Question from a foreigner : About the Blinds

[RoyalFlush]

Hey guys,

I'm not from the USA, so poker is a big vague area for the most of us over here. I'm learning it and enjoying every game. But the more I learn the more indepth I have to go, and the more questions I have ! I found this forum, and was told it was a good board. So I hope you will help me out, and not flame me for my ignorence, cause I can't help it.

I hear people talking about position, attacking, defending the blinds.. And not too sound lame but in Rounders I hear 'That's a position raise' and I'm like "Wtf is he saying ?!"

So I'll give my questions, and hope for answers.

-What do people mean by attacking and defending the blinds ? I'm sure it's a strategy, but I can't find any good information about it on google (I found one text, didn't help me)
-What is a good position ?
So far I think the best position is to the right of the dealer, so you can always bet/check/raise last, and you don't pay blinds etc... The big blind I think is the worst position for the high cost of the blind.
-What is a position raise ?

Thanks guys, you have to understand, we don't play this game in my country, so don't flame.


Thanks !

[Copernicus]

Attacking the blinds is betting uncalled hands aggressively (usually from the button or the cutoff) in order to "steal" them. Defending the blinds is recognizing the favorable odds that exist because you only have half a bet to call an unraised pot from the small blind, and also being aware of and challenging steals occasionally so the button or cutoff cant run you over.

The best position in hold em is the dealer (or button). He is the one who acts last, not one to his right, which is the cutoff. The reasons you state are correct. You have more information than anyone else before you have to take action.

A position raise is a raise from the button on a hand that hasnt been aggressively bet with a lesser hand than you would raise with from middle or early position. Particularly in NL it is an attempt to steal blinds and limpers bets.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

we don't play this game in my country

Wow. I thought the game had gone totally international. I mean, people play poker in every country in North America, most of Europe, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Vietnam, and probably many I'm not mentioning.

Spread the word, man!! It's a great game!

[RoyalFlush]

It's still not clear to me ..
Can you give me an example .. maybe that'll explain it

And what the heck is stealing the blinds all of a sudden ? /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Thanks !

[bugstud]

10 people are in a hand, for example. You are the 8th to act, the button/dealer. Everyone folds to you. Any raise here looks like you're "stealing" the blinds. This idea primarily exists in tight games, loose ones usually this never occurs.

[BruceZ]

A player on the button who raises is putting in 2 bets to win the (usually) 1.5 bets in the blinds, so if the blinds don't call over 43% of the time, the button will make an automatic profit. Actually more than 43% because he will win sometimes on the strength of his hand and his position of acting last on subsequent rounds. Thus if the blinds call less than this amount, the button wins the maximum amount of money by raising every time. He would actually not raise EVERY time, because then the blinds would catch on and play looser. He will raise most of the time, and that is called "stealing the blinds". If the blinds call enough to prevent this, then they are "defending the blinds".

Having position usually means acting after a player. The closer your position is right of the button the later you act and the more cards you can play since your position is better. This is true in hold'em, not stud where your position can change based on your hand. Teddy KGB thought Mike was making a raise based on his position, trying to make Teddy think he was stealing. Actually Mike wanted him to think he was stealing if I remember right. They were playing no-limit though.

Poker is illegal in some countries, like India and some Islamic countries. Are you from one of those?

[BruceZ]

A common type of position raise is when you are last to act on the flop with a draw, and you think your raise will cause everyone to check the turn.

[Aragorn]

The other explanations are pretty good, but this might help. If you raise from an early positon (while there are still a lot of players in the pot), you are doing it because you have a strong enough hand to believe you have a good chance of winning a contested pot. It won't break your heart if everyone folds and you win the blinds without a contest, but you don't mind a contest much either. With so many people behind you who are still in the pot, you expect a contest.

Now suppose everyone has folded and you are on the Dealer Button. You will now raise with many more hands. Many of these hands aren't that great, and with those hands you are hoping that both blinds will fold. With your weakest hands, you are said to be trying to "steal" the blinds since you are trying to convince the the blinds you have a strong hand to get them to fold. It is a bluff (or technically a semi-bluff).

When someone raises from a late position, the blinds now have to suspect a weak hand and call with a lot more more hands to keep the raiser from being able to "steal" the blinds. This is called defending the blinds.

The names aren't imporant. The key thing is to realize that players should open with weaker hands in later position and blind should call with weaker hands against a late-position opener.