Playing from the Small Blind

BigCityBanker

A couple of things make me put up this thread, I remember HJ talking a few months ago about his PT stats from the SB when he was grinding it out at .50/1 and saying how he had rocked up and made it profitable. Secondly, I dont use Pokertracker but I availed of the free 1000 hands upload yesterday evening (I opened a new GJP to bonus whore and felt I played my normal(ish) game so so wanted to see if I could gleam anything from the few k hands I have played) - anyway it appears my play from the SB is a cesspit - absolutely leaking $$ - I appreciate this is an extremely small sample of hands but Id be pretty sure my leakage from the SB replicates itself across a larger sample of my hands.

So whats the trick to playing from the SB? Multiway limped pot (6 max) and im getting 5/1, 7/1 or even 9/1 on my completion of the SB - Is it always right to complete and see a flop? Even with 72o, 92o and other similar hands? Should I see a flop and drop it hard unless I hit it very hard? Or should I fold and understand that im gonna be oop and leak $ a large % of the time? Whats the cut off hand for completing the SB?

Id be interested in reading peoples thoughts on playing from the SB and OOP in general.

Jaden

I always think of the small blind as "dead money". It's already in the pot, and not mine - so I play accordingly. If the blinds are a significant portion of my stack, they're worth having, but otherwise I don't use them as an excuse to put money in the pot.

I'm sure there are very good odds to complete in certain situations, but I refrain unless I have something half decent - I found I was leaking $ that way.

Besides, it's more fun taking other peoples than playing your own. At least you get to choose what hand in an orbit you steal with - on your SB, it's whatever your holding.

If I see someone habitually completing the SB on my BB, I will punish them accordingly.

ntlbell

to quote wikpedia!

don't thank me.

I'm a fountain of wise words.

When dealing with a problem, there exists a frequent tendency toward complication that can lead toward solutions that are far more burdensome than the problem, or clever solutions that don't handle unusual cases within that problem domain. In keeping with such problem solvers, Systems Analysts in times gone by were defined to be those persons who could complicate a simple problem beyond all recognition.

The KISS principle is a suggestion to avoid both. According to KISS, the method used should be as simple and straightforward as possible. Keep It Simple Stupid

sikes

Its pretty much style and player dependent. I will almost always fold crap hands from the SB, like 93 etc, even if im getting great odds 6/1 etc.

The reasons to fold

1. First of all you have the worst position on the table.

2. This, and the fact your hand will rarely be better than 2 pair when you get paid off, ie if you get trips and action, you are likely out kicked or looking at a house. this leads to having poor reverse implied odds.

3. Your not closing the action

Hands with a bit of prospect are good suited one gapers, connected cars, small pocket pairs.

Lafortezza

BigCityBanker wrote:

A anyway it appears my play from the SB is a cesspit - absolutely leaking $$ -

When you click the position tab in PT, what does the 'Diff without Blind' column say? Is it a pos or neg number?

BigCityBanker

lafortezza wrote:

When you click the position tab in PT, what does the 'Diff without Blind' column say? Is it a pos or neg number?

Il get back to you on this - prob be tomorrow evening as im going straight to SE after work.

strewelpeter

IMHO at a full table - The blinds are the price you are paying to get the button.
Sometimes you might want to take the fancy prices on offer but only occasionaly and with playable cards.

BonB you always have the odds to limp.

sikes

strewelpeter wrote:

IMHO at a full table - The blinds are the price you are paying to get the button.
Sometimes you might want to take the fancy prices on offer but only occasionaly and with playable cards.

why? if its profitablt you should always do it.

strewelpeter wrote:

BonB you always have the odds to limp.

in a 1/2 game yes the pot odds dictate a limp with any 2. But really pot odds is probably one of the last things you think about in this situation. going to start a new post about open completing and open raising from the SB

strewelpeter

You are quite right Sikes, I should have said ...occasionaly when you have playable cards, instead of and with.

Hectorjelly

Overtime I have changed how I play my sb. For most of last year I was quite loose passive in the sb, then I tightened up considerably. Now ive kind of come full circle and I play pretty aggressively from the sb. If its folded to me i will raise nearly all the time.

Last year I posted a few hands where I limped good hands in the sb, a few people told me I should raise them and i disgreed. I think they were probably right now! I dont think it makes a whole lot of difference though.

Completing 92o under almost any circumstances is awful.


Also just to note, I think its impossible to be profitable in the sb in the long run, the best you can do is limit your losses!

corblimey

Interesting thread. Do y'all think that the same principle applies to the BB in a min-raised pot? I was playing last night and this one guy would 90% of the time enter the pot with a min-raise (NL). Anytime it was my BB, I was pretty much priced into call, but then I was oop (as the SB rarely called) and was dependant on a nice low flop that hit me. Very bad leak, I found.