Q&A #59: Playing the Small Blind in a 2-chip, 3-chip Blind Structure
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In limit hold ‘em, the size of the small blind relative to the big blind chances from limit to limit and venue to venue. The “typical” relationship is 2-chip, 4-chip (also 1-chip, 2-chip) – or the small blind is 1/2 the size of the big blind. This structure is used at $1-$2, $2-$4, $4-$8, $8-$16, $10-$20, $20-$40, $40-$80, and more.
The second-most common is 2-chip, 3-chip, which makes the small blind 2/3 the size of the big blind. This structure is used commonly in $15-$30 and $30-$60. In a $15-$30 game, for example, the small blind is $10 and the big blind is $15.
Other blind structures are 1-chip, 3-chip (used in $3-$6, sometimes in $6-$12, and occasionally in other limits), 2-chip, 5-chip (used in $5-$10), 3-chip, 5-chip (also used in $5-$10 and occasionally in some higher limits).
This brings us to Jarno’s question:
Another thing I’ve been wondering about is about small blinds that are almost the size of big blind. I’ve been playing mostly a $0.15/$0.30 game where the big blind is $0.15 and small blind is $0.10.
If the game happens to be rather loose and passive, and especially if the player in the big blind is passive, it seems that with few limpers, the additional $0.05 is so little an investment that one could easily call it with a very wide range of hands.
With, say, three limpers to you, it’s $0.05 for a
a $0.90 pot, or, 1-to-17. It seems to me that one could play at least any suited hand. And some others.The number one reason for not calling with trash hands would be one’s own bad play after flop. With semi-connected non-suited low cards, say T8o, you can only hope to flop a marginal hand.
Also, with trash hands, you don’t have any postflop strategic advances: no suitedness, little connectivity, not much informational advantage and a very bad position.
So, is the possibility of losing many bets with weak or marginal hands and aggressive play enough of a reason to just fold even if you’re quite certain that the big blind won’t raise after you? Or, what range of hands would you play with this kind of setting? (Ie. small blind is two-thirds of big blind, game is loose and passive and no one has raised yet.)
The different blind structures change preflop play substantially, particularly of course when you’re playing the small blind. In a two-chip, three-chip structure like $15-$30 (or $0.15-$0.30), it costs very little to complete the small blind and see a flop. You should complete with most hands, even a lot of “trash.”
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Tags: Adjusting Your Play, blind-structures, limit-holdem, position, small-blind
Ed wrote: “But at $0.15-$0.30, you’re playing to learn, not to maximize your earn. Playing marginal hands out of position will force you to think about hand reading and will give you great practice.”
Yup, that’s a real good point and I didn’t quite think it that way. I was too worried that I end up losing money playing extremely loose on the small blind. I wasn’t thinking it as a chance to learn something!
I try to follow a pretty tight preflop system; basically the one recommended in SSHE. So, while every hand is a bit different from every other, they tend to have more of the same characteristics with tight preflop play. With semi-connected, off-suite, smallish and weak hands from the blinds, you really do need to understand where you stand after you’ve hit something on the flop.
So thanks for giving a nice perspective to my apparent non-problem.