Q&A #109: Adjusting To A 50BB Buy-In With An Extra Blind
Don't miss one article! Subscribe to the Full Feed RSS or get NPA in your inbox.
If you play mostly online, then many of the no-limit games will have a fairly standard structure: two blinds, one half the size of the other, and a 100BB maximum buy-in. Lately I’ve seen some of the sites are experimenting with 200BB maximum buy-ins in some of the games, but mostly you’ll get that standard 100BB game online.
If you play live in a number of different cardrooms, particularly if you travel, you’ll see all sorts of different structures. Adjusting to new structures is a staple live game skill.
Today threads13 asks us about how to adjust to a structure at one of his local cardrooms:
At a local poker room there is a big of a different structure. In the 1/2NL game there is actually two big blinds (left of the dealer is small blind, then second and third to the left of the dealer are both big blinds). This would suggests that you should loosen up slightly since the pot is bigger, but the max buy is only 50BB. This suggests tightening. I have been using a strategy more based around the buy in size and playing tightly because I believe that since the amount behind is 10x the amount in the pot that playing appropriately for that size is more important. In addition, most of the players play obviously too loose preflop and will often not go away on the flop.
Just curious to get some thoughts on this. Thanks!
In theory you can adjust just to a specific structure of game, but in practice you adjust both to the structure and texture of the game. What I mean is, when there’s an extra blind, theoretically it should change your strategy a little bit. But more important is how it changes the way your opponents play. Adjust more to them than to the structure.
The remainder of this article is insider content available to premium members only. Log in to your account or become a premium member and get instant access.
Tags: 50BB buyin, Adjusting Your Play, no-limit-holdem, poker, preflop-play, squeeze-play, third blind
Thanks for answering this, Ed. This is the basic adjustments that I have been tending to make a little more. People are definitely staying around for bigger than normal raises( say 8-10x gets 3 callers or so as is typical in a live game). I have been adjusting by opening more often with hands like AJ and KQ for instance. I still have been limping behind several limpers with some hands like 76s and Axs because I figure I am getting good odds on my money. Do you agree that is an ok move with the stack sizes? These players tends to pay off pretty decently. They will often call to showdown with middle pairs and top pair with a weak kicker if they are offered good odds to call.