When playing from the big blind you are last to act before the flop and first to act and out of position on each subsequent betting round. Position is critical in all forms of poker. However, the importance is amplified during heads-up play. Position gives you a distinct disadvantage over your opponent. There are four pre-flop scenarios:
Your opponent folds—Well, this one is obvious. Collect your chips and move on. But don’t make this mistake when you are in the small blind—as we discussed, you have the correct odds to call with any two cards.
Your opponents limps—When your opponent just calls the blind you have two choices. You can check and see the flop for free, or you can raise, hoping to move your opponent off the hand. As a general rule, if your starting hand is positive EV, raise the minimum. If it is negative EV, just check and see the flop. By raising your positive EV hands you are betting for value with a hand that is likely stronger than your opponent's. As the pre-flop raiser this puts you in position for a continuation bet. In addition, some opponents will fold their limped hand pre-flop, allowing you to pick up the pot immediately. On occasion you should switch up your play, raising a larger amount with weaker hands, and checking your stronger hands. This will reduce the ability for your opponent to put you on a range of hands.
Your opponent raises—Continuing with the 50/100 example, if your opponent raises the minimum, you are being asked to call 100 into a 300 pot, giving you the same odds as calling from the small blind. However, in this situation, your opponent is saying that he has a hand. This is a slightly different scenario from calling the small blind because your opponent chose to put in a raise. Typically they will only do that when they have a playable hand. Therefore, when your opponent raises from the small blind, call with any positive EV hand. Fold the rest and wait for a better opportunity. If your opponent gets into the mode of raising every time they are in the small blind, reraise with any positive EV hand. You want to send the message that you won’t put up with constant raises when you have the button.
Your opponent pushes—When your opponent pushes, you now have an ICM problem to solve. If your equity on the call is positive, call and hope for the best. If it is negative, fold and wait for a better opportunity. Again, use SitNGo Wizard to evaluate your play so you can learn which hands to call and which to fold. Until you have a good grasp on it, tend to fold against a push unless you have a big hand.
Next: Heads-Up Play (5)
