Defence from the SB. Good or spewing?

[Stealthy]

The Button always seemed to attack the blinds if the opener. He is 30/10/1.2 and is definately wary of me as I have attacked him a few times with legit hands.

Party Poker 2/4 Hold'em (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">7 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Button raises</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero 3-bets</font>,

I felt that I could outplay him post-flop and that he would drop then without a pair or ace. Given he could have anything and I have no need to get involved forcing myself to play OOP is this an auto-muck? I was slightly tilty at the time and this may have also been a factor.

I'd say not quite enough hand out of the SB. Given the BB has yet to act, it could get quite uncomfortable if he calls or caps. K10s or QJs but not J9s.

I agree that you must worry about the BB. Assuming that Button will call your 3-bet (and he almost always will), BB would be getting 3.5 to 1 to call and would likely call with any decent holding.

Let's assume for the rest of this discussion that BB folds. When BB folds, Button is getting 6 to 1 to call your 3-bet, so he'll probably call. Regardless of what flops, you're going to bet out in order to defend your blind, right? Now Button is getting 8 to 1 to call your flop bet, and he's probably not going to fold unless the flop is really scary or he has complete garbage like 2 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. So let's say Button calls. Are you going to bet the turn? Sounds like you have to; can't give up the initiative here. So you bet. Button will be getting approximately 4.5 to 1 on the call, meaning that if he has a flush draw, open-ended straight draw, top pair, or an overpair, he ain't going anywhere. He may even raise you on the turn if he's got a good hand.

I'll stop the analysis here and recap. You're playing $2/$4 limit poker, and you've got J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] out of position against a potential blind-stealer. So, to protect your $1 Small Blind and send Button a message that your blinds will be defended, you are willing to invest at least $5 (perhaps more) to do so (note that it will cost $5 more to 3-bet pre-flop, bet the flop, and bet the turn).

Now, let's look at your pre-flop odds against a few hands (according to the CardPlayer.com odds calculator):

J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. 7 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] - 70 to 30
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. 7 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] - 62 to 38
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. 6 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 50.6 to 49.4
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 38.8 vs. 61.2
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] - 37.6 to 62.4
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 32.4 to 67.6
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 31.8 to 68.2
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 18.6 to 81.4
J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] vs. J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] - 16.1 to 83.9

Given the pot odds that Button is getting throughout the hand, you're going to need a better hand than J9s to aggressively defend your blind like this, especially the Small Blind. Also, this assumes that the BB will fold to your 3-bet, which may not always be the case, and obviously the more players in the hand, the less likely you are to win.

Notice that I included some premium hands in the above odds calculations. Just because everybody folds to the Button and Button raises, it's not always an attempt to steal the blinds; he may have the goods, or at least a hand that beats J9s. If any Q, K, or A hits the flop, you have to worry that you may be behind.

In most of the times I've attempted to aggressively defend my SB, the hand at least goes to the river, and often goes to showdown (assuming I haven't folded). Most people who attempt to steal the blinds will continue with the hand until the very end, especially if they connect with the board in any way. Therefore, you're going to have to have your hand hold up, and as we saw with the odds calculations above, J9s isn't going to hold up well against most hands.

Just because you 3-bet preflop doesn't necessarily mean that the Button will give you credit for a premium hand. A lot of times, especially at the lower limits, people in the CO or Button who attempt a blind steal will interpret a 3-bet by the SB or BB as an attempt to aggressively defend your blinds (which in fact you are doing here) rather than a sign of strength.

Finally, you will be out of position throughout the hand. You will have no idea where you stand in the hand until at least the turn, perhaps never if Button simply calls you down. Button probably isn't going to raise you until at least the turn, regardless of how well his hand has developed. Therefore, you must continue to fire away into a pot that continually gives Button great odds to stick around.