Should you not try to steal the blinds of very shortstacks?

#1 12th December 2007, 3:19 PM

If it is late in a MTT and you are on the button or cutoff, but the remaining players have very small stacks with Ms of less than 4, should you fold some hands that you normally would steal with, like K8 or K9 or Q10 or 22-44? The reason I ask is because often times these players will just call with Ace rag or medium suited connectors since they are so desperate. I know if they are medium sized stacks with an M in the 5-10 range I will raise with almost anything if folded to me, or if they are aggressive big stacks I will not try to steal much, but what if they are very short?

#2 12th December 2007, 3:48 PM

although u risk being pushed on
u should still make the raise if u can afford it ofcourse
if ur M is above 25 u should raise that way if they push u can be able to make the call without killing ur stack in the process
in most cases if it just u and the blinds k9o is probably better that what they are holding

#3 12th December 2007, 6:08 PM

You are touching on a very good point in tournament play. The real problem with raising very short stacks is that you will be committed to calling their re-raise shove with your marginal hand.

Also, you have to be aware of the point where your opponents have the perfect "RE-steal" size stack, such that their shove is UNcallable because of it's size relative to your stack.

#4 12th December 2007, 6:25 PM

I think the factors determining a justified steal attempt may be:
1. The nature of the opponent - has he been defending his blinds aggressively earlier?
2. When has he started shoving? If he has been shoving at 10BB, he'd probably shov your raise with a marginal hand at 8BB.
3. As aliengenius said, you are (at most times) committed to calling his shove, so you should take that into consideration before trying to steal.

I think this is one part of my game that i need to improve on.
I'm looking forward to what other experienced members have to say about this.

#5 12th December 2007, 7:40 PM

well if im the shortstack in the situation mentioned in opening post, im pushing any 2 from the big blind. Therfore, you should be raising and calling and taking your chances

#6 12th December 2007, 11:42 PM

When stealing from short stacks, I always ask myself ahead of time, "am i comfortable calling if he shoves over the top?" If the answer is no, then I generally just throw away my hand (ie I have 27o or some other garbage).

#7 13th December 2007, 2:05 AM

I try to somewhat randomly pick my spots and adjust my raise according to the size of both my stack and the small stack. Either raise enough so it's clear you're calling an all-in, or little enough to make it seem like you'll fold.

I tend to make the commiting bet with med/strong hands and the smaller bet with very strong or weak hands. But then I'll switch that up.

#8 13th December 2007, 2:34 AM

I agree with Jose, but if I am less than 5x their stack I push more on them if I have the chance

#9 13th December 2007, 2:36 AM

as a short stacks point of view i hope you would bet so that i have a chance to catch and push all in and maybe bring me up in ranking

#10 13th December 2007, 2:58 AM

I think if the SS is weak and playing just to cash it's all good.Just don't be afraid to call the all in when you are offered the 3 to 1 odds or better.A lot of times I just like to isolate and put them all in to start.All depends on the situation though.

Most of the times I seem to pick my spots right in a tourney because I have a good read on the table.I guess it's just something you get a feel for after awhile and I couldn't even put it in words how I know when to do what.

#11 13th December 2007, 5:24 AM

Awesome post.
This is something i've always taken into consideration. Ill only ever consider doing this with a very healthy stack an if the BLINDS are pushovers

xoxo

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