Any advice for playing out of blinds

[joefine]

While I have to admit, I have many leaks in my game one of the biggest is playing out of the blinds. When I look at my stats, I'm showing a profit in every position except the blinds where I'm getting killed.

I would consider myself as a extremely tight player and really hate playing out of position, which is why I think I have so much trouble in the blinds. I'm not sure when to defend (outside of the monster hands) and when to give up to a big raise.

Would appreciate any feedback you guys could offer.

[roseoflife]

SImply u must not sit at all falling all hands ! , sometimes u have to take risk of stealing blinds ! but first u should examine ur oppenents , trying to find if he is w willing to fold !> !

[GottImHimmel]

I hope I can help

First thing's first, don't get a negative mental outlook, never think about how "I can't" Half of poker is just in the mind.


You're right, the blinds can be tricky, first thing to remember is that they are out-of-position, you should generally only try to catch free flops from the BB and/or play top 10 tier hands: which are- A-A K-K Q-Q J-J 10-10 9-9 8-8 A-Ks A-K o A-Q s ( A-Q o is NOT considered a top tier hand )

I will try to avoid a simple deflection of " everything depends " but remember to look at every hand individually.

For most situations I would avoid re-raising, due to being out of position, if you have a 2 or 3 way hand, just flat call for most situations.

So to summarize my blind theory: You have to either play two different extremes when playing out of the blinds, in direct influence of the position you are in. You want to minimize the effects of being out of position, and there are 2 ways of going about doing this. (Mentioned Below)

1: Small Ball/ Keeping the pot small: Pre-Flop, just flat call, minimize your pot comittment in the hand, and from there JUST PLAY HAND STRENGTH post flop. I emphasize, avoid out of position pot comittment if you missed the hand.

2: All-in/ Racing--- Simple, Shove all-in ( or if you have more chips, put them all-in), that way, you are guaranteed to see all 5 cards, you DO NOT have to worry about being out of position, and in most cases this can winnow down the players to HU or 3 way.

* I know, #2 is counter-intuitive- But in reality, guaranteeing you will see all 5 cards, and neutralize being out of position, you will have more success. Think about it, you ensure that a solid player cannot just out-play you, THEY HAVE TO put their cards on the felt, which is a noted strategy amateurs use against professionals, forcing cards to hit the felt.

I hope this helps.

Your Friend,



GottImHimmel

[billyjustin]

Well, One thing I think of about blinds, they are not my chips. You do not need to defend your blinds. I used to defend my blinds like crazy, until i noticed it was just hurting me. Now I give them up unless I have a hand I feel like playing, or feel like outplaying someone. I never need a great hand, just need to be in the mood to play back at someone. Just remember, the chips from the blinds are not yours, it is the pots. So it isn't definding your blinds, casue those blinds are not yours.

[steveg78]

If you are winning at all of the other positions, I wouldn't worry that much about blind positions.

[GottImHimmel]

C'mon guys, the poor man is not asking for these non-answers, give him some specific advice

[wagon596]

I have to be super strong to play the blinds,,,, I do not like races,,,,or being out of position///

[joshtheking]

Yeah recently learning wht position and odds mean but actually get the hang of it lol!

[AlwaysRain]

When you are not in position, you need to play agressively, because, if you not, the other player will take your chips. Only play with great hands out of position.

[dipstick2]

only play with good drawing hands,like it was said if they not your blinds and yu dont have a decent calling hand stay out of thier way