The blocker bet

Save yourself a lot of money by blocking your opponent out

By Philip Tuck

The concept behind a blocker bet is relatively simple. It is a bet that you make, nearly always on the river when out of position, that you believe will stop your opponent putting out a bigger bet if you check.

Imagine that you are playing against an opponent who always value bets around the pot size on the river. You hold 10c9c on a flop of 9h 4c 8s 2h Qc and have been out of position throughout the hand. You have bet around three quarters of the pot on the flop and turn. You can’t see that the queen helped your opponents hand, but at the same time you don’t want to have to call a large, pot sized bet on the end; yet neither do you want to fold such a potentially strong hand in this marginal spot.

Here is a great time to put out a small blocker bet, say a little less than half of the pot. Your opponent may well look at this bet and think that you have a powerful holding, such as a set or two pair, and are trying to squeeze every last bit of value out of it. This may lead them to just call with a hand like king nine or ace nine, in fear of being re-raised if they try and raise your bet. Instead of having to call your opponents pot river bet, you have got to the showdown for less than half the price, simply by putting out a small bet yourself. You will also get some value when your opponent holds a worse hand than you, as they will be more inclined to call this small bet than a larger one.

In accordance with David Sklansky’s ‘gap principle’, we know that you need a more powerful hand to call a bet than you do to make one. The blocker bet is a great example of how in no limit and pot limit games, careful consideration of the bet sizes and situation, can allow a player to avoid a potentially uncomfortable spot late in a hand by taking advantage of this 'gap'.

Next time that you are out of position with a marginal holding, and think your opponent can’t be much stronger than you, try throwing out a blocker bet - over time these sorts of savings really add up.

14/04/08