STEALING BLINDS STRATEGY ???

Hello guys, i really want to know how to steal blinds effectively...
In my recent games, after reaching a specific stage, all the ppl suddenly started playing very differently, i mean they all started raising preflop very aggressively..
How to deal with this ???
And under what circumstances, i can try to steal blinds???

There is no real blue print to a solid stealing strategy. You have to adapt to the types of players you are dealing with, and in your case aggressive people. So if most are stealing you won't be able to, but standing up for yourself or re-stealing may be in order!
Just remember if you feel that you can;t get anywhere with the aggresive player to just trap them if you can or in many mtt/sng situations, you just have to take the flip when it comes to that point. This is just me rambling on so I hope it helps lol

As i see in all the tourneys on full tilt poker, the way those player stealing blinds is they just push wit A rag. They treat A rag like pocket aces.

i try it alot in the lower levels and freerolls people sometimes re raise all in with hands like a7 etc...
i'd only steal with hands in the top 30% of playble hands

Stealing blinds is overrated....

mostly depends on the player and how big the blinds are relative to your stack

FOUND U!!!!!!!
lol im gonna get my reveng!
btw yeah if u only got like 2BB no point in trying to steal and if u got 50bb it easier

Revenge???????

GL

Whats this about????

Do not try to steal on a loose players blinds.
More to the point, how do you keep from having them stolen from you????

It's hard to steal, if someone limps in you have to think, can you raise a good amount to get them to fold, i have been in this spot to many times, i've lost even with high PP...

think i knocked them out of UB freeroll or cos i was playing like a maniac in the carbon freeroll

FYP

Stealing from small stacks works well near the bubble.

Stealing from small stacks at other times is risky because if they reraise you allin, you are now obliged to call because you have pot odds. Your 69o is now exposed for all to see.

Never steal from a Big Stack.

Try and look for Tight medium stacks, (bear in mind other players are probably lining up the same players), if your image is not to loose and you get in first, more often than not you will get away with it.

If you have a very loose Big stack sitting to your left, then forget any thoughts of stealing, just hope that you get moved.

the 1st one!u hit a lucky flush against me and doubled then i was short,got back a bit and pushed with flush draw,u called and HELD!
lol didnt play u in the carbon 1,was out 1st
but i will get u tehehehe

On some tables it'll be difficult to find oppurtunities to steal the blinds (usually because there'll be an aggressive player to your left who is entering the pot ahead of you each time... or you just don't seem to get a spot where you can be the player who is open-raising). If this is the case, instead of looking to steal the blinds,... look to be making re-steals.
Criteria to look for when making re-steals.... pick off an aggress. player who is regularly raising in LP and then re-raise them to ~3.5x their bet (or.. if you're sitting on what is basically considered a 'resteal-sized' stack of 14-23bb's... come over the top and shove it ALLIN.... depending on who the opponent is, I will do this with a wide range, ie. even stuff like K9s, 97s, T8o, etc.). You'll pick up alot more chips from a re-steal, then just a steal. Sure you might pick the wrong spot but most often you won't even be in that bad of shape. Of course don't do this too often and be sure to look for good spots to do so.
This can also set things up for setting up your opponent ('meta game')... you come over the top & shove allin to resteal...he folds. Then.. when you do wake up with a monster (perferably a short time after),.. do the same thing again.. just shove it allin even for 20+bb's as your opponent (if they're a capable & thinking player) will question your hand and might think that you are once again on a re-steal and might call you down lighter than normal.

As far as blind stealing goes as you're nearing the bubble.... poster above has some good advice >>> try to pick on med.-sized stacks (<< players who are most likely tightening in hopes of getting by the bubble to cash in the tourney).
For regularly stealing blinds (not near bubble), I will open with a variety of hands from LP .. stuff like 75s, 66, J9o, etc. (generally hands that can connect decently with a flop if you do get called and can also be fairly concealed... ie. I'd much prefer to raise/steal with 75o, then Q5o).

Oh, I've wandered into a tournament discussion I see. Guess I can stop talking now, lol.

I have played quite a number of $1 and $2; 9 person SnG's. Stealing is how I make the majority of my stack. Here how I do it: in the lower levels you need to observe the person on your right and the two people on your left. Are they tight? Do you they fold in the S/B? Observe what type of hands they show down. Play tight. The only cards you should be playing are premium and suited aces (assuming the pot is unraised, if raised fold). You should also be raising and not calling.

During the middle stages of the tournament you should have a very tight, solid table image. Still play only the premiums. You will have showed down one or two hands so the table knows you only play big cards. Which sets you up for bubble play....

Bubble play/late stages, the most important thing to remember is if someone has already opened the pot, you should not be trying to steal. Only steal when you are in late position (on the button or cut-off) and nobody else has entered the pot. When I steal, I typically have any ace, King with a reasonable kicker (8 or better), any suited connectors, any pocket pairs. Typicially I raise 3xBB. If you get called, all is not lost, you at least have a half reasonable hand to play after the flop. If you get re-raised all in, you can laydown your hand without sustaining too much damage.

One other method of stealing is if you are in the big blind and everyone fold to the small blind...and the small blind checks. At this point you should have have a pretty good idea how how the small blind plays. If they are continually limping into the pot, they are about to become a victim. If the table folds to the small blind and they just check...If I have any ace, any king, any suited cards, any pocket pair, any connectors, I'm gonna push all in. They will freeze for a second cuz they just crapped in their pants, then they will fold.

Re-steal: This move requires balls of steel. If you KNOW someone is putting on a move...shove your stack all in. You really have to know the person to determine if they are stealing or if they have a hand. Also if you have premium cards, don't call, shove it all in.

