Do you guys ALWAYS wait for the big blind before playing?

[Scary_Tiger]

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I think Ed Miller wrote, that if you intend to wait for the bb, you shouldn't sit around obsering your opponents, because you will seem like a serious player, something you would like to avoid.

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Advice not applicable to online games.

[Cawo]

This stuff is from Poker Strategy and is their calculation and is under their rights:

Shortly it says that posting blinds on CO is even more profitable than on BB and on MP3 is same like on BB.

Blind Posting in the Big Blind or Cutoff?


The cost per game comes from the blind costs (1.5 small bets) divided by the number of players (which is the same as games per round). With 10 players, this yields: cost per game= 1.5 small bets/10 = .15 small bets.


If we post at a 10 player table in the cutoff, we'll have 7 games until we have to put up a blind again. These 7 games have a value of .15*7= 1.05 SB. But we will only pay 1 SB for all of them and so we make a gain of .05 SB over posting normally in the small and big blinds.
At 9 players both positions are equal. At 8 players, posting in the cutoff goes into the red. At a shorthanded table with 6 players, posting in the cutoff at first would create losses of .25 SB. If you sit down at a 10 player table as MP3, you'll lose .10 SB.

The advantages of the cutoff post

At a 10 player table, there are simple numerical reasons for getting in at the cutoff. There are also strategic reasons for it based on the advantage of position.

If we compare the short cutoff round (7 games) with the normal round (10 games), we'll notice the following differences:

a) In the cutoff round we miss the button (a very good spot) and both blinds (two very bad places). True, it's more important to have a better place more often than a worse place less often, but here it's 1 to 2. This is a possible pro for the cutoff.

b) In the cutoff round we have a forced play in late position, whereas we normally have two of these from early position. While point a) deals with sheer potential for play, point b) addresses the tendency to defend one's blinds. This especially is an advantage of the cutoff.

c) You don't have to defend your cutoff blind as often since only 6 potential stealers come before you instead of 8.

d) If you do have to defend them, you usually have position on the raiser. Thus, you can defend with more hands than you can in the big blind. Additionally, you have an interesting strategic option in the form of a 3-bet. The 3-bet is interesting for several reasons.

d1) In most cases, 1.5 SB dead blind money will go directly to the middle of the table.

d2) Many players lower their raising standards considerably in the presence of 2.5 SB blind money. Thus, the opposition doesn't necessarily have a premium hand. The value of the 3-bet is even better with loose aggressive players.
d3) Because of the positional advantage in combination with the initiative you can often win right on the flop if your opponents miss it.

e) If all opponents fold before you, you should basically raise with any cards (even 32o)! For readers of this article, this should be a standard move just like the obligatory bet on the flop as the small blind against the big blind in an unraised pot. Such moves automatically yield profit that can add up to a tidy sum over time. Why is this move so good? A normal blind stealer risks 2 SB to win 1.5 SB (4:3). As a cutoff poster stealer, you risk 1SB to win 2.5 SB. This is a serious numerical difference! Of course, your cards are typically not as good as a classical stealer (although they too are often spread thin), but your opponent doesn't know that. The success of a semi-bluff is carried by the character of your opponent and his cards much more than your own cards. From experience, we know that both blinds fold often enough that the bluff will carry itself from this alone. Then there are the cases where the big blind calls pre-flop but strikes sail after one flop bet. For a bluff, it is important that you recognize when it has collapsed. If button, small blind, or big blind post a 3-bet then it is advisable to give up if the flop doesn't bring improvement. You should also avoid bluffing yourself to death if the big blind calls the flop.

The only circumstance in which the standard raise from cutoff should not be made is when both of the following apply:
1) your own cards are junk
2) the opponents behind you are very loose aggressive