Question about SB/BB

Suited_Queens · #1 12-02-2006, 02:05 AM

Hi, this is my first post and I am a little confused.

When people post a hand, for example:

Flop: 5 4 Q (8.5SB, 2 players)
Hero bets, MP2 calls.

Turn: 9 (5.25BB, 2 players)

The 8.5SB and 5.25BB parts, I am sure I read somewhere that those terms mean big and small bet, so my question is why is this used when it seems so much more inaccurate than posting what is in the pot? Can someone please clarify? Thanks!

SheridanCat · #2 12-02-2006, 03:25 AM

Welcome to the forums.

Referring to small and big bets servers a couple purposes.

It keeps the money aspect out of the hand description - in poker we should be worried about bets, not dollars. More importantly, referring to it this way makes it easier to think about odds without having to do mental conversions or refer back to the stakes to remind ourselves what's going on.

Suited_Queens · #3 12-02-2006, 04:57 AM

Thanks for the reply.

Is there a post somewhere on the forums that explains this in more detail? I read all the FAQ's and whatnot and I don't recall ever coming across it.

SheridanCat · #4 12-02-2006, 11:47 AM

I doubt there's a FAQ on that. It's just convention that has been used here for years.

Grunch · #5 12-02-2006, 02:13 PM

More than anything this is just convention. Note that this doesn't happen when discussing no-limit hands. There we talk about the actual size of the pot & stacks. One reason is because in no-limit there is no concept of big & small bets. You bet what you want, when you want.

ottsville · #6 12-02-2006, 02:38 PM

Using this in live play also allows you to count the pot/do math more quickly. And you can memorize how many bets must be in the pot to call with your draws and apply it at any limit, versus having to know that at 2/4 you need $x in the pot, but at 7.5/15 you need $y.

BJK · #7 12-02-2006, 07:05 PM

I first saw this used when I read SSHE a while back, and I have found that it is the easiest way to determine pot odds while playing a limit game.

Think of it this way. Instead of counting the pot, which can be tedious, instead just count the number of people in the pot and multiply that times the number of bets each person put into the pot. If you are in the big blind, the first person in the pot raises, and then three others call, that means that there are nine small bets in the pot (four people with two bets each plus your big blind). That gives you 9 to 1 pot odds to call to see the flop, and with odds that good, you can afford to be quite loose.

I'm not going to elaborate any more mostly because I don't want to rip off Sklansky's work (he's done so much for my game). If this intrigues you, then buy the book. You can get it on this site.