dooydoo
Rock Star
Silver Level
Stealing 101
What is stealing?
Stealing is raising preflop in order to win the blinds.
Why should i steal?
You should steal because its one area where a lot of players fail to do it as frequently as they should. Also most players fold way too much to steals so you exploit them by stealing their blinds.
What stats are important when looking to steal?
Look for these stats when considering stealing.
Vpip - This will let you know if the player is very loose or tight. If the player is 75/4 and you want to steal 93o on the btn, you might want to reconsider. You need to adjust your steal range based on the players' vpip left to act.
3b - This stat will help you figure out if the players left to act will 3b a lot or little vs you. You can tighten up your stealing if they have a high 3b.
3b vs steal - This is the players 3b from the blinds vs a co or btn open. It is NOT the same as 3b. You can compare this stat with the normal 3b stat to see if a player likes to resteal from the blinds a lot or plays the same range as he would normally 3b in any situation.
Steal from co/btn/sb - You can determine a players steal range with these positional stats. You will see what % of hands he steals with from each position.
Fold vs steal sb/bb - You can see how often a player will fold vs a steal in the blinds vs co/bt/sb open.
A typical reg/tag fold to steal will be somewhere around 70% or more. Usually in the 80s.
Call vs steal sb/bb - You can see how often a player will call vs a steal in the blinds vs a co/btn/sb open.
What should my bet sizing be preflop?
CO : 3x
BTN : 2.5x
SB : 3x
Why is our btn raise so small?
We want to steal as much as we can. The more hands we open, the more we need to be successful to profit. If we reduce our bet size, that allows us to be successful less often to profit. For example if we open to 4x on the btn, we need to succeed more often than if we bet 2.5x. Betting bigger just cuts into our profit when betting smaller accomplishes the same thing for a cheaper price.
Betting smaller also allows us to play more 3b pots in position. The blinds' 3b size will usually be smaller is we make it 2.5x rather than 3x. This way we can call and play postflop in position cheaper.
Wont the blinds call more if we make it cheaper?
Not really. I dont notice a change in range when i bet smaller. But it doesnt really matter because we have position and initiative which are very very important in poker. Its true our average hand strength will be weaker but the other 2 factors allow us to still profit.
How do i steal from the co?
The co is the first of the stealing positions. Its a good place to steal because if the btn folds, you will have position on the blinds if they call. Also there are only 3 players left to act and odds are they wont have a hand to play back against you often enough to make stealing unprofitable.
Steal wider vs a tight btn, tighter vs a loose btn. Also look at the blinds and determine what the best range to steal will be. Here is a good default starting position. Just widen or tighten it based on the players left to act.
How do i steal from the btn?
You will have position postflop on the btn so you want to use that advantage as much as possible.
In this case you want to look at the villains' fold vs steal stats and see how often the will fold.
Scenario 1. Both blinds have high fold to steal.
We can open 100% of our hands on the btn. If they will fold a lot, why not open every single time. Remember we are opening to 2.5x so our success doesnt have to be very often in order to profit.
Scenario 2. Both blinds have low fold to steal.
In this case we want to tighten up our stealing range to value hands, hands that will hit top pair or better a lot.
Scenario 3. 1 blind has high fold to steal and one has a low fold to steal.
Play your hand as if the tight player isnt there and you are heads up vs the loose player who will call. Base your opening range vs him. Overall though you will still want to steal a lot, just throw away the worst of the hands.
Use the charts above to create the best in between range. Remember to err on suited hands more than unsuited and high cards vs low cards.
How do i steal from the sb?
Its folded to you in the sb and its your turn to act. First look at his fold to steal in bb stat.
Scenario 1. Fold to steal in bb is 80% or higher.
Raise 100% of your holdings no matter what. Mathematically it will be profitable to raise any 2 cards here no matter what happens later on in the hand. Here is a range that you should be stealing with.
Scenario 2. Fold to steal in bb is less than 50%.
This player will be calling or raising you a lot so you need to have a more value heavy range but still be opening a lot. Here is a good default on where to start and you can adjust from here.
Scenario 3. Villain is somewhere in between 50 and 80% fold to steal in bb.
In this case its up to you to adjust your opening range based on his fold frequency. Overall though i would encourage you to err on the side of stealing rather than folding.
How do i counter stealing on the btn from the co?
If you notice the co opening a lot. Take a look at his stats and see what his opening range from the co looks like. If he is stealing you can call wider and look to float and raise postflop or you can 3b pre to get him to slow down.
How do i counter stealing in the blinds vs the co/btn?
In this spot we can look to call or 3b them depending on their tendancies. This is just a basic stealing article so i dont want to get into too much detail but just dont blindly fold vs their steals. We know they have a wide range so they wont be able to take a lot of heat from pre and postflop aggression.
How do i counter stealing on the bb vs the sb?
This is the absolute best position to be in in poker. Its better than the btn. When you are in the bb, you have position pre and postflop and you know the sb has a huge stealing range. I think this is a very important spot to play back at stealers. I would call any playable hand like 64s and 98o. I would call with hands that dominate him as well like JTo and A9s. I would 3b a ton here as well and my range would be determined by his facing 3b tendancies.
Overall though you dont want to give these guys a walk every time. Make their life difficult.
He called my steal, what do i do on the flop?
This is out of scope, but use your knowledge, position, and skill to play better than him.
Conclusion
Stealing is an incredibly profitable and effective tool. Most players dont do it enough. Most players dont counter it enough. Get out there and experiment, break your boundaries, get out of your comfort zone and make some money.
