Playing after the blinds is a situation that very few poker players prefer. Not only is it risky, but it is low paid as well. For a poker player getting short stacked is the worst thing that can happen. Playing with any less than the top 3 short stacks makes the player an underdog. In the early stages of a poker game getting the short stacks is the best situation that could happen. Let’s say the blinds are 15/30 or if the antes start at 100-200, if the first three players in need of chips fold, the short stacks will automatically get together and the hand will be played out. In case you are not an underdog having a limp in hand with low blinds and antes means fast play and not enough money is put into the pot to make it a profitable play.

Playing after the blinds is the situation that poker players wish for. Even if the poker player does not get the best of cards, in cases like this, the player can see the flop very cheaply. Especially in limits that don’t pay out very high, such as low or micro stakes, this is cheap money. If the flop is a blank, the poker player can see the river for free. In hold’em the poker player is guaranteed a payout on the flop and the amount of a bet or blind can be determined by the pot. In stud poker, calculating a casino edge based on the bet to deny must be done.

Besides learning how to play after the blinds, another thing the player should take into consideration would be the advantage of the players in the pot. Chances are that the hand that will be saved is the weaker one, the one that should be saved is the stronger one. Also, the poker player must also take into consideration the hand of the opponents that already took the bank in the previous round.

In all the poker games except for heads-up, the odds are that the player who raised the last round will carry the better hand, except in case the flop is really horrible. In this situation a player may not want to fold the hand.

There are also situations that the situation is the reverse switch, such as when the weak hand loses the bank and someone raises the bets. This actually happens quite often, the bank hand goes up and the person in the first position bets, the one in the last position calls with the good hand. This situation would be described as a sandwiched call, where the poker player wanted a card on the flop but didn’t want it to be shared with anyone else. This is a favorable situation for a poker player.

Unfortunately, poker is not always a game of luck, meaning that a poker player should look out for the things that don’t work for them. They should be able to learn to improve their weakest skill and limit their loss. True, there is no summary so I end up writing a book according to my taste instead of following my learning curve.