Stealing Blinds strategy in MTT

teepack

teepack

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Total posts
2,317
Awards
1
Chips
14
Assuming that everyone has folded to you, what is your strategy on trying to steal blinds when you are on the button or the SB? Early in a tourney I am not going to risk a lot of chips to pick up tiny blinds, but towards the middle I will get a little more aggressive. At bubble time I get really aggressive because I know folks are trying to get into the money. After the bubble has burst, I tend to go back towards being a little more cautious, although that also depends on my stack size. If I've got a much bigger stack size than either the SB or BB, I might shove just to put them on the spot, especially if I have at least one face card or an Ace.
 
Suited Frenzy

Suited Frenzy

CardsChat Elite
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Total posts
3,590
Chips
0
My strategy always depends on the blind lvl & the player(s) I'm stealing from (unless I have a boat load of chips).

There are a lot of times that I'll raise when it's folded to me just because I know the others will fold. If I have a lot of chips & it's folded to me, I'll raise just to raise. Sometimes it doesn't matter who or what the situation is when you have a lot of chips.
 
M

misko

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Total posts
239
Chips
0
Early in the tournament when the blind are small i dont risk.In the late stage if i have a good stack i play very agressive.
 
olliejjc16

olliejjc16

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 18, 2011
Total posts
521
Chips
0
dont risk trying to steal early on unless you're particularly good at reading players, later on look at your stack size, the type of opponent you're against, position on the table etc and make a decision
 
E

eneainter999

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Total posts
6
Chips
0
if the level of the blinds are to low dont risk too much if u are in sb u need to try it often it works for me
 
R

r3dt4rget

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Total posts
13
Chips
0
You have to wait until the blinds start to mean something. You dont have much fold equity when the average stack is 30+ BBs. I like to mix up my spots, stealing from the button, the cut off, SB, and even early position sometimes. If you only steal on the button or SB a good player will notice and start 3 betting.
 
BearPlay

BearPlay

Cardschat Elite
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 15, 2014
Total posts
10,631
Chips
0
My strategy always depends on the blind lvl & the player(s) I'm stealing from (unless I have a boat load of chips).

There are a lot of times that I'll raise when it's folded to me just because I know the others will fold. If I have a lot of chips & it's folded to me, I'll raise just to raise. Sometimes it doesn't matter who or what the situation is when you have a lot of chips.

^ this


But I do see a lot of aggressives take a beating OTB or in CO with early stage blind steals, simply because everyone at the table knows what they're doing and that they are usually weak ;)
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
It depends on various factors that can have different weights. Many have been mentioned, but there are other possibilities. For instance, if you want to project a loose image, attempting some steals early can be a fairly cheap part of doing so. Sure, you don't win much when you succeed, but folding to 3bets doesn't cost much either.
 
tignutz

tignutz

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 4, 2013
Total posts
67
Chips
0
I like to limit myself to only attempting to buy blinds when BB is shorter stacked than I. hate trying to steal from the rich :)
 
P

Pandaaaaa88

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Total posts
47
Chips
0
I like to limit myself to only attempting to buy blinds when BB is shorter stacked than I. hate trying to steal from the rich :)

i'm vice versa afraid to steal fromshort stack, they can just push, and it will be stressfull situatiation for my stack)
 
Jacki Burkhart

Jacki Burkhart

long winded rambler...
Silver Level
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Total posts
2,960
Awards
6
Chips
0
Assuming that everyone has folded to you, what is your strategy on trying to steal blinds when you are on the button or the SB? Early in a tourney I am not going to risk a lot of chips to pick up tiny blinds, but towards the middle I will get a little more aggressive. At bubble time I get really aggressive because I know folks are trying to get into the money. After the bubble has burst, I tend to go back towards being a little more cautious, although that also depends on my stack size. If I've got a much bigger stack size than either the SB or BB, I might shove just to put them on the spot, especially if I have at least one face card or an Ace.

