Stealing Blinds

Rating:

Loading ...

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.