Stealing in Cash Games

Hey Guys, I have been playing $.05/.10 Cash games on full tilt for a while and I have always thought of this question, is it appropriate to steal the blinds in late position?

I have done it only a couple times and i do not find it worth the risk....risking about 30-35 cents to win 15 cents does not seem right to me...

maybe if it was higher stakes it might be appropriate?
I wouldn't know...

thoughts?

not worth it in my opinion, in my experiences at these stakes the blinds will usually call a 3-4x BB raise with any two cards 75% of the time anyways

Why not? I regularly do it, but only if the conditions are right, e.g. if it action has been folded around to me, I have some sort of hand to fall back on like a A or K something, or a connected hand, if the players in the blinds are playing tight etc. I find that you win them more than you lose em.

When you are playing at those levels stealing is very hard to do. You usually will have someone who will call.

I'd have to agree that you'll find a lot more players who are willing to throw in the extra quarter or 2 so the steal may or may not work as much, but you should definitely make your attempts, particularly if the players left of you are able to fold.

It may take a nice follow-up bet on the flop, but it should be done especially if the board isn't connected. Players should catch-on eventually, especially if you're playing for a lengthy amount of time on one table. Then you'll be able to prey on a player(s) if when you do hit when holding a legitimate hand. It will keep the rest of the table guessing.

I actually like stealing at .05/.10 NLH tables knowing that i'll get at least 1 or 2 players calling. The reason being is because I'll get paid when im 'stealing' with a big hand. Also, I C-bet 100% of the time at these limits for the same reason. Even though I might be stealing only .15-.25 cents at a time, thats an easy way to pad my stack and I can gamble a bit more with mediocre hands.

Of course it depends on how your table is playing as well. If its pretty tight/passive, stealing is the perfect option for you because A) you can pick up that money no one wants and B) it might be only way for you to make any money. Especially if the table is super tight, there might not be a lot of opprotunities for big pots.

Though, I like a table with players that'll call my steal attempts a lot because Im almost guarenteed a big payday with a strong hand. I have no problem losing some money by attempting steals and/or C-betting 5 or 6 orbits in a row and having to fold them everytime, if I know that when I do have a hand I'll get paid.

Personally i find stealing the pot pretty good. I like doing it, but only in certain positions. Also i don't start trying to steal anything unless i am sure that i am playing with pretty tight players that don't call with crap and hit on the flop.

its not stealing if u have a hand and u should have a hand when u do so that way people think your stealing then u can bust them

stealing is part of the game and sometimes u need that extra small and big blind to accumulate those chips but obviously u cant steal every pot cause eventually they would not stop reraising u but it helps most of the time

Two things in blind stealing in cash games.

The smaller your buy-in the more important it is to steal blinds. You buy-in for the minimum and you only have 20BB. You need to keep your stack as close to it as possible till you get that hand to try and double up with.

The larger your stack, the easier it is too steal. The more money you have after a bet is called "the hammer". It is the implied amount you can bet on the next round to "hammer" someone to fold. Someone who only has 20BB (min buy-in at a cash table) doesn't have enough left to punish someone for a loose call. You know you are not going to have to make a huge call later in the hand. Your stack is not scary enough to force the them to fold a marginal hand.

These work opposite each other. You need to keep you stack the same size when small stacked but it is harder to steal. That is why when you click on a table the site gives you the option of somewhere between 20-100BB.