this sounds about right, actually. assuming we're readless I'd do about like you suggested.

with a read on the blinds it goes like this:
If they are likely to defend I'm gonna want hands that play well like small pairs, suited connecters and 2 big cards as low as let's say J9o and i'll shy away from Ace rag unless it's suited.

if the blinds are unlikely to defend, then I'll go ahead and raise about the top 80% of my range here, being very cautious if they don't fold pre.

if they're short and likely to either fold or 3bet shove, I'll either open jam into them, or raise with hands that can stand to call their all in.

i'm vice versa afraid to steal fromshort stack, they can just push, and it will be stressfull situatiation for my stack)

me too. it depends on their exact stack size...but something in the neighborhood of 12-24 bbs is the worst size to try to steal from. if shorter I'll just have to call with almost any playable hand, and if deeper their shove probably signals a strong but vulnerable hand like 88 so I can happily fold or call depending on what I've got. but in the middle there, their shove can mean so many things. really puts you in some tough spots. I try to avoid tough spots like these. now....there are some players who at a stack size of 17bb are total doormats and I'm not afraid to steal their blinds because it will usually be successful and when they finally play back I know I'm crushed. no biggy. It doesn't have to work every time to be a successful strategy.

Have you ever done the math to figure out just how often your steals have to work to break even? it's pretty eye opening. when there are antes it is a really low break even point.

say its 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. starting pot contains 3600. if your standard raise is about 2.5bbs that means you'll be risking 3,000 to win 3,600.

if you win 4/5 times that's 15,000 risked to win 14,400 almost break even.
if you win 3/4 times that's 12,000 risked to win 10,800
if you win 2/3 times that's 9,000 risked to win 7,200...so a slight loss over 3 hands if it doesn't work once.

run that a buncha times and it's easy to see that it doesn't have to work every time. ...And, the worst case scenario is somebody 3betting you. often you'll just win the blinds or get flatted, but now you have the betting lead and can win by outplaying them or binking the flop.

The more straightforward they are at playing post flop, the better it is to attack their blinds, because then you'll frequently win the blinds AND their call when they miss the flop and check to the raiser (2/3 the time when they hold a hand like AT or KQ)

the other thing that's great about blind stealing is it gets you paid off when you have a real hand. imagine if you never stole...then everytime you raised with KK everyone would just fold. but if you pick up KK in late pos and the last 3 orbits you've made a late position raise and you folded to a 3bet twice..well now you're extremely likely to get 3bet by AT or 44 or whatever. YAY! You get to decide when to play a big pot and when to give up. add to that you're just winning the blinds without a fight a fair amount and there's very little downside to stealing in late position.
 
Last edited:
teepack

teepack

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Total posts
2,317
Awards
1
Chips
14
this sounds about right, actually. assuming we're readless I'd do about like you suggested.

with a read on the blinds it goes like this:
If they are likely to defend I'm gonna want hands that play well like small pairs, suited connecters and 2 big cards as low as let's say J9o and i'll shy away from Ace rag unless it's suited.

if the blinds are unlikely to defend, then I'll go ahead and raise about the top 80% of my range here, being very cautious if they don't fold pre.

if they're short and likely to either fold or 3bet shove, I'll either open jam into them, or raise with hands that can stand to call their all in.



me too. it depends on their exact stack size...but something in the neighborhood of 12-24 bbs is the worst size to try to steal from. if shorter I'll just have to call with almost any playable hand, and if deeper their shove probably signals a strong but vulnerable hand like 88 so I can happily fold or call depending on what I've got. but in the middle there, their shove can mean so many things. really puts you in some tough spots. I try to avoid tough spots like these. now....there are some players who at a stack size of 17bb are total doormats and I'm not afraid to steal their blinds because it will usually be successful and when they finally play back I know I'm crushed. no biggy. It doesn't have to work every time to be a successful strategy.

