The No-Limit Toolbox — The Blocking Bet

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The No-Limit Toolbox is a new series that showcases the array of tactics available to no-limit players.

The Play: The Blocking Bet

How It Works: You’re first to act, and if you check, you fear an opponent will make a large bet that will put you to a tough decision. So you make a small bet, hoping that they’ll merely call.

The Play In Action: You open for $6 from UTG in a $1-$2 game with A K . The game is playing deep: you have $500, and everyone has you covered. Two loose, bad players call, and the blinds fold. The flop is A J 9 . You bet $15, and the button calls. The turn is the 2 . You bet $30, and your opponent calls. The river is the J pairing the second card and putting a flush on board. If you check, you expect him to check down many weaker aces, but bet big both with a big hand or as a bluff and put you to an uncomfortable decision. You bet $50 into the $110 pot. Your opponent calls and shows a weaker ace.

Why It’s Good: The blocking bet often serves a double purpose. It extracts some value from weaker hands that would fold to a bigger bet. And it discourages your opponent from bluffing, avoiding a tough decision if you get raised. In the above example, your opponent with the weak ace may have folded to a larger, pot-sized bet, and may have checked behind if you had checked. So the slightly less than half-pot blocking bet allowed you to win more than either checking or a bigger bet would have. At the same time, the bet shows enough strength to discourage your opponent from bluffing to represent the flush or trips/full house. So if your opponent raises, it’s more likely you’re beaten, and you can fold safely.

When It Works: The blocking bet works well against naïve players who will bluff bet scare cards if checked to, but rarely bluff-raise in the same situation. It’s typically used on the turn or river to attempt to control the action from out of position. Unlike some other moves like the Continuation Bet and the Call Bluff, the Blocking Bet can work even in a multiway pot. The presence of the other players tends to protect you somewhat from the dreaded bluff-raise.

When It Doesn’t Work: The bluff-raise is the natural antidote to the Blocking Bet. Block sparingly against alert players who like to bluff-raise against perceived weakness. In the example above, a good player may easily read your hand as an ace, and may represent the flush with a raise too big for you to call. Against that player, you likely would have been better off checking (or perhaps by checking once earlier in the hand to control the pot). You can still use Blocking Bets against these alert players, but to do so, you often have to add two new double-edged plays to your repertoire: a small bet with a big hand to induce a raise so you can move all-in, and a small bet as a bluff, intending to induce a raise so you can make a bluff reraise.

Variations: You can also try a Blocking Bet while on a draw. The goal is to “set your own price” to hit your draw before your opponent gets the chance to charge you more.

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