In Texas Hold ‘Em online poker, the two blind bets are put out to start up the action, with the small blind half the size of the big. When you’re in the blind, you’re forced to enter the pot before even seeing your hand. After the initial round of betting, the blinds must decide to remain in the pot or not. If no raises come out, it’s an easy call for the big blind.
However, the small blind still has to decide whether or not to add more chips to match the big blind or not. Sometimes it’s an easy decision to make especially when the blinds are still small. But there are other situations where the small blind has to make a tough choice. There are two critical factors to consider before making the small blind call or raise.
The small blind position presents an automatic disadvantage because this is the seat that must bet first on all subsequent betting rounds. The fact that you will be first to act makes it risky to raise anything from the small blind except for monster pairs, like Aces or Kings. When holding a good starter hand, like an Ace with a face, it’s still probably more prudent to call then raise pre-flop from the small blind.
The other thing to do is to observe the poker online player to your left at all times and note how this player handles their big blind. Do they always protect it no matter what kind of raise comes out? Does this player frequently pursue an aggressive strategy of raising the big blind?
Remember, from the small blind seat, take into account the casino player to your left, and your post-flop first-to-act position in all subsequent rounds.