This is a standard blind structure for a tournament consisting of 5-50 players. Each player should begin with $1000 in tournament chips (ex. $50 buy-in equals $1000 in tournament chips). If you would like the tournament to last longer, the starting number of chips can be increased to $1500. To get the most folds for the least amount of money you should generally raise to three times the big blind. Game dynamics changes the fold equity relative to the ratio of big blinds risked. Many times, people won’t even consider folding unless you raise to four big blinds. Other times, a min-raise can be most effective.

I've talked before about how important having a plan is to playing winning poker. This applies to not only scheduling, studying and budgeting, but also to actual in game considerations, like playing blind vs. blind.

Playing blind vs. blind is a spot where many players give away a lot of chips and equity in tournaments. Unfortunately, the spill-over effect from making a mistake in one tournament can be deadly if you're a high volume multi-tabler. This is why you need to nip it in the bud and approach blind vs. blind play with the confidence and peace of mind that will lead to increased performance and profits.

In blind vs. blind play, you have to account for every hand. So, having fewer hands to think about makes the task easier.

Here's the bad news: in Hold'em, there are 169 hands.

1. How to play each of these hands regarding the blinds will come below but first you should take a couple of things into account: This is basic tournament strategy. This strategy alone will win tournaments for as long as you use it. You also may want. You may want to play more hands.
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Here’s the good news: there’s considerably less if you don't consider suited and unsuited to be different (in which case, there are 91).

Next, you need to have a plan.

We always have three options when it's our action. We can limp/fold, call/check, bet/raise. If we consider our opponent's counter actions, we can split the three options into two-pronged actions:

• Raise/Call
• Raise/Fold
• Limp/Call
• Limp/Raise
• Limp/Fold
• Fold
• Open Shove

You can see how these work: you raise with the intention of calling, or raise with the intention of folding if your opponent raises, and so on. You're one step ahead, and have figured out the second action that will follow your first action. These are the options for blind vs. blind assuming your opponent's stack size is such that his or her re-raise is all-in.

Home Poker Tournament Blind Structure

Before the action is on you, you want to decide which of these seven options is best for the situation, giving factors like your cards, who your opponent is, your stack size, etc.

Of course, you'll be in the action, so you'll know your opponents better than I do. As such, I can't tell you which hands should fit into which category. You may think AA is always going to be a raise/call, but maybe it will work better as a limp/call or a limp/raise. The plays are going to differ opponent to opponent, with similar hands or different hands. It's your job to allocate various hands to each category for various opponents and the various situations.

Note on open shove: I italicized the open shove for a reason. If you worry you won't be able to stick with the plan or that you'll have a misguided change of heart once your opponent acts, you can take away your second strategic option (raise/fold) by just open shoving hands that are profitable pushes rather than fazing yourself with a decision. This keeps things simple. If a hand is +EV/+chip EV to shove, you rip it in there and don't think about it twice. All decisions are done, and there's nothing else to do.

Moving on...

Now, I know many players might think my list of strategic options is exhaustive, but it's important to always think one or two moves ahead when you're creating your plans. Poker is a lot more like chess than checkers, and the best players are thinking about future moves.

When you don't have a plan, you're often going to find yourself making the sketchy decisions. Not having a plan forces you to make a call in the moment, under pressure, and we all know that decisions made under duress - making good decisions under duress - takes experience. So take some pressure off by knowing exactly what to do before your opponent acts so that you won't be reacting to him; he'll just be playing along with your plan no matter what he does.
It’s about reacting with your mind, rather than emotions.

Know which hands you're raising with the intention of calling, raising with the intention of folding, and so on. For example, when you're opening from middle position, there are some players you're going to want to see five cards against, and there are some who you'll surrender to if they show interest. Like I said, your plan is set, but which strategy you use will depend on your opponent.

Against more knowledgeable, powerful and aggressive players, you're going to have to call off with more hands than you would against a tighter player. Against a tighter player, you're going to be raise/folding more hands and raise/calling fewer. But the irony is you'll probably be raising more hands overall because your steal is more likely to be successful when up against a tight player than up against an aggressive one.

Factors That Impact Your Plan

• Opponent's Stack Size
• Opponent's Position in the Field
• Stage of the Tournament
• Aggressiveness of Opponent

The amount of pressure to apply will depend on a lot of variables. Consider this: when an opponent has a 15BB - 25BB re-shove stack and knows how to use it, raising a steal from them isn't always the best idea. Likewise, ask yourself how good of a chance your opponent has of winning the tournament or even cashing the tournament. Do you think cashing is something they value? If it is, you can apply a lot more pressure, since players who want to cash or move up the payout structure are less likely to want to get into a confrontation. To know who you can steal from means knowing your opponent well, and this can only come through paying attention to the table even when you're not in a hand.

