My blind play sucks.

[cold_cash]

I'll bet this has been gone over in here repeatedly, but is there some kind of a guideline I can use for defending my blinds?

I think this is a big problem for me.

Do I play A /images/graemlins/spade.gif 5 /images/graemlins/heart.gif from the small blind?
What about J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif?
Should I be calling raises from the big blind with hands like this?

I play on Party .50/$1 and $1/$2.

I'm smart enough to realize that it depends who's doing the raising, or who/how many have already limped, but even when I consider those things I'm still at a loss much of the time.

Thanks a bunch.

[Bob T.]

Do I play A 5 from the small blind?


Maybe, maybe raise, maybe fold.

What about J /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 3 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif ?


Yes.

Should I be calling raises from the big blind with hands like this?


A5 I don't, Jx suited, I do, but I think that that is a close call, so if you fold, it certainly isn't a mistake. At the edge of microlimits, where you are playing, you have a lot of players who don't raise preflop, unless they have a big pocket pair, and against those players, you want to fold these hands.

It wouldn't hurt any of us, to discuss this more, why don't you post a couple of hands, and let the forum fight over them. Read the reasons why they think that you should, or shouldn't, and then develop a set of guidelines that work for you.

[jbc]

Hey,

When playing marginal/crap hands from the blinds (as are both you've mentioned), I believe, past the specific kind of game and players you're against, you have to look at how many people are in the pot before the action comes to you in the blind.

If there were a few (probably at least 3) limpers, I'd complete out of the SB with either of these hands. I would not call a raise with either out of the BB (unless it was a special situation - i.e. shorthanded).

As is very common with marginal hands, they can get you into trouble easily if the flop hits you at all. In either case, if you hit top pair on the flop, you have serious kicker problems. The flop has to hit you near perfect to be able to continue with either of these hands (or similar).

Hope this helps some.

jbc

[cold_cash]

Thanks Bob. I'm playing right now and I'm sure I'll run into a few of those situations. I'll do my best and hopefully come up with a couple good hands to post.

[HajiShirazu]

I have the same questions, only for party 1/2 6 max games. From my small sample size pokertracker stats, I am losing far more money from the SB than the BB. What should I complete the SB/call a raise in the BB with in these games? I know it varies due to the texture/aggressiveness/amount of stealing of the game, but the most common situation is that there ends up being 2-3 limpers to me. What sort of hands should I complete with in this type of game? After seeing how poorly I was originally doing with tighter standards, I have started completing with any hand with a shred of high card value, such as any ace, king, or queen, and some weak jacks such as J8 or J7, since these will often flop top pair, and in a 6 max game, there is less reason to worry about kicker problems (I would not complete with these hands in a full ring game.) I feel like this might be a little too loose, however. In addition, I have been completing with small suited connectors such as 34s, medium one and two gaps such as 86s or 96s, and pairs 22/33/44. I wouldn't play any of these in a normal short game, since you don't get the volume of players you need to have proper implied odds with these hands, but with double odds, these are fine, right?
As for calling a raise in the BB...this is where I am clueless. I usually will call with pairs and small suited connectors if multiple people have cold-called, but try to avoid playing mediocre big card hands, since they are often dominated by a raiser. On the other hand, if a somewhat legit UTG/MP open-raises, and one other person has called, am I giving up too much by folding a hand like A7o?
Thanks in advance.

[Paul Talbot]

I don't know what the .50/1.00 or 1/2 games are like, but I'd muck both of those hands in non-steal situations. In the SB I like Ciafonne's rule: would you call with the same hand on the button? In the BB I still tend to fold to a raise those hands that are easily dominated.

I HATE playing out of position with weak-kicker hands. You really have to be a very good player to play these hands well and that means you have to be able to get away from them post-flop when you hit.

It's amazing how many people play AX from the blinds after a raise. What's the most likely thing someone raised with? An A that has you dominated!

Regards,

Paul

[TheRake]

I agree with you Paul...I am more likely to fold marginal hands from these positions unless it is an obvious steal attempt. I definately have some weak-tight tendencies, but I just hate playing these marginal type hands out of position. They are hard enough to play well with good position.

TheRake

[rkiray]

HPFAP advises completing the sb with any A any K and any 2 suited if it hasn't been raised. I generally go with that.

[WillMagic]

I agree, unless you are an expert, you should be pretty tight out of the small blind. You are entering with what is probably a dominated hand in the worst possible position. I like to play hands where I know where I'm at, like suited connectors. I despise hands like A5o this early.

Will