Stealing Blinds

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Stealing Blinds Introduction
When people refer to blind stealing in Texas Holdem poker they are talking about raising from late position in an attempt to take down an uncontested pot. The theory behind this is, if the players who have posted the blinds have weak-medium hands they will fold to you and the chips will be yours. This is a simple concept but one that gets players into a lot of trouble. Strategy on using the blind stealing tactic will differ from cash games to tournaments as well as from the blinds to chip stack size ratio.

It is important to have a good grasp of the concept and to find a happy medium between blind stealing and protecting your blinds. It may well be the deciding factor to whether you take home the big prize in a tourney or get mixed up in a big pot in a cash game.

Stealing Blinds in Tournaments
Stealing the blinds in Texas Holdem tournaments can become vitally important, specifically in the later stages. Early on it is not much of an issue because the blinds are relatively small in comparison with the chip stack sizes. But as we progress in the tournament our strategy must change as we can find ourselves vulnerable to the ever increasing blinds. The key to successful blind stealing is picking the right times to do so. Picking the right time can come down to a couple of factors. The first thing we have to think about is how our opponents that act after us have been playing. Are they loose aggressive? Are they tight passive? This should play a key role in deciding how often you to steal the blinds and with what kind of hands. The other element we have to think about is quite an obvious one, our position on the table. The later we have to act, of course the better it is before us because there are less people who act after us. This means that the best position will be the button, followed by the cut-off position and so on.

In Texas Holdem tournaments we must next think of our situation in the tournament itself. To put simply, I mean what is our chip stack in comparison with the average stack and the blinds? The other situation we have to think about is our opponents chip stack in relation to these two variables. If we see that the person on the big blind has a short stack then it means he is going to go all in on many more occasions than he normally would. We have to take these things into consideration; much of this is simply thinking about the game at hand and having common sense. At the same time it can be easy to forget to take notice if you are playing a long session, especially online. When we take a look at our own chip stack you have to realise that now stealing the blinds is vital to our success. We should look very closely at doing this in the best situations because the blinds will be increasing our overall stack size by a larger percent than normal. Once again, think about what situation you are in, and play accordingly.

Stealing Blinds in Cash Games
In cash games I can’t really see any real point in trying to steal the blinds unless you have little money left on the table or you are playing above your bankroll which you shouldn’t be doing any way. One of the few advantages to stealing the blinds in Texas Holdem cash games is to set a table image for yourself. Letting your opponents think that you are willing to sacrifice chips just to steal the blinds and that you are aggressive can be a good ploy but a risky one. I wouldn’t advise doing this too often because there are much better ways to achieve the same thing. The other reason why you attempt to steal the blinds is because you are confident in your post flop play. If your opponent calls you will have position on them and have the ability to out play them after the flop. This will put them in a bad position and one that you can take advantage of them if played right.

Summary
When you decide to steal the blinds in Texas Holdem you have to be smart about it. Be aware of all the stack sizes at the table and pick your spots to steal appropriately. Learn how the players on the blinds play and change your tactics to suit. Make sure that you take advantage of the benefit of the large blinds in the later stages of tournaments but don’t overdo it or you might be caught out. Don’t worry too much about stealing blinds in cash games because they can be of little value to you. Only do so when you have a specific strategy in mind, outside of picking up a few extra dollars.

Tags: Poker Strategy, Stealing Blinds

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Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy

In the spotlight: Eli Elezra

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Eli Elezra (born November 24, 1960 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli professional poker player and a businessman, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While he was in Israel, Elezra was a lieutenant in the Golani Brigade. He was bedridden by a leg injury; during this time he began playing poker.

Since moving to America, Elezra has made numerous money finishes in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Omaha, Texas Hold ‘em and Draw events.

In July 2004, Elezra won the World Poker Tour (WPT) $10,000 no limit hold’em event at the 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown, where he won $1,024,574.

Elezra has played in “The Big Game” in Vegas for many years. He appeared in the second and third seasons of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. He is currently playing in the GSN series High Stakes Poker.

According to an episode of the GSN show High Stakes Poker that aired in 2006, Elezra donated $50,000 to complete a gym for his former commando unit.

Elezra won his first bracelet by winning the World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low in the 2007 World Series of Poker after defeating Scotty Nguyen heads-up. Before the event Elezra had made a side bet with Barry Greenstein laying 10:1 odds that he would win a World Series Bracelet in 2007. He had made the bet for $25,000 and collected $250,000 for his win, resulting in more money than the first place prize in the event that he won.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,800,000.

He recently became a Full Tilt Pro after years of playing on the site and has his own H.O.R.S.E table.

In 2009, he appeared on several episodes of Poker After Dark-along with Doyle Brunson and Gabe Kaplan.

Tags: Professional Players, World Series of Poker

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Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Professional Players

Implied Odds

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Introduction
Implied odds in poker is a concept that is one that you will get better at as you become a more experienced player. When we discuss implied odds we are generally talking about whether or not a player feels that calling a bet will be ‘worth it’ after the later rounds of betting have been completed. As an extension from calculating pot odds, you would think this concept uses maths principles as well. That is not necessarily the case. When you are working out the implied odds you are trying to work out the future value of the pot. You may not have the pot odds to call, but if there are many players in the pot or you have strong reason to believe if you make your hand you will be paid off handsomely then it is worth the call.

How to use Implied Odds?
The best way to explain how to use implied odds is to use an example. Let us say that you are on a flush draw and there is only one other person in the hand. They bet the flop and you call. They bet the turn and you call. You then hit your flush on the river. They then check to you and then you bet. They may or may not call but the point is you have not received good value for making the calls.

Another example is when there are three cards of the same suit on the board and you have the ace of that suit. Your opponent fires a large bet at you and you call. The turn card gives you the nut flush and your opponent checks. It is very unlikely at this point that you win any more money from this pot. If you miss your flush on the turn that means that you are going to be faced with another large bet.

These two examples above show you that playing drawing hands that look dangerous to your opponent isn’t a good idea. As soon as the danger card comes they are going to be scared off and be hesitant to wards contributing to the pot any more. The idea behind implied odds is that you want to continue to be paid off once you hit your draw. This is where the value of calling a bet comes in when you don’t necessarily have the pot odds to do so.

An example of a situation on where you will receive implied odds worthy of playing against your pot odds calculation is when you have an open ended straight draw. The key here is that your hand can be disguised a lot better than what a flush can. When you hit your draw your opponent is likely to keep betting into you. If your opponent has a strong hand like two pair, a set or even top pair with a solid kicker you can easily be paid off here. When you make your draw bet it aggressively and more often than not you will be rewarded nicely for it.

These examples that we have just taken you through should give you a clear idea of the fundamentals of implied odds. Much of the concept is based around the ‘feel’ of how the hand is going to turn out. The more you play and begin to understand the concept the better you will get at being able to judge what type of hands will pay you off. The key to using implied odds is to play hands that your opponents will find hard to put you on. If they have trouble putting you on a certain type of draw then this is when you will be paid off the best.

Closing Thoughts
Some poker players like to use strictly a math based game or one based on gut instinct. If you like to use a mixture of both like many players to than it is important to understand this basic concept. Put simply, if you have great implied odds you can ignore the pot odds. If you don’t have great implied odds then it is time to make you decision based on your pot odds calculation.

Tags: How To Play Poker, Poker Mathematics