Essential tournament strategy: Stealing blinds

In this article we’re going to look at stealing the blinds in its purest form. To define the terms, we’re talking about making a raise before the flop with the intention of winning the blinds and antes by making both players in the blinds fold.

Why do you need to steal? Every time you successfully steal the blinds and antes you’ve added chips to your stack without having to show your cards. In a tournament, as the blinds continually rise, it’s essential that you steal more than your fair share of them. However, you need to be aware of exactly what you’re trying to do. So be clear what your opening of the pot represents.

There’s a difference between being the opening raiser from the cutoff when you have K-J suited compared to 9-4 offsuit. The first bet could be a value bet, while with the 9-4 offsuit you’re making a pure bluff or blind steal. As blind stealing has become standard practice, many conflicting bits of advice have emerged recommending various hand ranges for making blind steals. But what it comes down to is that if you’re coming into a pot with a raise your chances of winning it are better if you’re doing it with a hand of some value.

However, don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re making a steal. You expect your raise to be profitable because of your favourable situation.

How much to bet?

As your blind-stealing bet is designed to win the pot without a fight, you should bet only as much as you need, not a chip more, to achieve the desired outcome (everyone folding). This will usually be between two and three times the big blind. However, you should be aware that in some tournament situations your bet doesn’t need to be that big.

For example, in the later stages of a fast tournament, when the average stack might only be 10 to 12 big blinds, simply doubling the big blind will usually have the same effect as tripling it, as players adopt a push-or-fold mentality.

The simple theory of blind stealing is that the later you are to act when the action is folded to you the more frequently you should try to steal the blinds. This means that a lot of your blind steals will be made from the cutoff and button. In recent years this part of play, especially in tournaments, has become very well known. This has meant that players in the blinds defend more liberally and will also ‘play back’ at you with a greater range of holdings, and often as a straight bluff.

This could mean that in some situations your ability to steal the blinds is seriously reduced because your raises just won’t win the pot often enough. Or at least it will feel that way. However, it still remains true that stealing from late position will usually be profitable. If the pot is passed to you on the button you only have two players to get your raise by to pick up those free chips, and their random cards will usually not be strong enough to call your bet.

It’s all about the players

However, don’t fall into the trap of stealing every time the action is folded around to you. Assess all the other factors at work in the hand before you raise. How is your stack looking? What are the players in the blinds like? What is their perception of you?

More important than the cards in your hand or the position you’re raising from are the players whose blinds you’re trying to pilfer, and the other players who are yet to act behind you. Put simply, if there are tight-passive players behind you and in the blinds, you can afford to open the pot as a steal very often. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. If there are tricky-aggressive players behind you who will play back because they think you’re ‘at it’, or loose players who will defend their blinds, your opportunities to steal are much more limited. The big blind is the most likely person to ‘keep you honest’ because of the reduced price they have to enter the pot.

So pay them particular attention when considering your steal. Another vital thing to think about in tournaments when you’re weighing up a bit of blind theft is stack sizes. For a guideline of how your own stack affects your stealing options see the panel on the right. For now there are some general points to recall about the stack sizes of the players you’re stealing from.

In general you should steal less from big stacks and short stacks and more from the medium-sized stacks. This  is because big stacks can afford to defend – even push you all-in for your impudence – whereas short stacks are a lot more likely to move all-in with high cards or any pair, which could result in an embarrassing laydown.

Taken separately, these two elements are of use, but what you must do is combine your knowledge of the player and the stack sizes to succeed. For instance, you may be able to steal from a player with a big stack who is ultra-tight, or a short stack who is desperately holding on to make the money and will only play a big hand. So stay observant and play the player at all times.

Steal until they steal from you

You should come to the poker table with an aggressive attitude, especially in no-limit tournaments. You must be ready to steal your way to victory, but you don’t have to come out firing from the first hand. Your rule of thumb should be to try to steal the blinds until you’re given a very good reason not to.

Be aware of your image at the table, as the more you steal, the more people will be aware of what you’re doing. With some opponents this will mean they’re more likely to take a stand. And of course there are others that won’t. Our personal favourites are the players who say things like, ‘Yeah, just keep trying that, Sunshine,’ implying that the next time you raise they’ll fight back. But, invariably, they muck their hand again. Keep stealing from them incessantly and without remorse.

If you’re ever in doubt about when and why you’re stealing, just focus on identifying the correct ‘spots’ in which to steal, rather than worrying about what your cards are.

Stacked!

Your stealing options change greatly depending on your stack size. Here are some guidelines, based on the number of big blinds in your stack

16+ BIG BLINDS

• You have a big enough stack to try pure steals with a raise of three times the big blind
• Your stack carries enough implied threat after the flop to dissuade players from playing against you
• If your steal goes awry you still have a big enough stack not to worry about being imperilled

12-16 BLINDS

• You can steal, but be careful, because if you fail you’re turning yourself into a short stack
• It’s better to try to reraise all-in with a hand or, if you can back your read, reraise all-in in the right spot as a steal
• It’s better to try and steal to build your stack back up than to wait and be blinded down to short-stack levels

12 BIG BLINDS OR LESS

• Move all-in. This takes courage, but making a normal raise invites others to either call you or move over the top, and with a diminished stack you’re out of options if either of these things happen
• ? Moving all-in maximises your chances of taking the pot. If you’re called even a trash hand can beat premium ones. An alternative measure is to think about how much you can add to your stack by moving in
• ? Any time you can add 15% or more to your stack by winning the blinds and antes you should consider moving all-in instead of making a standard opening raise