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CardsChat Learning Series | Part 1 of 6 – Position Play & Tournament Game Stages
Mastering position in poker is key to long-term success — especially in tournaments. This six-part strategy series covers blind battles, bubble play, short-handed action, and final table dynamics. That’s exactly what this new CardsChat Learning Series is here to unpack — one strategic spot at a time. Over the next six installments, we’ll explore how position affects your decisions in bubble play, when to expand your range, how to tackle short-handed games, and how to close strong at the final table.
To kick it off, we’re diving into a common — and commonly misplayed — situation: blind vs blind.
Blind vs Blind: The Ultimate Standoff?
The rest of the table folds. It’s just you and the other blind. It’s a small pot… but a big opportunity. The problem? This spot is weird. You’re either out of position with no information or trying to defend against someone who knows that.
Let’s break it down by position, with the goal of giving you a clear game plan whether you’re first to act or last to speak.
Small Blind Strategy: When (and How) to Get Aggressive
As the small blind, you’re out of position — but first to strike. When everyone else folds, this is your chance to pick up the pot. And yes — you should be playing a very wide range here.
🗝️Core Concepts:
If you raise only strong hands, you’re predictable. If you raise everything, you get called by better. But if you raise the hands in the middle — the ones that benefit most from fold equity — you make life hard for the big blind.
Mix in limps with premium hands occasionally to trap, or raise bottom-of-range hands to keep your overall profile unbalanced and harder to exploit.
Stack Depth Tips:
Big Blind Defense: Why You Should Rarely Fold
Now let’s flip the table. You’re in the big blind, and the small blind opens. Do you defend?
Most of the time — yes.
Why You Should Defend Wide:
You can mix in calls and 3-bets depending on:
3-betting lets you take initiative and force them to fold their weakest opens — but if you do it too often, a smart small blind will 4-bet you light or trap.
🧠 Pro Tip: Against aggressive small blinds, start 3-betting hands like A♣-5♠, 9♠-8♠, and K♥-10♥. Against tighter ones, defend more with calls and punish their lack of aggression post-flop.
Post-Flop Strategy: Where It Gets Tricky
Here’s the truth: you both miss the flop a lot. But who wins the pot often comes down to:
Recap: Your Blind vs Blind Checklist
💬 Community Question: How do YOU play blind vs blind?
Are you the one applying pressure, or the one waiting for the trap?
Drop a reply below and share your approach — or post a hand history where things got spicy, OR a blind vs. blind hand that you want some feedback on.
🎯 Don’t forget — turn on notifications and subscribe to the CardsChat Learning Series to catch the next installment of this series:
Part 2 – Big Blind Defense
Mastering position in poker is key to long-term success — especially in tournaments. This six-part strategy series covers blind battles, bubble play, short-handed action, and final table dynamics. That’s exactly what this new CardsChat Learning Series is here to unpack — one strategic spot at a time. Over the next six installments, we’ll explore how position affects your decisions in bubble play, when to expand your range, how to tackle short-handed games, and how to close strong at the final table.
To kick it off, we’re diving into a common — and commonly misplayed — situation: blind vs blind.
Blind vs Blind: The Ultimate Standoff?
The rest of the table folds. It’s just you and the other blind. It’s a small pot… but a big opportunity. The problem? This spot is weird. You’re either out of position with no information or trying to defend against someone who knows that.
Let’s break it down by position, with the goal of giving you a clear game plan whether you’re first to act or last to speak.
Small Blind Strategy: When (and How) to Get Aggressive
As the small blind, you’re out of position — but first to strike. When everyone else folds, this is your chance to pick up the pot. And yes — you should be playing a very wide range here.
🗝️Core Concepts:
- Raise over 50% of hands — don’t get passive when you’re only facing one opponent
- Polarized range: Raise with the middle (e.g. K♥-8♦, 10♠-6♠), and mix limps and raises with top and bottom of your range (e.g. A♠-A♥, 5♣-4♣)
- Vary your raise sizes to disguise strength. Don’t always min-raise or always go 3x.
- Fold the trash: offsuit, unconnected hands with low kickers (e.g. 9♣-3♠, 8♦-2♥) should hit the muck.
If you raise only strong hands, you’re predictable. If you raise everything, you get called by better. But if you raise the hands in the middle — the ones that benefit most from fold equity — you make life hard for the big blind.
Mix in limps with premium hands occasionally to trap, or raise bottom-of-range hands to keep your overall profile unbalanced and harder to exploit.
Stack Depth Tips:
- Deep Stacked (40bb+): You can be more creative with raise sizes, limps, traps, and post-flop pressure.
- Mid Stacked (20–35bb): Stick to strong open-raising ranges and avoid awkward hands that can’t continue to a 3-bet.
- Short Stacked (<20bb): Consider shove-or-fold strategy and reduce limps altogether.
Big Blind Defense: Why You Should Rarely Fold
Now let’s flip the table. You’re in the big blind, and the small blind opens. Do you defend?
Most of the time — yes.
Why You Should Defend Wide:
- You’ve already invested a blind
- You’re closing the action pre-flop
- You have position post-flop, which is huge
- Their opening range is extremely wide — often more than 50% of hands — which means even hands like 9♠-5♣ have value
You can mix in calls and 3-bets depending on:
- Your hand strength
- How often the small blind raises
- Whether they fold to 3-bets
- How deep your stack is
- Their post-flop tendencies
3-betting lets you take initiative and force them to fold their weakest opens — but if you do it too often, a smart small blind will 4-bet you light or trap.
🧠 Pro Tip: Against aggressive small blinds, start 3-betting hands like A♣-5♠, 9♠-8♠, and K♥-10♥. Against tighter ones, defend more with calls and punish their lack of aggression post-flop.
Post-Flop Strategy: Where It Gets Tricky
Here’s the truth: you both miss the flop a lot. But who wins the pot often comes down to:
- Who has position
- Who was the aggressor pre-flop
- Whose range the flop hits harder
- Stay aggressive on high-card, coordinated boards (e.g. K♦-Q♠-10♣)
- C-bet regularly if you raised pre and the flop fits your range
- On low, disconnected flops (e.g. 8♠-3♣-2♦), slow down — big blind may have connected
- If you limp pre, be ready to check-raise bluff against light stab bets
- If you called pre-flop, use your position to gather info
- Float with backdoor equity or over-cards and prepare to steal later streets
- If SB checks flop after raising pre, you can often bet small to take it down
- Watch for pattern changes — if a normally aggressive SB checks turn, they may have given up or are trapping
--> favours the small blind's raising range- --> hits the big blind's call range more often
- -->neutral, play the player here
Recap: Your Blind vs Blind Checklist
| Action | Small Blind | Big Blind |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Flop | Raise 50%+, polarized range, mix sizes | Call wide, 3-bet selectively, defend ~80%+ |
| Post-Flop | Stay aggressive on strong boards | Float and bluff on low or neutral boards |
| Stack Sizes | Adjust aggression and raise sizes accordingly | Be mindful of SPR (stack-to-pot ratio) when 3-betting |
| Overall Goal | Put pressure on the BB and steal often | Leverage position to outmaneuver the SB |
💬 Community Question: How do YOU play blind vs blind?
Are you the one applying pressure, or the one waiting for the trap?
Drop a reply below and share your approach — or post a hand history where things got spicy, OR a blind vs. blind hand that you want some feedback on.
🎯 Don’t forget — turn on notifications and subscribe to the CardsChat Learning Series to catch the next installment of this series:
Part 2 – Big Blind Defense
