Defending the blinds in live cash games
The blinds are the only seats where you put money in before you see your cards, and after the flop you act first. Almost every player loses money from the small and big blind over time; the aim is to lose as little as possible. This lesson covers the price the blinds get against a raise, which hands to defend from the big blind against each seat, how the small blind differs and how to play after the flop.
Why the blinds lose money
At £1/£2 you post £3 every orbit, whatever cards you are dealt, and in most hands you will be out of position after the flop. Folding to every raise would hand over every blind you post in a raised pot. Defending well loses less than that, not nothing. The orbit cost calculator shows what the blinds cost you an hour at your stake.
Defending means calling or 3-betting when someone raises your blind. The question each time is whether the hand loses less by playing than by giving up the money you have already posted.
The price the blinds get
Your blind is already in the pot, so calling a raise costs you less than it costs the other players. Here is the price at £1/£2 when one player opens and everyone else folds:
| Open raise | Big blind calls | Equity the big blind needs | Small blind calls | Equity the small blind needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £6 | £4 | 30.8% | £5 | 35.7% |
| £8 | £6 | 35.3% | £7 | 38.9% |
| £10 | £8 | 38.1% | £9 | 40.9% |
| £12 | £10 | 40.0% | £11 | 42.3% |
Bigger opens give a worse price, so defend fewer hands against a £10 or £12 open than against £6. A caller in front of you improves the price: against an £8 open and one caller, the big blind needs only 24.0%, but the hand will be played three-handed and out of position. The small blind’s figures ignore the big blind still to act behind, who can raise.
Two things make the real price worse than the table:
- Position. Out of position you realise less of your equity, because you act first and face bets before seeing the next card. Offsuit hands that rarely make a strong hand suffer most; pairs and suited, connected hands suffer least.
- Rake. Under no flop, no drop, folding before the flop costs no rake, but a pot that sees a flop is raked. If the room takes 5% of a £17 pot, the big blind’s £6 call needs 37.2% rather than 35.3%. The rake lesson explains the formula.
Why you cannot fold everything
Look at it from the opener’s side. An £8 open risks £8 to win the £3 in the blinds. If the blinds fold more than 8 ÷ (8 + 3) = 72.7% of the time, the raise makes money with any two cards, even if the opener gives up every time someone defends.
You do not have to defend the other 27.3% exactly. You are out of position, and many live openers are not bluffing from early seats. But if both blinds fold almost everything, a player who notices can raise your blinds with any hand. The minimum defence frequency calculator runs the same sum for any bet.
Which hands to defend from the big blind
These ranges are for the big blind against one open of about 3 to 4 big blinds in a nine-handed game, with stacks of about 100 big blinds and the small blind folded. They include the hands you 3-bet. Each range contains the one before it, because later seats open wider ranges.
| Opener’s seat | Big blind defends (call or 3-bet) | Combinations | Share of hands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early (UTG, UTG+1) | 22+, A2s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, AQo+ | 190 | 14.3% |
| Middle (UTG+2, lojack) | 22+, A2s+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T8s+, 97s+, 87s, 76s, 65s, AJo+, KQo | 238 | 17.9% |
| Hijack | 22+, A2s+, K8s+, Q8s+, J8s+, T8s+, 97s+, 86s+, 75s+, 65s, 54s, ATo+, KJo+, QJo | 298 | 22.5% |
| Cutoff | 22+, A2s+, K6s+, Q7s+, J7s+, T7s+, 96s+, 85s+, 74s+, 64s+, 53s+, A8o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo | 398 | 30.0% |
| Button | 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q5s+, J7s+, T7s+, 96s+, 85s+, 74s+, 63s+, 53s+, 43s, A5o+, K9o+, QTo+, JTo, T9o, 98o | 502 | 37.9% |
Against an early open, defend mostly pairs, which can flop a set, and suited hands that make flushes and straights. Offsuit hands such as king-jack and queen-ten are often dominated by an early range. Against the button, whose range is much wider, many more hands are worth a call.
Adjust for the size and the player:
- Bigger opens. Against £10 or more at £1/£2, drop the weakest offsuit hands at the bottom of each range.
- Smaller opens. Against 2 to 3 big blinds, add more suited hands.
- Which hands to 3-bet. 3-bet QQ+ and AK against any seat. Against the cutoff and button, add JJ, TT, AQ and a few suited wheel aces such as A5s and A4s. Make it about 4 times the open, because you will be out of position. The 3-betting lesson covers sizes and bluffs.
