Playing blind?

Ever try playing a hand without looking at your hole cards?

I've become somewhat infamous for doing this in my .10/.20 homegame. This usually happens after I've already built up a big stack and have run through 3-4 beers. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The procedure is something like:
<ul type="square">[*]1. I announce that I'm going to play the hand blind. I'm usually in one of the blinds when I do this but have also done this from CO if I think the blinds are tight. [*]2. Open limp preflop. Limp if there are already 2+ other limpers. Raise or reraise if only one other person entered the pot. Call if isolation doesn't seem to be possible.[*]3. Bet or raise any flop.[*]4. Bet or raise any river. [/list]
I do this primarily for my own amusement, but I'm also completely focused on trying to read tells off the other players. Is there any utility in this or am I really just screwing around for the sake of screwing around?

Related questions: How do you play against a hand that you know is random but will not fold and will bet every street? What holdings would you play PF if you know this strategy will be employed? Do you keep playing if the flop misses you?

I guess I should mention that the homegame is usually played short-handed with 4-5 players. These guys are generally pretty good players but I don't think they adjust very well when I transition from reasonable player to complete nit for one hand. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Colquhoun]

I would play very loose and play everything that is slightly better than average against you. The better than avreage my cards, the stronger I might play, but I would mix it up a bit if you were making good reads on my play. Check out this chart for EV of starting hands against a random two other cards. Anything in black on the chart is worth playing in this situation, some are better(or much better) than others.

[Precept2]

Playing blind in a $.10-$.20 cash game when you've built a big stack and you're playing short-handed?

If you expecting us to idolize your brass balls, you're a moron.

Such as Colquhoun said, if I have anything half-way decent, I'm raising or re-raising you big time. I'm pushing on all streets and all-in on the river.

Try playing blind in a $2-$5 NL game, then I'll give you some respect.

[ QUOTE ]
I would play very loose and play everything that is slightly better than average against you. The better than avreage my cards, the stronger I might play, but I would mix it up a bit if you were making good reads on my play. Check out this chart for EV of starting hands against a random two other cards. Anything in black on the chart is worth playing in this situation, some are better(or much better) than others.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply. The chart you refer to is actual data, and I highly doubt that a good number of hands are played HU with the bet blind strategy I've outlined. A pokerstove No Fold'em calculation might be more appropriate but I'm way too lazy to do that. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

In my extremely limited experience, aggression and even blind-aggression is often enough to fold players out of pots. The other players know I'm raising any bets that they put in so bluffing is out of the question. The hard part is deciding whether to check-call my raises or to value bet J-high, knowing that you're essentially making a double bet because it's going to come back raised. The guys I play with often opt to let these opportunities pass and fold before the river.

I guess the real key is knowing how much gamboool your opponents have. I think that the correct way to play it is to play any 2 cards better than the computer hand and to play them as hard as possible. Of course, now we're talking about a game of biased coinflips instead of poker. The guys I play with usually don't like that kind of gamble unless the coin is REALLY biased in their favor. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
Playing blind in a $.10-$.20 cash game when you've built a big stack and you're playing short-handed?

If you expecting us to idolize your brass balls, you're a moron.

Such as Colquhoun said, if I have anything half-way decent, I'm raising or re-raising you big time. I'm pushing on all streets and all-in on the river.

Try playing blind in a $2-$5 NL game, then I'll give you some respect.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't a brag post and certainly not looking to be idolized. I don't think of the move as being all that ballsy either. It's mostly just a stupid thing I do for entertainment.

I'm genuinely interested in what you consider half-way decent. A-high whiff on the flop? It's probably the best hand versus a random opponent but do you continue to bet it the whole way to the river?

You bring up the stakes of the game which I do think is very relevant. I'm specifically concerned about LHE because playing blind in NLHE isn't nearly as interesting to me. (i.e. there's only one decision preflop and it's all-in.) In my view, it might even be easier to pull this move off in NL because your fold equity is huge.

[4_2_it]

I actually had a guy in 2/4 limit game in a casino play every hand blind. He would cap the raising pre-flop and call bets on every street. Sometimes he would look at his cards if it was 2 bets to him on the turn or river.

He was up over $200 when I left the table. He must have hit 3 or 4 full houses and 2 or 3 flushes in the dark during the 2 hrs I was sitting at the table. It was the best lesson in variance that I have ever seen.

Now to add to this thread: His play clearly put some of the players at the table on tilt. They played into him with any holding of medium strength or better like it was AA. So I am certain that your play does impact what your opponents are doing. The key is whether they stay on tilt when you go back to looking at your hole cards.

[ QUOTE ]
Now to add to this thread: His play clearly put some of the players at the table on tilt. They played into him with any holding of medium strength or better like it was AA. So I am certain that your play does impact what your opponents are doing. The key is whether they stay on tilt when you go back to looking at your hole cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

Cool, I hadn't thought so much about what this does to my table image but this is a great point. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[iluzion]

I do this fairly frequently in my home game when they decide to be cheap asses and drop it to a .05/.10NL. Alot of times I announce I will play by sight of one card, so I put one out in front of the other and dont look at it 'til showdown (if I get that far).

[SlantNGo]

Ever play Blind Man's Bluff for money? Now THAT is fun when you're drunk.

[Ricardido]

I think i read somewhere (cardplayer i think) that Scott Fischman built up his online reading abilities/practice by placing tape over his monitor where his hole cards were. He had to use his intuition more than his acual cards to make his betting decisions- I could see this being good in a home game and seeing how many times your reads are right.