15th Lecture - Extra Profit In The Blinds

Extra Profit In The Blinds

The following lecture was the 15th Tuesday Session, held January 5, 1999, and later
appeared in Card Player magazine

Playing the Blinds Correctly: Thousands of Dollars a Year in Pure Profit

It doesn't matter what kind of poker you're playing - hold 'em, Omaha, lowball - if there are
one or more blind bets, powerful concepts come into play. Often blinds are worth attacking.
Often blinds are worth defending. But because so much of the profit you will earn or fail to
earn centers around decisions involving the blinds, we should take some time today to
examine what's what.

Blind bets are simply another way of making sure there is something of value to fight over
before the cards are dealt. You are required to make these bets in order to stimulate action. An
ante serves the same function in games where blind bets are not used. Sometimes both antes
and blind bets are used together. The title of my 15th Tuesday Session was…

"Extra Profit in the Blinds"

• The source of profit.
In a blind game, most profit comes from correct play in the blinds and against the blinds. The
blinds are a required sacrifice, and except in short-handed games where skilled players can
profit, you will lose money playing while your blinds. In a full-handed game, this specifically
means that if you are required to put up, say, $50 as a blind bet, then even if you play
perfectly from that point on, you won't earn enough in profit expectation to overcome that
initial hit. You will lose money and if that is the only hand you will ever play, you should not
play at all.

Of course, there is no overall disadvantage to taking the blinds among equal players. That's
because the players sacrifice in turn and everyone eventually has to suffer the same number of
blind bets. Despite this disadvantage of making a required blind bet, you can profit greatly by
losing less money in your blinds. Since so much of your dollar action comes when you're in
the blinds or in a late position attacking the blinds, learning how to play these situations is
monumentally important.

• Many hands.
You'll play more hands in the blinds than in any other positions. You'll play more hands
attacking the blinds than from early positions - assuming the game isn't so loose that you
seldom get a chance to attack. This may seem obvious, but the implications are harder to
grasp. In short, most of the profit you will ever make comes from powerful and frequent
decisions you make regarding the blinds.

• Blinds and image.
We talk a lot about the importance of image. For maximum profit, you need to show that
you're willing to gamble. Then, opponents call you with weak hands, supplying you with
extra money you wouldn't earn otherwise. The main flaw in your opponents is that they call

too much. For this reason, an image that allows extra bluffs isn't usually as profitable as one
that lures extra calls

One of the best and most economical times to enhance your image is in the blinds. The
advantages are that (1) everyone is watching you because you are the "target" who acts last on
the first betting round, (2) you can play weaker hands aggressively (although you will usually
opt not to do so except against the small blind or in a late-position war), and (3) opponents
simply tend not to remember that you were in the blind, so you get "credit" for playing weak
hands when you got in for half price or even for free.

• When to attack.
You should attack the blinds more aggressively if they are either too loose or too tight. If
they're too tight, you can sometimes bluff with total garbage. If they're too loose, you can bet
semi-strong, but weaker than normal, hands and still make a profit if they call.

This runs contrary to the almost-universally-accepted, but flawed, notion that you should play
loose against tight opponents and tight against loose opponents.

• A great tactic.
Try re-raising with any semi-strong hand against a mid-position or late position player when
you're on or just before the button. You'll benefit from chasing out the blinds and letting you
"split" this money with the original raiser, by enhancing your image, and by putting yourself
in a position to act last on all future betting rounds.

• Small blind calling.
When the big blind isn't particularly aggressive and somebody has just called, you should
usually call as the small blind. Even many weak hands will earn money, because it only costs
you half a bet to call, and the average loss on those hands is less than that. For the same
reason, you should usually call a single raise in the big blind if no one can still act behind you.
With borderline calling hands in the big blind - ones you can either fold or play without
dramatically affecting your expected profit - here's how to resolve the dilemma: (1) Call if the
first opponent was the raiser; (2) Fold if any other opponent was the raiser. Why? Because if
anyone except the first player voluntarily entering the pot raised, this means that others will
have a chance to reraise following your call. But when the first player raised and everyone
else called, your borderline call is safer and more profitable.

• Don't raise.
Do not exercise your right to raise with the live blind very often. It's usually correct to just
call with medium-strong hands and see what develops. However, tend to raise often if the
small blind is the only caller. You'll have position throughout the hand.

Also, for the same reasons, you can reraise very liberally as the big blind when the small blind
raises. I use this play almost routinely against many opponents. It enhances my image. I will
be acting last through all future betting rounds. If I'm against an opponent who almost always
raises the big blind given the opportunity, I will sometimes reraise in hold 'em with hands
such as Q-7 offsuit or 7-6 suited. The sacrifice here is not what it appears to be. Against many
opponents reraising is almost as good as just calling with these fairly-weak hands, and it some
cases, reraising is much more profitable. - MC