Try it: big blind defence by the opener's seat
Choose the opener's seat to see the hands the big blind defends. Each range contains the one before it.
A starting point for the big blind against one open of about 3 to 4 big blinds, nine-handed, at about 100 big blinds, with the small blind folded. Not solver output; adjust for the opener and the size.
The small blind is different
The small blind gets a worse price than the big blind, still has the big blind to act behind it and is out of position against everyone after the flop. Many players therefore 3-bet or fold from the small blind and call only rarely. A call invites the big blind to squeeze and leaves you out of position in a multiway pot.
Calling from the small blind makes more sense in games where the big blind rarely raises, and with hands such as small pairs and suited connectors that want a cheap multiway flop. When everyone folds to you in the small blind, the opening ranges lesson suggests raising a range close to the cutoff’s.
After the flop
When the big blind calls an £8 open at £1/£2 and the small blind folds, the pot is £17 with £192 behind: a stack-to-pot ratio of about 11.3. That is deep. One pair is rarely worth all the money, because getting it in takes several big bets and an opponent who puts in that much usually has two pair or better.
A simple plan out of position:
- Check to the raiser most of the time. The raiser bets often, and checking keeps the pot small with your weaker hands.
- Check-raise your strong hands and your best draws, so they build a pot and sometimes win it at once.
- Call with pairs and draws that have the equity the price asks for. A half-pot bet needs 25% equity on that street, before you think about later bets.
- Fold hands with no pair and no draw when the raiser bets, rather than calling once and giving up on the turn.
Common mistakes
- Defending the big blind with the same hands whatever the size of the open.
- Calling from the small blind with hands that do badly when the big blind squeezes.
- Folding so often that observant players raise your blinds with anything.
- Defending weak offsuit hands against an early open, then losing big pots with a dominated top pair.
- Calling the flop out of position with nothing, then folding to the turn bet.
Check yourself
At £1/£2 the button opens to £10 and the small blind folds. What equity does the big blind need to call?
The pot is £1 + £2 + £10 = £13. The big blind calls £8 more, so needs £8 ÷ (£13 + £8) = 38.1%.
Same spot, but the room takes 5% of the pot when you win it, and the cap is not reached. What do you need now?
The final pot is £21, and 5% rake takes £1.05, leaving £19.95. The call needs £8 ÷ £19.95 = 40.1%.
Why does an £8 open with any two cards make money if the blinds fold too often?
It risks £8 to win £3. If the blinds fold more than 8 ÷ 11 = 72.7% of the time, the raise shows a profit even if the opener gives up every time someone defends.
Key takeaways
- The blinds lose money for almost everyone; defend to lose less, not to win every pot.
- Start from the price, then allow for position and rake: defend fewer hands against bigger opens and earlier seats.
- From the small blind, 3-bet or fold most hands; from the big blind, call more and 3-bet your strongest hands.
Sources and method
Original Overshove writing. Prices assume £1/£2 blinds, an opener who is not in the blinds, everyone not named folding and no rake unless stated. The ranges are an editorial starting point for the big blind in a nine-handed live game at about 100 big blinds, not solver output and not a guarantee of profit. Combination counts and shares were counted exactly over all 1,326 starting hands.
Questions
What does defending the blinds mean in poker?
It means calling or re-raising from the small or big blind when another player raises, instead of folding the blind you have already posted.
How wide should you defend the big blind in live poker?
It depends on the opener's seat and the size of the raise. Against a 3 to 4 big blind open in a nine-handed game, a sound starting point is about 14% of hands against an early open, rising to about 38% against the button. Defend fewer hands against bigger opens.
How do you defend the big blind?
Start from the price: call when your hand has enough equity, allowing for playing out of position and for rake. Defend pairs and suited, connected hands most readily, 3-bet your strongest hands, and fold weak offsuit hands against early and large opens.
Should you call or 3-bet from the small blind?
Most of the time, 3-bet or fold. The small blind gets a worse price than the big blind, can be squeezed by the big blind behind it and plays out of position after the flop. Calling suits passive games and hands that want a cheap multiway flop.
Why do you lose money in the blinds?
You post the blinds before seeing your cards and play the hand out of position after the flop. Almost every player loses money from the blinds over time; good defence reduces the loss rather than removing it.