Have you ever done the math to figure out just how often your steals have to work to break even? it's pretty eye opening. when there are antes it is a really low break even point.

say its 600/1,200 with a 200 ante. starting pot contains 3600. if your standard raise is about 2.5bbs that means you'll be risking 3,000 to win 3,600.

if you win 4/5 times that's 15,000 risked to win 14,400 almost break even.
if you win 3/4 times that's 12,000 risked to win 10,800
if you win 2/3 times that's 9,000 risked to win 7,200...so a slight loss over 3 hands if it doesn't work once.

run that a buncha times and it's easy to see that it doesn't have to work every time. ...And, the worst case scenario is somebody 3betting you. often you'll just win the blinds or get flatted, but now you have the betting lead and can win by outplaying them or binking the flop.

The more straightforward they are at playing post flop, the better it is to attack their blinds, because then you'll frequently win the blinds AND their call when they miss the flop and check to the raiser (2/3 the time when they hold a hand like AT or KQ)

the other thing that's great about blind stealing is it gets you paid off when you have a real hand. imagine if you never stole...then everytime you raised with KK everyone would just fold. but if you pick up KK in late pos and the last 3 orbits you've made a late position raise and you folded to a 3bet twice..well now you're extremely likely to get 3bet by AT or 44 or whatever. YAY! You get to decide when to play a big pot and when to give up. add to that you're just winning the blinds without a fight a fair amount and there's very little downside to stealing in late position.

Your strategy sounds about exactly like I do it. I hadn't thought of the trying to steal a few early when the blinds are small and fold to a re-raise just to make people think you are a blind stealer. Then you can reap some big dividends later. The problem, however, is that the people you are playing with in a tourney early are usually not the same ones later.
 
Cephas

Cephas

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 23, 2014
Total posts
46
Chips
0
^ this


But I do see a lot of aggressives take a beating OTB or in CO with early stage blind steals, simply because everyone at the table knows what they're doing and that they are usually weak ;)

So if I were the CO or Button, and I say, I am supposed to raise so I do, what would you think?
 
S

Scrover

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Total posts
198
Chips
0
Early in the tournament, it's kind of obvious not to steal blinds because they are worth so little to your stack. Later in though (especially in hyperturbos), stealing is a great money maker. In short handed play, it's more about the timing and not the cards. Usually, the people that have no strategy will have gone and a few luck boxes will have still stayed in (like the Sunday Million), so I start to come in with smaller raises and c-bet a lot, a lot and a lot. Don't raise every cutoff, button etc because you'll be read easily unless you've created that table dynamic of an aggressive opponent.

Sometimes be stupid at a stack around 20-25BB and raise UTG+1 and UTG+2 (don't get in a habit of doing it though) so then you are going to likely get a raise and a c-bet through so often especially if an ace hits the flop. Your raises will be respected a lot and you will get folds from hands like A10s and AJ.
 
wanderingthehall

wanderingthehall

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Total posts
259
Chips
0
I look at how their stack is vs mine and the blinds and then adjust my range accordingly. I'm just not going to try and steal blinds with 83o unless it's an extremely tight opponent. Medium stacks when you have a larger stack are the best to try and steal from. Large stacks can easily play back so it's harder to bully them around an very small stacks are looking for a place to shove. Ultimately I'm loosening my range, but the cards I hold will definitely factor into when I try and steal. I probably attempt to steal 50-60% of the time, and it's enough to wins some chips, but let my opponents assume I have a fairly strong hand when I'm raising and not just trying to steal with ATC.
 
BigJamo

BigJamo

Aussie Elite
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Total posts
2,088
Chips
0
The strategy is much the same for me.

Once a table image is established, stealing becomes a lot easier. I sometimes wait to long, but once they see your not mucking about, Most players will give you the benefit of the doubt ... most of the time.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
Early in the tournament, it's kind of obvious not to steal blinds because they are worth so little to your stack.
The other side of this coin is that the cost of a failed steal is also almost meaningless.
 
