Big Blind Defense in Tournaments by Matt Affleck

PokerCoaching Team Pro, Matt Affleck, teaches the students about Big Blind Defense in Tournaments. He will go over what factors adjust your range, how wide you should be defending, and when the best time to 3bet from the big blind is!
Let me know if you have any questions
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[@inducedcomics]

Lots of value in this webinar. Thanks for sharing!

[@tyrocksalot]

I have no idea how all of these webinars dont have 100k likes. Great stuff and easy to digest content. Kudos guys.

[@yeeluvspizza]

Because the content can only be appreciated and embraced by players who want to improve with above average iq and attention span. Everyone else has fish like tendencies for life and will pass on watching it.

[@tyrocksalot]

@@yeeluvspizza and no drama. Best poker content on the web

[@dimitrispolitis9393]

Maybe because there aren't THAT many poker players?

[@straight_flizzy]

I’ve been just giving my blinds away.🤦🏾‍♂️ Glad I know now.

[@jackangel.]

Matt is using polarized microphone's volume range in all of his videos. I like your webinars a lot, but mate can you talk straight to the mic. PLEASE

[@moistflops6283]

he's on a rocking horse :D

[@johnmar6376]

Great video Matt. I enjoy your quiz's on pokercoaching

[@PokerCoaching]

Glad to hear it!

[@Anouthersmalldunker]

why do you flat QJoff but 3b bluff QJs in the multiway scenario? My thought process instictively thinks QJoff would be a better bluff since it plays more poorly post?

[@88Nieznany88]

I would say that reason is there are 4 combos of suited cards and 12 combos of offsuited, and if you 3bet QJo you end up with too much bluffs in your range.

[@vitortorturella6524]

Why we dont 3bet the offsuit broadways and call with the suited, in min 20 (bb vs open and call). As the suited broadways play better post flop

[@miketrans2717]

Hi Matt, this is tremendous help in my game, thanks very much to showcase all this, very appreciated! In your slide "Big Blind Defense with Short Stacks" (@26:54), is the 20bb meant the effective stack between you and the raiser or would you play it differently if you had say 40bb but the raiser 18bb? And the the 2 last points "Jam hands that can get (...)", you will think about this when seeing the flop, but with these points in mind - and also in general when calling in the BB as for your charts, will you check-jam everytime or will you jam on some occasions without checking first? Thanks very much for a feedback. Have a nice time!

[@PokerCoaching]

You should not play too differently when you have more than the shorter stack, except you perhaps apply a bit more pressure and do not over-fold preflop in general.

[@miketrans2717]

@@PokerCoaching Thanks!

[@prehisto1]

is there download available anywhere for those hand charts?

[@PokerCoaching]

Check out the PokerCoaching app!

[@Getsitdone]

Does defending include a continuation bet on heros part?

[@PokerCoaching]

I am not sure what you mean. "Defending" implies how you play preflop and postflop when facing a bet.

[@justinadil2104]

Wahoo ! It's so simple in your mind

[@coltukkor]

Knowing that our opponent in the BB can call very wide with antes in play doesnt it make more sense to simply standard 3.5x bet especially in the cutoff or button? A 2.5x =23% equity needed 3.5x bet =29.4% equity needed Why price them in so widely at 23% I never understood that. Thats even cheaper than min betting without antes.(25%)

[@Gos1234567]

I dont get what is meant by we can defend almost any two cards in the BB when our stack is

[@tiddleto2te]

Equity realisation is the chance that you can realise all your equity with the hand you have or range your have. If you have a low stack to pot ratio you can basically get your stack in with any top pair, therefore making the chances you can get bluffed off the best hand a lot lower. If you’re defending the bb with 100+ bb you’ll be out of position and have the chance of losing a massive pot, you’re not going to get 100bb in with only top pair, therefore it’s a lot harder to actually realise your equity

[@niemand262]

I'm not sure I agree with beginning premise that "you are losing in the big blind" so we should play the big blind "to reduce that loss". I think it is an idea that leads us to worry about the loss of a blind, and that's a part of poker we cannot control (and we should only worry about the parts we can control). We lose 1.5bb + antes per orbit. It doesnt matter where we win those back, only that we do. If I can boost my button profit by 1.5bb with very little variance, or I can boost my bb profit by 1.5bb with very high variance, the button is a better place to focus on recovering the loss from the blinds. The fact that the loss occurs in the blinds does not necessitate that we recover that loss while in that position. I do not dispute your strategy on how to effectively play in the big blind, only your reason for worrying about winning in that position. A strong player will understand how to play in every seat, and that is reason enough to learn this (after you are strong in the ideal seats).

