{"id":2457395,"date":"2023-03-28T21:22:51","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T21:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/?p=2457395"},"modified":"2026-01-13T14:27:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:27:52","slug":"online-poker-tournaments-five-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-playing-from-the-big-blind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/online-poker-tournaments-five-questions-to-ask-yourself-when-playing-from-the-big-blind\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Poker Tournaments: Five Questions To Ask Yourself When Playing From The Big Blind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Playing from the big blind in <a href=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/poker-sites\/\" title=\"\">online poker tournaments<\/a> can be difficult. No one likes playing out of position, as it can become especially difficult when you have an awkward stack size that you don\u2019t know how to deal with. However, while playing from the big blind can be difficult, that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re incapable of solid play from out of position. If you ask ourselves five critical questions, you will put yourself in better situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1  uagb-block-08b8924d      \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTable Of Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#question-1-can-i-just-go-all-in-from-the-big-blind\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Question 1 &#8211; Can I Just Go All-In From The Big Blind?<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#eliminate-the-need-to-play-out-of-position\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Eliminate The Need To Play Out Of Position<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#question-2-can-i-set-up-a-check-raise\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Question 2 &#8211; Can I Set Up A Check-Raise?<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#remember-to-adjust-your-online-poker-tournament-strategy-to-your-stack-size\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Remember To Adjust Your Online Poker Tournament Strategy To Your Stack Size<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#question-3-does-my-opponent-ever-double-barrel\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Question 3 &#8211; Does My Opponent Ever Double Barrel?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#question-4-can-you-just-fold\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Question 4 &#8211; Can You Just Fold?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#question-5-can-you-reraise\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Question 5 &#8211; Can You Reraise?<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#using-check-raises-early-in-online-poker-tournaments\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Using Check-Raises Early In Online Poker Tournaments<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#conclusion\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Conclusion<\/a><\/ul><\/ul><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question 1 &#8211; Can I Just Go All-In From The Big Blind?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best strategies you can use in the blinds is often forgotten: moving all-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some players act as if they are not allowed to go all-in with more than a <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-win-in-online-poker\/#stack-size-online-poker-tournament\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">20 big blind effective stack<\/a>. I beg them to study this matter further, as it is perfectly fine to move all-in with more than 20 big blinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eliminate The Need To Play Out Of Position<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can even move all-in 30 big blinds if you\u2019d like. It\u2019s not an optimal strategy, but if you\u2019re playing against an excellent player, then the last thing you want to do is play out of position versus them. If you can prove in poker software that your all-in is profitable then go ahead and take your edge where you can get it. A positional disadvantage won\u2019t matter if you don\u2019t have to play the flop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Whether you are a tournament poker player or a cash game grinder, Jonathan Little's Top Ten Poker Tips can help you become a winning poker player.\" class=\"wp-image-2520367\" width=\"611\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1-746x420.png 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1-373x210.png 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/PC-Blog_Top-Ten-Easy-Poker-Tips-1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/top-ten-easy-poker-tips-to-crush-poker-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>Crush cash games and poker tournaments with Jonathan Little\u2019s Top Ten Poker Tips!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question 2 &#8211; Can I Set Up A Check-Raise?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another play you can set up in <a aria-label=\"online poker tournaments is a check-raise (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pokernews.com\/strategy\/when-you-should-go-for-a-check-raise-holding-river-nuts-38361.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"ek-link\">online poker tournaments is a check-raise<\/a>. If your opponent has 25 to 40 big blinds, this is a play you should employ liberally. When your opponent opens from late position and continuation bets, it is likely you have caught them with a number of hands that have missed the flop. You will know they have missed the flop a large percentage of the time because they are opening a wide range and continuation betting with most of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Remember To Adjust Your Online Poker Tournament Strategy To Your Stack Size<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your opponent\u2019s stack size is important because if you check-raise versus a 25 to 40 big blind stack, you put your opponent in a bind. If they want to float you or raise you again, then they will have to risk most if not all of their chips. Most players aren\u2019t capable of doing this with a simple high card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look for flops where there aren\u2019t two cards nine or higher. Your opponents like to raise with big cards, so if the board comes with mostly small cards or middle cards then it is less likely they have hit it. The one time this isn\u2019t true is when you see an ace high board. Your opponent is going to be playing more ace highs than anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can set up a successful check-raise versus their compromised chip stack on a difficult board, then you will have effectively neutralized your positional disadvantage. This is a huge edge for you when position would normally hurt you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;<strong><em>Most small-stakes poker players are either oblivious or do not care about the fact that stack sizes are different. They three-bet with just the best hands and do not care what position they are in. Not adjusting poker strategy in accordance with differing stack sizes is a big leak.