Bug's Poker Tip #3

Don't play a hand from the blinds that you wouldn't normally play from early position.

I've blogged about this before: don't buy kumquats just because they're on sale. Are you normally playing a hand like Q♦3♦ in early position? Uh, no, I didn't think so. Then why are you playing it from the blinds? Because you're getting a good price from some field limpers in the pot? Uh, what kind of cards are you hoping to flop? Q-Q-3? 3-3-3? A bunch of diamonds? The first two are highly unlikely to happen, so the price you have to be getting needs to be extremely good to make up for your positional disadvantage, and your opponents have to be extremely bad if you want them to pay you off in the rare instance that you do hit. The flush draw is more likely, but the most probable hands that are going to give you action are those that beat you. Fold these bright and shiny turkeys and don't look back. Remember: you're gonna be OOP in the blinds on all remaining streets of action. Just pretend you're UTG, fold, and move on.

All-in for now...

-Bug