Play Better Poker

How you should play in the small blind depends greatly upon how big the small blind is.  In a game where the small blind is 1/3 of the big blind (common in $3/$6) or ½ of the big blind (common in games like $10/20) you should treat it as if you were in late position if there are no raises.  Your position is bad but your slightly increased odds and the fact that you probably aren’t going to get raised make calling much easier.  If there are any raises you should treat it much the same way you would in middle position which pretty much means folding everything but premium hands.

                The exception to this is when everyone has folded.  IN that case you should probably play it just like you were on the button and everyone had folded to you, raising any hand worth playing.  You are going to be out of position the whole way so if a hand is worth seeing a flop you might as well try to take it right there.

                If the small blind is 2/3 of the big blind, then you should call with any two cards in  a pot that hasn’t been raised.  Here your implied odds are far too great to fold any hand.  If there has oly been one limper you are getting 8-1 immediately but your implied odds are fantastic because the bet on the flop is three times the size of the bet you must call.  Following his advice will have you seeing some flops with seriously bad hands like J6 off suit. Be very careful not to get carried away with a hand like that if you flop top pair or something.  When you put in that 1/3 bet you are hoping to flop at least two pair or preferably trips, but if you don’t and there is any heat at all then get out of the hand quickly.

                If the hand has been raised you are going to want to tight up a bit.  If there are a couple of limpers or cold callers then you will probably want to call most hands that you would call out of middle position with for no raise.  If there aren’t any limpers you are going to want to tighten up a bit, maybe throw away the poorer suited connectors and smaller pairs in that range.