<\/em><\/strong>&#8220;<\/p>\n<cite> <strong>&#8211;<\/strong> <strong>Jonathan Little<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question 3 &#8211; Does My Opponent Ever Double Barrel?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many opponents who are simply not capable of <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-win-in-online-poker\/#online-poker-bluff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">double barrel bluffing in online poker tournaments<\/a>. If you are collecting statistics, you\u2019ll notice their turn continuation bet percentage is only 40% or so. When they do turn over the hands they double barrel, you see they frequently have top pair or better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Versus these uncreative players you can be more liberal with what you play out of position. Even if you flat a weak hand from the big blind, our uncreative opponent won\u2019t test us enough to make us worried. You can call liberally with draws and weak pairs on the flop knowing that you will be able to realize our equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question 4 &#8211; Can You Just Fold?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Folding is an exploitative play. People forget this all the time. Have you ever bet with a set into four players and had them all fold? It felt like they found an exploit against you, right? You wanted action and they disappointed you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are other more subtle situations where a fold exploits your opponent\u2019s range. One great spot to exploitatively fold is found when you\u2019re in the big blind versus a raiser and a caller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People mistakenly think that when they\u2019re getting a good pot odds they can call with absolutely anything, which is far from the truth. Even if you are given great pot odds in a spot, it will be immensely difficult to realize your equity. By being out of position for the rest of the hand, your opponents\u2019 stronger ranges are likely to dominate yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you both hit the flop, they will be able to clean you out with their superior position and hands. When you both miss the flop, they will be able to steal it from you with a continuation bet and superior information. When you hit the flop and they miss, they are likely to check back and get free cards while simultaneously making the pot smaller. In this awful situation, your best play is to fold any hand that doesn\u2019t play well multiway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/push-fold-charts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Master a GTO short stack preflop poker tournament strategy and know when to move all-in with the help of Jonathan Little's Push Fold Charts on PokerCoaching.com\" class=\"wp-image-2519906\" width=\"633\" height=\"356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-746x420.jpg 746w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-373x210.jpg 373w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/jl-push-fold-charts.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/push-fold-charts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><em>Make the best preflop decisions with Jonathan Little&#8217;s Push\/Fold Charts!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Question 5 &#8211; Can You Reraise?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some opponents who raise too many hands in late position, call most reraises, and then fold when they miss the flop. These opponents are a gold mine, and they should be treated as such. You want to still have some kind of hand when you go after them, but you don\u2019t need as much of a hand as you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Using Check-Raises Early In Online Poker Tournaments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Facing opponents who raise too many hands from late position, you can try a few reraises versus them early in a tournament when it\u2019s cheap to do so. If they respect you when they\u2019re deep stacked, they\u2019re likely to keep folding when your bets mean more to their stack. Just remember that it\u2019s probable they raised and called with mostly high cards. If the board comes with multiple cards higher than a nine, then it could be time to pump the breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the best ways to succeed at poker is memorizing and sticking to logical thought processed that help you make the right decisions. The big blind is one of the toughest positions to navigate in poker, by consistently <a href=\"http:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/how-to-win-in-online-poker\/#study-poker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">studying playing from the blinds<\/a> as well as remembering the five key questions I covered in this piece, you will be well equipped to crush online poker tournaments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Playing from the big blind in online poker tournaments can be difficult. No one likes playing out of position, as it can become especially difficult when you have an awkward stack size that you don\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":2519287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[877,16,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poker-basics","category-poker-strategy","category-tournaments"],"acf":{"peak_live_date":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind-373x210.png",373,210,true],"medium":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind-746x420.png",746,420,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind.png",1280,720,false],"author_image":["https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/PC-Blog_Online-Poker-Tournaments-Five-Questions-To-Ask-Yourself-When-Playing-From-The-Big-Blind.png",100,56,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Alex Fitzgerald","author_link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/author\/alex_fitzgerald\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Playing from the big blind in online poker tournaments can be difficult. No one likes playing out of position, as it can become especially difficult when you have an awkward stack size that you don\u2019t [&hellip;]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457395"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2541199,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457395\/revisions\/2541199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}