action?
Answer: Poker is a tough game, isn’t it? You don’t have much information about your opponent’s hand – that’s the drawback of playing out of position. I will say that you are unlikely to be way behind at this point. It would be hard for him to have two pair on such a ragged board. A set is always a possibility, but you can’t live in fear of that. So your options are essentially: check with the intention of calling a reasonable bet; bet all-in; or bet a lesser amount. Checking is the worst option. If your opponent is drawing, a check gives him a free card; if he has a pair, your check tells him that his hand is good. The second-worst option is betting all-in. An all-in is, ironically, more likely to be called than a smaller bet, because by overbetting you are clearly saying that you don’t want a call. I believe the best play is to bet about 300. That’s an effective pressure bet against an opponent with one pair: you are representing an overpair, and you have enough chips left to potentially make a large bet on the river. An opponent holding a hand like T9 or 88 will have a very tough call here. This is what Ciaffone and Reuben refer to as “knowing when to fire the second barrel”, i.e. lead out on the turn after betting the flop. It’s one of the trickiest decisions in no-limit hold’em.
You bet 300, and the button quickly calls. You each now have 465 chips and the pot is 1160. The river is the As. What’s your action?
Answer: You must check. Checking seems counterintuitive, because the river improved your hand, but with a little thought, the logic becomes obvious. If your opponent has a smaller pair, that ace will likely convince him that he’s beaten (if he wasn’t already) and he won’t call a large bet. If he was drawing to a flush, he obviously cannot call anything. If he made aces up, he will happily go all-in no matter what you do. So betting makes no sense; you can’t make a superior hand fold, and a lesser hand is unlikely to call. Check, and give him a chance to bluff at this big pot. (You might want to hesitate a little before checking, as a false tell.) Call any bet. If he made aces up, so be it. There’s no way you can release the hand at this point. Note: another option would be to make a small “milking” bet of 150 chips or so. That’s a more advanced play that deserves a post of its own. Suffice to say that in this situation I’d rather try to induce a steal.
You wait about 15 seconds and then check. The button goes all-in, and you call. He shows QdTd. He had quite a few outs, but that ace wasn’t one of them. You doubled up on the first hand! Well played!
posted by Poker Rabbit at
11:46 AM
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