Content: >
How To Effectively Steal The Blinds
Stealing the blinds is basically winning the pot before the flop. Before we go any further it's important to make a point about cash games vs. tournament. Stealing the blinds in a cash game is much less important and difficult than in a tournament game. In a tournament game chips have more value because once you run out you're out of the tournament whereas a cash game you can rebuy. For this reason, this article will be focusing on stealing blinds in a tournament setting.
Early Stages
During the early stages of a tournament stealing the blinds is not recommended. The reason for this is that the blinds are still at a low level and the reward is simply not worth the risk. With that being said if you're adamant about stealing the blinds and building an early chip lead must remember that because your raise will only represent a small percentage of the overall chips you'll get called the majority of the time.
Middle Stages
Now the blinds are increasing and it's becoming more lucrative to steal the blinds. As the bubble approaches players will tighten up and it will become easier to steal the blinds with a small raise.
At this point there will be a chip leader and a short stack at every table. Do not attempt to steal the blinds from the chip leader unless you're prepared to move all-in as the chip leader will be ready to defend his blind. The short stack on the other hand is in a double-up or go bust mode and he's looking for some action to move all-in. If you attempt to steal his blind you better have a strong hand.
Late Stages
At this point the field becomes divided into two types of players: aggressive and tight. The tight players will play ultra-conservative and will fold anything lower than J-J. They're merely interested in finishing higher up in the prize pool and are content to let themselves be blinded. The aggressive players are the ones with the large chip stacks and who are interested in picking up the blinds that the tight players are not interested in playing. If you are one of the short stack at the table stealing the blinds will require an all-in move as anything less will invite the larger stacks to call you all-in. As the chip leader stealing the blinds is just a matter of raising with virtually any two cards in any position. It's important not to attempt this at every hand however as eventually someone is bound to pick up a pair of cowboys or pocket rockets and move all-in.
Stealing In Position
Depending on the caliber of poker players at the table, the position you raise the blind from will vary. Against beginner poker players it's always best to steal the blinds from a late position. If the action comes around to you and the pot hasn't been raised it's because none of the players are holding a premium hand and will fold if faced with a raise.
Against more experienced players you will need to be more creative to steal the blinds because they will automatically assume an attempt to steal the blinds if you raise in late position. Instead stealing the blinds in an early position is much more unpredictable and harder to read.
It's important to remember not to get caught up in a steal attempt. If a player looks you up and calls your raise, resist the urge to attempt it again no the flop. This will only lead to you losing a huge chunk of chips and eventually will get your ousted from the tournament.
|
|
Play Poker on the World's largest poker site.
|
Exclusive poker bonus offers for PokerSense.com visitors of 30% up to $150.
|
Regular Bonus: 50% up to $200
Our Bonus: 100% up to $500
|
Qualify for the 1,000,000 dollar monthly tournament
|
Qualify for the 3,000,000 dollar tv tournament today.
|
Get a first deposit bonus of $500 and a monthly $200 there after.
|
Refer-A-Friend. $75 for you - $50 for them!
|
The $750K Guarantee - Take a seat in our biggest weekly guarantee tournament.
|
110% Poker Sign-up Bonus
|
|
