The Blocking Bet

Distributed By Wise Hand Poker, Jun 2007

Having position on your opponent(s) is a huge advantage in no-limit hold’em. Generally, you want to play small pots out of position (OOP) and large pots in position (IP); and you should play fewer hands OOP than you play IP. However, if you play like this, you’ll still be playing some hands OOP.

One of the most important weapons for playing decent, but not great hands, when you’re OPP is the blocking bet, a preemptive bet made by an OOP player with the intention of preventing an opponent from making a larger bet. Blocking bets work great against straightforward opponents.

The Blocking Bet For Protection

Instead of check-calling large bets in tricky situations, like top pair with a marginal kicker, you can preempt your opponents by leading out with smaller, blocking bets. For instance, if you know an opponent will bet about 60% of the pot on the turn and 40% of the pot on the river (with a distribution the requires you to call), you can make blocking bets of 40% of the pot on the turn and 25% of the pot on the river. If a straightforward opponent raises one of your blocking bets, then you know you’re beaten, and you can safely fold. By making these blocking bets, you lose a smaller amount of money than you would have normally lost.

The Blocking Bet For Value

If you check OOP with a decent (but not great) hand, your opponent may check behind with his weaker hands for a free showdown, meaning that you make no money from those hands. By making blocking bets, you extract value by getting calls from hands that you opponent won’t bet. The blocking bet is a double-edged sword. It protects your chips when you are possibly beaten, and it makes you more money against hands that you beat.

Aggression Usually Seizes The Profits

We hear it all the time: no-limit hold’em favors the aggressor. The blocking bet is just another example of this aphorism at work. By staying aggressive when you’re OOP, you keep yourself out of trouble because you allow your opponents to define their hands by the way they respond to your bets.

Of course, circumstances exist in which passive play will be best; for example, the blocking bet might actually get you into lots of trouble against some of your trickier, hyper-aggressive opponents. As always, the key is being flexible. Incorporate the blocking bet as just one of many weapons in a well-balanced game plan, and, as always, may your monetary EV always be positive!