The main thing is to STICK WITH THE PLAN.

If you're doing this, you're setting yourself up to win. And if you really want to up your game, do your homework and see which hands are most profitable under each strategic option. This will take the guess work out of playing, and give you the mathematical and logical edge to win.

Blind Raise -
1. Raising the hand before looking at your cards.
2. Raising a blind bet before subsequent action occurs.
In order to create action, most poker games include a method of seeding the pot before the cards are dealt. In stud games this is done with antes, in flop games it is accomplished with blinds. In both cases, these are forced wagers, and they must be made prior to the initial deal. A forced wager is a wager that is required; the player does not have any option and must wager if he wants to play. With the exception of raised blind games, forced wagers often occur before the action starts
This means that the majority of the action that takes place after the deal is optional. If a player is faced with an optional wager, they will generally have the option to muck, bet, call or raise This decision will be based on many factors, but a prime consideration is often the content of that player’s hand. So, typically, a player will look at their hand before wagering, evaluate the situation, make a strategic wagering decision, and follow through with their action.
This is how raises are most commonly made. Sometimes a player may instead choose to raise without knowledge about the content of their hand. This is called a blind raise. You may also hear it called a “dark raise.” Raising blind is not a common practice, because it is usually a bad idea. Poker is a game in which strategic decisions are made based upon a panorama of information. Generally speaking, the more information you have access to, the more effective you will be in your decision making. Obviously, being informed about the contents of your hand makes a huge difference in this regard.
That being said, there are some perfectly reasonable justifications for making a blind raise. We will discuss a few of them here, and you may encounter others we do not discuss. One common reason a player may want to raise in the blind is to establish a loose or maniac table image. This can be a useful tool if you are playing against players you have never seen before. Often, when players play against each other for the first time they try to “get a line on” their opponents play. This means that they try to make an evaluation of their opponents overall playing style and ability in a relatively quick time, based on a few of their opponents actions. Included in this evaluation is an analysis of what they believe their opponent is and is not capable of. If a new player sits down in the game and immediately begins raising pots in the blind, the other players are likely to form quick opinions about that player’s playing style and ability. These first impressions are formed quickly, and then become hardened to a degree. This is a part of human nature, and there is a psychobiological basis for it. There is a lot of scientific work that has been done on how the human brain reacts to and processes its first impressions of others, and scientists have even isolated the neural circuitry involved.
Obviously, if your opponent is going to made quick assumptions about what kind of player you are, and what you are capable of doing in the game, it may be worth burning a few small bets to throw them off the scent, especially since those opinions are likely to harden. This is especially true if you expect to play against these same players in the future as well, as the initial impressions can be long lasting and difficult to alter significantly after an initial evaluation is made. Many advanced players are well aware of the value of generating false first impressions for their opponents, and many also guard themselves against hardening their own evaluations too easily. This type of advanced strategic thought is an example of the “game within the game.”
Another legitimate reason to blind raise would be if everyone in the game is doing it. If you can count on your opponents to voluntarily take the same disadvantage that you are willing to take, it levels the playing field to a degree, and ultimately benefits the better players in the game. This is because a major change in gameplay, such as continuous blind raising from all players, requires adjustments to your strategy. And the best players in the game will routinely adjust more effectively than the field.
A player may also choose to raise blind to “get the game out of the muck.” There is an ebb and flow to the action in most poker games. Sometimes, when a game is tight and boring, it discourages action from all players. This in turn makes the game more boring and tight. It is difficult even for good players to make money in this environment. Because of this, a player may elect to blind raise in the hopes of creating action that would break this cycle, and spill over into subsequent hands.
You will also encounter a significant amount of blind raising which cannot be justified by profit based strategic reasoning. Remember, not everyone plays poker for the same reasons, and winning doesn’t much matter to some people. Many players will tell you that they will raise a pot in the blind because they “Just wanted to gamble,” or because they “Had a feeling.” When multiple players in the game appear to be playing of fun, and do not seem to be motivated by profit, blind bets and blind raises can occur frequently. In this type of game it is not uncommon for the first acting player to bet blind, as the dealer put out the flop. Sometimes you will even see the first player bet out in the blind, while the next player raises in the blind, with a possible blind reraise from the player acting third, and so on. All of this can occur after the initial round of betting, but before the flop is displayed. These are great games to play in, both in terms of enjoyment value and profit potential, because of all the action.
Usage: Raise In The Blind, Make A Blind Raise, Raised Blind Game.
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