Big Blind Defense Guide: How to Play From the BB in 2025
Do you want to achieve consistency and winning in poker? Many people do, of course, but the advantage is relatively small. But what if you slightly change your poker tactics, specifically your Big Blind Defense? A losing or near-breakeven game can turn into a complete crusher in cash games, live or online, once you master a solid Big Blind Defense strategy. Regularly reading poker strategy articles will help you continually improve your Hold’em skills. Therefore, we recommend this for beginners, online poker players, and, of course, live poker players.
Balance is key.
To defend effectively, balance is essential. Against early positions, you should play tight, defending only a strong range of hands. Against the button or small blind, your defense should be as broad as possible, including suited connectors, gappers, and even weak aces. The main goal of defense is to prevent opponents from stealing your blinds with impunity, while avoiding costly mistakes postflop in unfavorable situations.
Here are three rules for a proper BB defense strategy:
Rule 1. Position of the Raiser and Other Callers: Play tighter against early position raises, and if there are callers, only play hands suitable for multi-way pots.
Rule 2. Raise Sizing: The smaller the bet size, the more hands you defend. The larger the bet size, the fewer hands you defend.
Rule 3. Effective Stack Size: The effective stack size is the smaller of the two stacks (yours and your opponent’s). When the effective stack size is short, for example, 20-60BB, fold most of your speculative cards and aim to play higher cards. When the effective stack size is greater than +100BB, play a wider range.
Important Tactical Tips:
Also consider the skill difference. Against strong opponents, play tight, as they have a good understanding of the game and are less likely to make mistakes. But if the raiser is a recreational player, take advantage of the opportunity to outplay them postflop more often and call with a wide range.
| Hand Category | Action vs Early Position (UTG/MP) | Action vs Button (BTN) |
| Premium Pairs ($QQ+, AK$) | 3-bet / 4-bet | 3-bet (Value) |
| Medium Pairs ($66-TT$) | Call | Mixed (Call / 3-bet) |
| Suited Broadway ($KQs, AJs, etc.$) | Call | Call / 3-bet |
| Offsuit Aces ($Axo$) | Fold (except $AJo+$) | Call ($A5o+$) |
| Suited Connectors / One-Gappers | Call (Stronger ones) | Call (Wide range) |
| Suited Trash / Weak Hands | Fold | Call (High frequency) |
Wide Range: Due to the “discount” (you’ve already invested 1 big blind) and good pot odds, you should defend wider than in any other position.
Call vs. Raise: Against minimum raises (2x-2.2x), defend almost any two suited cards and connectors. Against larger raises, tighten your range.
3-Bet for Defense: Use re-raises with strong hands (linear) and bluff 3-bets with cards with good equity (such as suited aces or connectors) to take down the pot right away.
Postflop Aggression: Don’t play fit-or-fold. Check-raising on suitable boards is your main pressure tool.
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