3 Tips to Make Your Opponents Regret Raising Your Big Blind

Playing well out of the Big Blind (BB) is essential.

The pots you play after defending your BB might be small, on average, but the sheer frequency of this situation makes it a key part of your strategic development. 

In this article, I’ll share three tips to take your BB defense to the next level.

Let’s dive in!

Tip #1 – Improve Your Preflop Play: Loosen Up and Get Aggressive

Despite the widespread use of preflop charts, data analysis reveals that even seasoned players misplay their BB defense—most commonly by over-folding and under-3-betting.

To illustrate what a good defending range looks like, I’ll use Lucid Poker to show an optimal BB defending range against a Button (BTN) 2.5BB open-raise.

I’m willing to bet you (and most of the players in your games) play much more passively than this. 

This tendency passively boosts the win-rate of all players, as they win more pots preflop when you’re in the BB.

Beyond that, savvy opponents may further increase their win-rate by expanding their preflop opening range to exploit your passivity even more.

Digging deeper, there’s another hidden layer of win-rate loss—missing profitable post-flop situations. This happens when, after open-raising preflop, your opponent checks back on the flop and/or turn. A solver balances its strategy with enough bluff-catchers in these lines, but most opponents won’t.

Next time you’re facing a raise and you look down at one of those nice 3-bet bluffing hands (J9s, T8s, 76s, etc.), challenge yourself to put in the uncomfortable 3-bet instead of just flicking in the call. 

Tip #2 – Check-Raise More Against Flop C-Bets, Especially Small Ones

Another major passive leak is not check-raising enough on the flop.

If you never push back, you’ll get run over by aggressive opponents. The best way to apply pressure? Check-raising.

Imagine facing an opponent who only check-raises with strong top pairs or better, and only bluffs with premium draws (open-enders, flush draws). How easy is it to play against them? Very easy.

On dry boards, where there aren’t many draws, their under-bluffing becomes painfully obvious. The correct exploit? Bet relentlessly. Since they almost never bluff, you can comfortably realize equity with a wide range.

Now, let’s see how a solver plays against a small c-bet on a relatively dry flop:

In the upper right corner, you can see that the solver check-raises 14% of its range against a 30% pot c-bet.

As expected, this range includes the usual suspects: sets, two-pairs, strong top pairs, open-enders, gutshots, flush draws, and combo draws. But it also includes hands like:

• 5xXx
• Ah4x, Ah6x, Ah7x
• QhJx, Jh9x, and more.

Additionally, the solver still slowplays some monsters—sets, two-pairs, and strong semi-bluffs—making its check-calling range equally tough to exploit.

Against this kind of strategy, opponents struggle to decide whether to bet or check with many hands. If you want to level up your game and crush higher stakes, you need to become this kind of unpredictable, balanced player.

Note: Want to learn how to implement a tough-to-beat check-raising strategy? Watch this episode of the Upswing Poker Level-Up podcast. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts in addition to YouTube.

Tip #3 – Be Selective When Probing With Strong Hands

This is another common leak I see all the time. It’s natural to bet the turn after your opponent checks back the flop—especially with top pair or better. With four cards on the board, the presence of potential draws makes betting for value feel instinctive.

However, solvers disagree. This approach is often incorrect.

Before diving into why, let’s see how a solver would handle probe-betting on the Kh8d5h flop, with the turn bringing the 9s:

In the image, the left side displays the board, positions, stack sizes, and pot size. The center features the strategy in a 13×13 matrix, while the right side offers a high-level action breakdown for each hand class. Green indicates checking, while shades of orange represent different bet sizes, followed by a detailed hand breakdown below.

Looking closely, top pairs check about 50% of the time on aggregate—stronger ones bet more frequently (KQ ~75%), while weaker ones bet less (K2s ~5%). Even two-pairs, sets, and straights check around 40% of the time—two-pairs bet more often, while straights lean toward checking.

Most players probe with 80-90% of their top pairs and stronger hands, ignoring the impact on their checking range.

Here’s the key: if you probe with all your good hands, that leaves your checking range weak and vulnerable, making it easy for opponents to exploit by applying aggressive bluffs.

Instead, recognize that when you’re out of position, you can still capture value through check-raising. This makes you much tougher to play against, forcing more mistakes from your opponents.

Final Thoughts

If you’re struggling to move up or maintain your win rate, you’re likely making at least one of these mistakes.

The great news? Poker training has never been more accessible. With the right tools, you can refine your game faster than ever. The best way to fix your leaks is by drilling your toughest spots—practicing them repeatedly until you master the strategy. Lucid Poker makes this easy by allowing you to set up custom drills and train like an athlete.

I hope this article opened your mind to new possibilities! If you have any questions or feedback, drop a comment below—I’d love to hear from you.

If you’d like to learn more about how to win money from out of position, read: 5 Tips For Check-Raising the Flop (via Lucid Poker).

Until next time, good luck, grinders!