Stealing the blinds in poker

 Stealing the Blinds at Poker

Blind-stealing is a common tactic in poker. It involves trying to steal blinds preflop by folding everyone out of the pot. Blind-stealing is best done with 4xBBs in late position on a pot that has not been raised. This will give you the best type of fold equity and the least amount you have to invest. If you wager more than this you are risking too much and if your bet is too low you could be leaving yourself open to marginal hands.

Blind-stealing is not something you want to do. It's profitable when you have a tight table, and especially with weak blind players. It's not what you want.

Stealing Blinds in Poker Tournaments

Poker tournaments are a great place to learn how to win blinds. For example, in MTTs with deep stacks, the blinds may be worth more that 10% of your average chip stick. This scenario is a better option than taking the blinds. You can also steal the blinds more frequently in multi-table tournaments because players don't have as much information about you, since you are constantly being moved around to different tables. This limits their ability to see your bluffs.

Stealing Blinds for No Limit Cash Games

If you have a good reading of your table and are sitting in position with marginal hands such as suited connectors and high broadways, then you can raise the pot 4xBBs and steal the blinds. Blind-stealing in 10-handed games is only possible in late position. But, 6-man tables allow you to blind-steal from mid-late and sometimes even the blinds. Blind-stealing from the early position of a 10-man game isn't financially profitable. There are many other players who can raise you or force you to give up.

There's not much value in the blinds of cash games as opposed to the later stages of MTTs/SNGs. But there are still many opportunities to make money blind-stomping against weak or overly strong opponents who defend or fold the blinds. This earns you money because: a) large pots increase your implied odds of marginal hands; b) post-flop, you have a positional edge and c), you'll make additional cash from continuation bets.

Keep in mind that the more loose your table, the more likely you are to steal or bluff pots. Blind-stealing tips include limiting your actions to situations where you have "outs". Blind theft with dominant hands, such as Ax (e.g. A5 is dominated in AQ. It is crucial to have enough money to pay off your opponent if you hit a monster, such as a straight. HOW ONLINE POKER IS STEALING FROM YOU