A rookie question..Protecting Your Blinds

[kef4o]

Ok, I'm not a rookie really but compared to the majority of the PLers I'm probably nobody. Three or four days ago I received a $50 no deposit bonus @ Pokerstars. I'm currently a couple of cents short from $100, mostly due to a fourth place today at a $4.40 buy-in. Other than that I have decided to concentrate on single table sngo's. I noticed one strange thing in my play. I feel that there is something seriously wrong in my game but I can't figure out what. These are numbers from today's long tourney(4 hours+ is hell a lot of time for me in a single tournament): During current Hold'em session you were dealt 303 hands and saw flop: - 19 out of 48 times while in big blind (39%) - 29 out of 47 times while in small blind (61%) - 61 out of 208 times in other positions (29%) - a total of 109 out of 303 (35%) Pots won at showdown - 24 of 35 (68%) Pots won without showdown - 42 I see the flop around 20% more on the small blind than on the big blind. And this is not just on this tournament. I think it's a regular thing for me. The thing is, if someone else told he/she had such stats, I'd tell him/her that it's a lot more logical to protect your big blind rather than your small one. So what is correct: the way I play or the way I think?

[Valiant23]

Re: A rookie question I would suggest that the way you play is generally good sense, although you should mix it up occasionally, or else people will just walk over you. You will get burnt now and again, but in the long term getting respect for your play and your blind just takes a bit of practice. Also, mixing up how you protect your blind is important. Assuming you have a serial raiser in the cut off or on the button, coming back over his raise with a re raise is good play, other times just smooth calling his raise then trying to take away the pot on the flop is the thing to do. You will find that some serial raisers can't help themselves and are attracted to your blinds like moths to a light bulb, and even if you have started to protect your blinds a lot (as you have to do sometimes in a sit n go), you will find that the serial raiser will start flat calling in order to try and take the pot away from you on the flop. Just be aware that it is a riskier strategy than just waiting for the cards and or position. What does anyone else think?