Feel free to add any advice or comments to make this thread as complete as possible.
What is stealing?
Stealing is raising preflop in order to win the blinds.
Why should i steal?
You should steal because its one area where a lot of players fail to do it as frequently as they should. Also most players fold way too much to steals so you exploit them by stealing their blinds.
What stats are important when looking to steal?
Look for these stats when considering stealing.
Vpip - This will let you know if the player is very loose or tight. If the player is 75/4 and you want to steal 93o on the btn, you might want to reconsider. You need to adjust your steal range based on the players' vpip left to act.
3b - This stat will help you figure out if the players left to act will 3b a lot or little vs you. You can tighten up your stealing if they have a high 3b.
3b vs steal - This is the players 3b from the blinds vs a co or btn open. It is NOT the same as 3b. You can compare this stat with the normal 3b stat to see if a player likes to resteal from the blinds a lot or plays the same range as he would normally 3b in any situation.
Steal from co/btn/sb - You can determine a players steal range with these positional stats. You will see what % of hands he steals with from each position.
Fold vs steal sb/bb - You can see how often a player will fold vs a steal in the blinds vs co/bt/sb open.
A typical reg/tag fold to steal will be somewhere around 70% or more. Usually in the 80s.
Call vs steal sb/bb - You can see how often a player will call vs a steal in the blinds vs a co/btn/sb open.
What should my bet sizing be preflop?
CO : 3x
BTN : 2.5x
SB : 3x
Why is our btn raise so small?
We want to steal as much as we can. The more hands we open, the more we need to be successful to profit. If we reduce our bet size, that allows us to be successful less often to profit. For example if we open to 4x on the btn, we need to succeed more often than if we bet 2.5x. Betting bigger just cuts into our profit when betting smaller accomplishes the same thing for a cheaper price.
Betting smaller also allows us to play more 3b pots in position. The blinds' 3b size will usually be smaller is we make it 2.5x rather than 3x. This way we can call and play postflop in position cheaper.
Wont the blinds call more if we make it cheaper?
Not really. I dont notice a change in range when i bet smaller. But it doesnt really matter because we have position and initiative which are very very important in poker. Its true our average hand strength will be weaker but the other 2 factors allow us to still profit.
How do i steal from the co?
The co is the first of the stealing positions. Its a good place to steal because if the btn folds, you will have position on the blinds if they call. Also there are only 3 players left to act and odds are they wont have a hand to play back against you often enough to make stealing unprofitable.
Steal wider vs a tight btn, tighter vs a loose btn. Also look at the blinds and determine what the best range to steal will be. Here is a good default starting position. Just widen or tighten it based on the players left to act.
How do i steal from the btn?
You will have position postflop on the btn so you want to use that advantage as much as possible.
In this case you want to look at the villains' fold vs steal stats and see how often the will fold.
Scenario 1. Both blinds have high fold to steal.
We can open 100% of our hands on the btn. If they will fold a lot, why not open every single time. Remember we are opening to 2.5x so our success doesnt have to be very often in order to profit.
Scenario 2. Both blinds have low fold to steal.
In this case we want to tighten up our stealing range to value hands, hands that will hit top pair or better a lot.
Scenario 3. 1 blind has high fold to steal and one has a low fold to steal.
Play your hand as if the tight player isnt there and you are heads up vs the loose player who will call. Base your opening range vs him. Overall though you will still want to steal a lot, just throw away the worst of the hands.
Use the charts above to create the best in between range. Remember to err on suited hands more than unsuited and high cards vs low cards.
How do i steal from the sb?
Its folded to you in the sb and its your turn to act. First look at his fold to steal in bb stat.
Scenario 1. Fold to steal in bb is 80% or higher.
Raise 100% of your holdings no matter what. Mathematically it will be profitable to raise any 2 cards here no matter what happens later on in the hand. Here is a range that you should be stealing with.
Scenario 2. Fold to steal in bb is less than 50%.
This player will be calling or raising you a lot so you need to have a more value heavy range but still be opening a lot. Here is a good default on where to start and you can adjust from here.
Scenario 3. Villain is somewhere in between 50 and 80% fold to steal in bb.
In this case its up to you to adjust your opening range based on his fold frequency. Overall though i would encourage you to err on the side of stealing rather than folding.
How do i counter stealing on the btn from the co?
If you notice the co opening a lot. Take a look at his stats and see what his opening range from the co looks like. If he is stealing you can call wider and look to float and raise postflop or you can 3b pre to get him to slow down.
How do i counter stealing in the blinds vs the co/btn?
In this spot we can look to call or 3b them depending on their tendancies. This is just a basic stealing article so i dont want to get into too much detail but just dont blindly fold vs their steals. We know they have a wide range so they wont be able to take a lot of heat from pre and postflop aggression.
How do i counter stealing on the bb vs the sb?
This is the absolute best position to be in in poker. Its better than the btn. When you are in the bb, you have position pre and postflop and you know the sb has a huge stealing range. I think this is a very important spot to play back at stealers. I would call any playable hand like 64s and 98o. I would call with hands that dominate him as well like JTo and A9s. I would 3b a ton here as well and my range would be determined by his facing 3b tendancies.
Overall though you dont want to give these guys a walk every time. Make their life difficult.
He called my steal, what do i do on the flop?
This is out of scope, but use your knowledge, position, and skill to play better than him.
Conclusion
Stealing is an incredibly profitable and effective tool. Most players dont do it enough. Most players dont counter it enough. Get out there and experiment, break your boundaries, get out of your comfort zone and make some money.
Feel free to add any advice or comments to make this thread as complete as possible.
