Playing the blinds in low limit hold-em
New to the forum... been playing Party Poker 1-2$ or 2-4$ limit hold-em for 6 months.
I try to play a reasonably tight list of opening hands but then seem to lose most of my chips playing the blinds. I get stuck in hands I wouldn't normally play with middle pairs, top pairs with bad kickers, low flush draws etc. Seeing these hands out to the river then costs a bunch of chips and only occasionally pays off.
Any advice for playing the blinds would be appreciated. Thanks
I try to play a reasonably tight list of opening hands but then seem to lose most of my chips playing the blinds. I get stuck in hands I wouldn't normally play with middle pairs, top pairs with bad kickers, low flush draws etc. Seeing these hands out to the river then costs a bunch of chips and only occasionally pays off.
Any advice for playing the blinds would be appreciated. Thanks
Comments
C'mon..
As my comments above indicate, I agree with Polarice. BBC's comment provides too many details and helpful suggestions for me to follow.
Any thoughts?
it really depends on the player your dealing with. if hes the type that will fold on the flop after being 3bet when he misses, then that certainly is a good line to take.
just because your reading him for a steal doesnt mean hes liable to give up easily in the face of agression.
I don't feel the need to constantly re-iterate the same points everytime the same topic comes up likes others on the forum. It's left as an exercise to the reader to figure out why the statements are wrong, but I'll give you a hint.
Aren't much of a problem as long as you respect the players types you are up against. It's likely you are playing these marginal hands too passively.
I get a chuckle from this one because your loosest position is the SB.
In the games I play in, the Small Blind (or SB) has to put a small amount of money into the pot blindly.
By doing that, it increases the range of hands you play since it costs you less to act.
No comment.
Lets use an hand example of 7-3 suited with 3 loose and passive players limping in. While likely unprofitable outside of the blinds, it can be slightly profitable when played from the blinds. This concept relates to implied odds. Out of the small blind you are getting double the implied odds, as you are calling 1/2 a bet to win say 15 bets as opposed to 1 bet to win 15 if you are outside of the blinds.
One cavet needs to be discussed thou. This theory assumes that you can play well if you flop a medicore hand like bottom pair or gutshot, or for that matter hands that typically are "second best". By what the OP wrote I think this may be part of the problem. Profit in holdem starts with good starting hands, but is maximized with solid post flop play.
Jay
So, for instance, if there is a raise and one call then when the betting reaches me in my BB there are 5 bets in the pot (ignore the SB).
If I was the button and there was the BB and four limpers, would I call with this hand?
7-2 no.
7-5s yes.
J-6o no.
J-6s yes.
I find it a useful measure as to what hands to defend with.
I suppose the real issue is my play after the flop with mediocre hands. I don't find myself in that situation as often in other positions where I play tighter. The comment that I play too passive is certainly true in general and no doubt even worse when I have a medium hand.
I've read Dave's book and agree that it provides excellent guidance. I guess I just have to keep working on the "study, practice and repeat" advice.