Defending Blinds in Limit

[Aaron W.]

I let him steal the first couple times. This has a number of effects:

1) It gives you time to observe villain to see if he has a pattern of raising in late position.
2) If villain has such a pattern, it encourages villain to think you're weak or tight so that he gives up more easily against you later in the session when you play back.
3) It avoids difficult situations with marginal hands OOP against an unknown player.
4) It keeps you from spewing early in a session.