No Limit Cash Game Strategy: The Blinds

The blinds create an interesting situation in Texas Holdem. On one hand, the blinds give you great odds to see the flop but on the other hand, they represent the worst position at the table. Additionally, the blinds create a second unique situation with regards to stealing and defending.

Playing from the Blinds

When it’s your turn to pay the blinds, the mantra “tight is right” will serve you well. More money is lost playing from the blinds than any other position at the table. Other than the obvious fact that the blinds cost money, they are also the most difficult position to play from at the table.

The one advantage you have while paying the blinds is that you get to act last in the preflop round. Your play, therefore, should depend on what the other players at the table do. There are three general scenarios that occur when you are in the blinds.

1. The pot is raised

Against a raise, you should generally play an extremely tight game. You have to play from out of position for the rest of the hand and therefore need a strong hand to help counteract that disadvantage. For the most part, think about it like this: your hand should be strong enough to 3-bet if it’s strong enough to call a raise from the blinds.

Stick with hands that are strong enough for you to feel comfortable 3-betting. Not only will that help you stick with powerful hands, but it will also help you take control of the hand. You should rarely cold call a raise from the blinds because you’ll have no idea what to do and will have to check/fold the majority of the time.

The one time you can open up your hand range is when you are in the unique situation of fighting off a blind steal. For example, if everyone folds and then the button puts in a raise, you can place that player on a wider-than-usual range of hands. Many times, this is a pure position raise intended to steal the blinds.

Against these players, you can open your range a little and increase your 3-betting percentage. Just don’t take it too far, though, because they still have the advantage of position. Remember also that in no limit cash games, there’s no need to expend a lot of effort defending your blinds. Unlike fixed-limit Holdem, the blinds in no-limit are much smaller than an average pot.

2. There are limpers but no raisers

Limpers give you great odds to play a wide range of hands from the blinds. In the big blind position, all you have to do is check so that’s pretty easy. From the small blind, you only have to pay half a minimum bet to see the flop. With several limpers in the pot, you’ll have correct odds to play a wide range of hands.

You still have to deal with poor position after the flop so don’t get attached to marginal hands on the flop. Look at your small blind hands as “get lucky” hands. You don’t need to try to play middle pair and weak draws after the flop. Instead, look for hands that are strong right off the bad. It’s cheap to see the flop so you can afford to be picky from the small blind.

3. It folds around to you

Strategically, this situation only affects you if it happens when you are in the small blind. Your play in this situation depends on how tight the player to your left is. For the most part, you can raise with a wide range of hands and attempt to steal the big blind. This will work often against most Holdem players.

Sometimes the big blind will be the type of player who defends his blind tooth and nail. In that case, all you can do is play a normal game against him. If he defends his blind too hard, you’ll eventually catch him defending with an inferior hand. Just play a normal game until that happens.

Attacking the Blinds

On the other side of the coin is when you are in late position and have the opportunity to attack the blinds. This is a fun place to be in because you have great position and can play a wide range of hands.

When I’m in late position and it folds around to me, I attack the blinds almost every chance I get. Any two suited cards, any two connectors and any two cards 10 or higher are good enough for me. With the advantage of position, you can get away with playing many more hands. Most of the time, you’ll win the blinds without even seeing a flop. As an added advantage, your aggressive play in late position will make the rest of the table see you as a looser player than you actually are.

When your opponents do call, it’s pretty easy to win the pot after the flop as well. All you have to do is wait for them to check on the flop and then you can place a continuation bet. They’ll fold the majority of the time. If they give you any trouble and you don’t have anything, just give up on the steal.

Eventually, the opponents will start fighting against your constant blind steals. When that happens, just ease up on the steals for a while and only raise with strong hands. If you get lucky, you’ll catch a strong hand soon after and get good action for it. After a while, you can switch back to aggressive mode until your opponents catch on again. Rinse, repeat and profit.