Stealing comes down to courage and how well do you know your victims. It's touch to hit the raise button when you don't have great cards. It took awhile to get the hang of it. This is a major hurdle to clear but absolutely necessary.

Good luck.

When antes have come into play.

Any time you are 1 from the cutoff, the cutoff, or the button, try to raise any decent hand that comes your way, and make funky creative raises.

For instance, blinds are 1000/2000 with a 250 ante.
It is folded around to you on the cutoff and you hold 10 7 offsuit.
If I have say say 25,000 chips I might just fold and wait for a real hand.
But if I have 50,000 chips I'll raise to 4,567 or 4999 or 5012 or 5252.
Then you hope the person folds, or you see a flop and play your hand strategically from there, or they shove your raise preflop and you fold and cry and try again when you get the chance.

Yeah I agree with everyone here.... It really depends on the players you're with and everyone's stack sizes...... Look to steal blinds from tight players who hate taking risks and never the loose players..... This people will make moves you'll hate to see and will probably fold and get crippled doing so causing you to barely make the money or miss the money.....

It is table specific. Some tables it is easier than others. I would also agree with a previous post and indicate to, it is overrated and at times very risky.

If the blinds and antes are high you have to steal sometimes and aou also have to defend your bb sometimes too!
Try to resteal with a playable hand and raise just your normal amount if you are on the button.
But of course you have to watch the players!
If they are agressiv it is tougher to steal from them.....
Then try to trap!

if this is a tournament i'll steal early and often. i try using cards that can hit the flop hard when the hit. i try to do this with deep stacks and when the blinds don't mean much. mostly i want to test the players in the blinds before they get big. the players i stay away from are the ones that resteal. atleast i stay away with most of my trash hands. what i like are the players who will call(to defend their blinds) now we got an inflated pot and your IP what better spot can you get in. well this is the beauty of it all because when you do hit hard with that 57o the villian will never give you credit for it and often pay off. but when you miss there will often be an A,K, or Q you can take credit for and bluff them off thier hand. but becareful about following up with cbets. if someone who's been letting you steal and steal all of a sudden calls then checks to you. think hard really hard before you cbet(bluff) as they often have a hand.

This thread has been a good lesson on the effectiveness of the preflop raise, the steal, strategies and what to watch out for. Very good. Read it carefully.

I wonder, spiderman, which games you are playing. We are assuming tourneys, but SNGs and MTTs play a bit differently. In any tourney, though, you will need to do at least a bit of LP stealing to stay afloat unless you are getting a lot of great hands. Since most tournaments involve no such luck, you have to make your luck -- by stealing with borderline hands. It will fail often enough, so make your steals-with-medium-hands a standard raise (you would do well to raise preflop the same amount no matter what you have, from suited connectors to AA.) If you go allin, it depends on who/what is out there. Also a steal is a LP move when it's been folded to you. Or, sometimes, when there's been one limper (hope he's not limping with AA). It is very hard to steal if you are not respected and seem loose (so if you've had to show a winning garbage hand, save your aggression for premium hands for awhile). It is very easy to steal if you seem tight.

In MTTs, there are several stages where people start playing more aggressively. It often has to do with desperation. Don't let it worry you. The early donkfest stage at low level tourneys. The point after the first (or second) break where a lot of people realize that they have not improved their stack from the beginning and start to feel as if they must make moves. The point where the bubble has not yet arrived, but people are looking at the top stacks and the chip average and feeling anxious, knowing there is no way they can make it with the chips they have. After ITM, every MTT tourney goes crazy for a bit. The short stacks are making their moves. And people are starting to tilt all over the place.

For you, if you can do it, stay cool. Try to keep your stack somewhere near the average, but it simply does not have to be more. It is perfectly possible to get to a final table just by keeping your stack average. You will have to put yourself at risk on occasion, but the best bet is to take stabs at stealing blinds/antes with the LP raise. Don't do it every time. Do not try to steal from the big stack nor the small stacks. Steal from people who are comfortable and trying to stay that way (like you.)

If you are talking about ring games, then it's just a phase. Wait it out. This will happen when someone is on tilt and getting aggressive after a big loss. He can start tilting the table. Do not join in. Wait for a big hand and pop it.

depends onwhos blinds ur gonna be stealing...you should know late on in a tourney, which players are going to be protectnig there blinds no matter hat,and in some cases resraising just so they dont...pick these players out, but dont raise consistenly, unlss you got a hand which isnt toal garbage..id recommencd top 30-40% range hand is woth trying to steal, late on most players prob only call top 10-20% in my experience anyway

be carefull but a good chip stack is a must

I usually have the image of a tight player, even a nit, and I don't bluff all that often but when I do it is when I feel every player after me is tight too. So far I haven't lost too many bluffs. But on a loose table I don't even try. On the bubble it sometimes becomes a survival necessity to do a bluff or two, regardless of my regular bluffing preference.

Not when the antes kick in. Your M decreases significantly once the antes hit, and each steal attempt increases your M by 1, which increases your tournament life by one orbit. This is CRUCIAL to surviving the late stages of a tournament, especially when the cards are cold.


This could not be more true. Small stacks are desperate to move in with Ax, Kx, Q8+, J9+, any PP, etc... Your steal will not be successful against a player with such a range. As far as big stacks go, they generally should be avoided, since they are usually more loose. Some feel they have the ability to play more speculative hands; some feel they are obligated to be the "table captain" and need to go for knockouts. Medium stacks are the best targets because they don't have the luxury of playing speculative hands, but aren't desperate yet. This makes them the best target for steals, because they will be looking for a premium hand to double up, or to fold their way to the money.