One simple rule for Big Blind defence
bencb is back with a useful heuristic on playing the Big Blind against an you are up against an early position raiser.
Let’s talk about one simple rule you can use to eliminate confusion when playing from the big blind.
A common mistake many players make is calling too many hands in the big blind when facing an early position raiser.
You have to remember that your opponent is likely raising a tight range from UTG, UTG+1 and UTG+2, so you’ll have to adjust accordingly.
By using something called the 9x Rule, you can easily know whether or not to defend a hand in the big blind, when facing an early position open.
The 9x Rule
The 9x Rule means that versus an early position raiser we should only defend offsuit hands with a kicker that is a 9 or better.
This means that with any offsuit hand lower than A9o, K9o, Q9o, J9o or T9o we should be folding immediately.
While we should defend our suited hands frequently, we only want to see a flop with strong offsuit hands.
Now, why should we follow the 9x rule?
First of all, many times you will be dominated by a better hand. You’ll run your Q8 into AQ, or your K7 into KJ, and end up setting yourself up for failure.
Think about it, even if you make a good hand, do you really want to call 2-3 streets with a weak top pair versus a tight early position range?
The biggest mistake players make in the big blind is playing too many hands preflop.
For example, players will often underestimate wheel equity with an A4o type of hand.
While this hand can look attractive, in reality the chances of making a straight are slim, and you'll often be outkicked by a better ace.
We should eliminate all offsuit hands that don’t meet the 9x rule, and instead play the vast majority of our suited hands versus an early position open.
Suited hands are so much more powerful, and have a lot more playability overall.
One Exception
The one exception to the 9x rule can be offsuit connectors like 87o or 76o. These connected hands have decent equity and playability, and will perform much better postflop than a hand like K8o.
You can play these hands versus some early position raisers, but remember that they’re fringe hands. They can be folded outright against bigger raise sizes or better opponents.
When in doubt, just stick to the 9x rule and your preflop strategy will be profitable versus early position opponents.
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