PokerBug: Bug's Poker Tip #24

Your Blinds Are Not Your Blinds

Beginning poker players defend their blinds far too much. They feel under attack whenever someone in late position raises what they think is "their" blind. They somehow believe that the chips they posted from the small or big blind belongs to them. They say things like, "That guy kept trying to steal my blinds!" and "I had to defend, or he was going to run over me all night." Well, guess what? That money you posted from the blinds does not belong to you. That money belongs to the community pot. The instant you slid a single chip out in front of you from the small or big blind, that money ceased to be yours. It's simply sitting in front of you at the moment. The mere fact that you posted it should not be a factor in your decision to "defend" it or not. Business people call this type of expense a "sunk cost," and sunk costs should never be included in a future economic decision. In poker, the blinds you have to pay every orbit become sunk costs the second they're posted, and the fact that you paid them should never, ever be a factor in your decision to defend them or not. Instead, you need to look at hand and fold equities, pot odds, player propensities, positions, and so on. The fact that you were the one who posted the blind is irrelevant. Said another way, your job from the blinds is not to automatically defend the sunk cost. Your job instead is to perform REDi and evaluate whether you can and should go after that community money.* Most of the time the answer will be no. Your job is not to get indignant and defensive whenever the guy on your right steals. He's just doing his job going after the community pot. The blinds are not yours to defend.