S

Scrover

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Total posts
198
Chips
0
The other side of this coin is that the cost of a failed steal is also almost meaningless.

I actually kind of agree with this as well, but seeing that you will have to raise it up a bit bigger especially if you're 100BB+ deep and most of the time it will be before the antes have kicked in means that the amount you steal isn't as rewarding as if it was late in the tournament.

Thinking psychologically, people will be willing to play more hands with 300BB than 50BB knowing that they are more likely to get bust with 50BB on any given hand meaning that again your raises will be less effective and you'll be playing multiway more often.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
I actually kind of agree with this as well, but seeing that you will have to raise it up a bit bigger especially if you're 100BB+ deep and most of the time it will be before the antes have kicked in means that the amount you steal isn't as rewarding as if it was late in the tournament.

Thinking psychologically, people will be willing to play more hands with 300BB than 50BB knowing that they are more likely to get bust with 50BB on any given hand meaning that again your raises will be less effective and you'll be playing multiway more often.
This isn't the entire picture. Psychologically, they'll also be more inclined to pay you off later if they've gotten the impression from your early play that you're looser than you're actually playing at that later time. Yes, this depends on being at the same table later, but this doesn't mean this can or should be discounted completely.

Fwiw, I'm not very aggressive in terms of trying to steal early, so that's not what I'm suggesting. What I am saying is that there's more to consider than just just how few chips you stand to win because the blinds are tiny.
 
A

Az4zel

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 11, 2014
Total posts
52
Chips
0
One of my favorite topics! To be a great tournament player this is an absolute must skill set. Most everybody here has said exactly what needed to be said. excellent advice. when the blinds are really high over 600/1200, and its late in the tournament sometimes you have to steal blinds just to stay alive.

I love when the bubble comes my favorite time to steal. everyone is worried about making into the money and not bubbling. Great opportunities present themselves. Also sometimes players will try to steal my blind and if its around bubble ill push. just cause i know they are likely to throw away a good hand as easily as if they were bluffing with nothing and trying to steal.

Im on gaurd for my blinds, and watch thoroughly everyone else at the table, and betting patterns, i take a lot of risks, but thats what being a great tournament player is about, you can't play perfect poker in a tourney and expect to win, just palying good cards. great for the beggining but any to cards can be a winner, and people throw away the best hand all the time. Table image is so important and keeping your opponents guessing. i could talk all day about tournament play, but you get the point. Good luck
-A
 
S

SpookMBluffwell

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
May 21, 2013
Total posts
70
Chips
0
Theres no point in stealing when the blinds are small, when they get to the point of crippling a player they mean alot more. Of course you riun the risk of crippling yourself if you attempt to steal and get caught.

The strategy is much the same for me.

Once a table image is established, stealing becomes a lot easier. I sometimes wait to long, but once they see your not mucking about, Most players will give you the benefit of the doubt ... most of the time.

Definately, and thats what makes MTT's so much more difficult! If you havent had the same players at your table long enough to establish a pattern you won't have their respect when you shove your chips in.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
Definately, and thats what makes MTT's so much more difficult! If you havent had the same players at your table long enough to establish a pattern you won't have their respect when you shove your chips in.
This only addresses tournaments where you get low enough on chips so you have to shove in order to steal. And even then, if you're shoving a fairly decent range, what's the problem if people call wider?
 
M

matiusaa

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Total posts
779
Chips
0
you have to be very cautios o whom you are stealing blinds. I wouldn't steal to a loose player
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Total posts
3,167
Chips
0
you have to be very cautios o whom you are stealing blinds. I wouldn't steal to a loose player
This is rather simplistic. Sure, it's not fun to try stealing, get 3bet and have to fold. But since when do all loose players automatically 3bet? E.g. a player with 50 vpip still folds pre- half the time. And when you get called, you don't have a good hand, but neither does he, and you do have position.
 
romych007

romych007

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Total posts
743
Awards
1
Chips
3
I steal the blinds on the bubble
against an identical stack
 
Top