[@nutterbutters2232]

niemand262 you dont have to defend with this range EVERY single time, but more frequently given your 100bb deep. If your 30-50bb deep maybe? You might want to have a tighter range? If you play in a tournament with a BB ante and EP raises 2.5x you have to call 1.5bb to win 5?? You have to be good 30% of the time! And with alot of these middling hands you get those odds and with these hands you can win big pots so you have to also consider implied odds.

[@jrbestil8810]

Is this applicable in cash game, 6 handed and 9 handed?

[@PokerCoaching]

Many of the theories are. Your range should be tighter in cash games due to worse pot odds (no ante).

[@jrbestil8810]

@@PokerCoaching thanks sir

[@robdag2]

With 15bb, should I be 3 bet jamming A5s to button raise? From SB, I'm sure but from BB, is it better to flat?

[@PokerCoaching]

Jamming both is probably fine.

[@pierre-augustemaurais2167]

Very nice video!

[@chezchezchezchez]

1/2 way through. U talk about 3b w T9s. Great but.. The super (not just a little bit) scary thing is having to play this post flop when you flop fair/bad. Easy when you flop 2p,trips, a flush, or a straight. Please go through all this. I feel you setting up many for disaster when they 2x bluff from oop.

[@SteveRay911]

Flopping two pair is a 5 percent chance, flopping trips is a bit more, flush is 118-1 and a straight I believe is about 100-1 You are not 3betting with 109 to flop well, you are 3betting to protect the equity in your good hands and to represent those hands when they hit i.e. you cbet the flop with a high-card and play some poker

[@chezchezchezchez]

SteveRay911 so board is Q233. Do you “play more poker“ and double barrel here? I mean, you’re teaching non-professionals here, don’t you think this spot is extremely tricky for us?

[@dimitrispolitis9393]

@@chezchezchezchez On Q23 if you get called then V is probably calling with a Q since there arent very many draws depending on the texture of the board too. For example if it was Qh2h3d he can flat you with 2 hearts looking for the Flush.What else is there? 45 A4 A5 looking for the straight. On turn coming a 3, is pretty much good for you depending on your position of course so I would bet again. Someone correct me if Im wrong. Also if you are feeling scared about losing maybe you should move to lower limits.

[@timothy_C19616]

Are these videos still valid 4 yrs later?

[@Zoggyboyzimmy]

Why would u do 2.5x open size... everyone uses 3x at 100bb

[@PokerCoaching]

To give you a larger post-flop advantage.

[@Zoggyboyzimmy]

Huh? Your saying you 2.5x at 100bb so we have more postflop edge? 2x then? 😧

[@Jermynchurch]

@@Zoggyboyzimmy, The deeper you are the more advantage for the higher skilled player With a larger sizing pre you are lowering SPR and have slightly less play post flop on the subsequent streets.

[@Zoggyboyzimmy]

Jermyn Church I’m basically never playing a 100bb pot anyway, so playability is the same except we win smaller pots with a smaller sizing assume we have a decent edge

[@yeeluvspizza]

@@PokerCoaching Re: multiway defense vs EP and 2 late position callers, do we just call tighter and 3 bet same range as we would vs EP and 1 Late position caller"?

[@pushup9489]

seems pretty loose range from BB vs UTG ...

[@lewjg2933]

I agree

[@straight_flizzy]

💎💎💎💎💎

[@nv1360]

Lost me when you went from whispering to screaming every other sentence...I'm pretty sure I'm deaf...

[@THECOSMONAUT100]

I've had teachers who do that. It's like they catch themselves then try to overcompensate lol