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Mastering The Blind Defense Strategy

According to the experts, it is impossible to win money from the big blind over a long time.

It will have to pay a full blind without checking at their cards. Then, against the post-flop enemies, become out of position.

This is an unforgiving position which is open for huge opportunities to commit mistakes. For example, when you are currently handling a raise and you under defend, it will lead you to slowly leak the chips. This will only encourage your opponents to steal the blinds that you have often. On the other hand, it will direct you to tough spots when you over defend. This is so because you are out of the position with the use of a weak range.

The Big Blind Defense

There are three essential things to remember in the big blind defense in poker. These are the range of your rival, pot odds to call, and how well can your hand realize the equity.

The pot odds that you have will determine how well do you need to win the pot so you can earn more profit in the long run. If you call $5 so you can win the pot of $10, then you will have to win around 33.3% of the time to earn some profit.

You have to remember that winning the pot is challenging with a strong range versus a weak range. For example, if your rival raises from his early position, it is most likely that he has a strong range of hands. Thus, you must tighten your defense as a result. Meanwhile, if he raises from a late standing, then you can have a wider range of defense.

Cash Game

There are two factors to differentiate the cash game. These two factors can provide you with incentives to play tougher and tighter.

First, you have to take note that if there is no antes plus the standard raise size, then it will lead to the worse pot odds. If there is lacking antes, it means that there is only 1.5 BB in the pot before dealing with the cards. This will force you to play tighter in all the given positions. Also, the preflop raises are larger when we talk about cash games. It is 2 to 3 times larger online and 4 to 5 times larger live. This can further worsen your pot odds.

Indeed, it is hard to overstate the impact of antes on your preflop ranges in poker. This is true as you defend from the big blind. Players can overlook their importance since they can seem small when paying individually. However, they can put a great impact on your pot odds.

Meanwhile, unlike in tournaments, the rake can be paid for each hand as you achieve the flop. Since you will be playing in a smaller post-flop, tighten your calling range slightly. This will help account on the depressed pot odds.

Also, this will help you incentivized into 3-bet of a larger proportion of your continuing range. This is because no rake will be paid whenever the pot ends preflop.

Greg Jones: Greg's blog posts are known for their clear and concise coverage of economic and financial news. With a background as a financial journalist, he offers readers valuable insights into the complexities of the global economy.