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AllInDrawinDead · Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:46 pm Post subject: Stealing the blinds

If you want to steal the blinds from the button or the big blind from the small here's a tip. DON'T RAISE! This makes the pot worth playing for and it looks like a steal attempt. If you just limp and then bet no matter what flops you are more likely to take it down. If the other player bets or calls your bet you can give up. This way you don't have to invest an extra small bet preflop and then another on the flop. You save a small bet in case your steal doesn't work.

lesdoodis · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:00 am Post subject:

Thats all good if they don't hit, but I find it easier to take it down PF. It might be a good idea to mix the two since people (at least the decent players) will catch on and fight back to the PF raises. The same goes for post flop aggressiveness.

AllInDrawinDead · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:30 am Post subject:

If you got A10 on the button and it's folded around to you go ahead and raise. I'm just saying that at small limit games you're not even going to get people to fold 4-8 off preflop. Just let them miss, which they will most of the time, and take it down on the flop. Bet your strong starting hands for value. Besides, if they do pick up a strong hand in the small or big blind they will certainly three bet you and make you miserable when you're holding garbage. Any time you raise from the button or small blind it looks like a steal.

Uncle_Buz · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:34 am Post subject:

If you limp from the button or the small blind with no pocket pair, you give the big blind a free look at the flop. 2/3 of the time you will have no pair after the flop and you must bluff. You also have no information on if the BB has any kind of a hand. If your intent is to "Steal" because you have rags and you are in need of chips, then your best bet is to raise Pre-flop because there is a good chance that the blinds will fold all but their stronger holdings (depending on the type of player and their stack sizes).

Also, limping from the button or the Small shows weakness and many good players will raise from the BB when you show weakness (Phil Gordon says in the LGB that this raise is almost automatic with any two cards!).

Stealing the Blinds is very situational. You need to consider relative stack sizes, stage of the tournament, type of players in the blinds as well as the image you yourself have been projecting to the table.

In early stages of a tournament I recommend to Raise only if you do not mind a call. Early in a tournament "stealing" has little value because the blinds are small. If you start by raising with only better hands then, your raises will get more respect later when the Blinds will assume you are not "Stealing" but have a big hand.

Riddim · Moderator Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 8151 Location: Sweden

I don't think he's talking about tournaments Buz, since he didn't mention it in any of his posts.

deadmoney314 · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:26 pm Post subject:

I will very rarely limp from the button in an open situation, its raise/fold 99% of the time. I'd have to have a very specific couple of opponents in the blind to limp and I'm actually hard press to think of a scenario. OTB you should raise to steal with any hand that does well heads up because enough of the time one of the blinds will fold and you will have 3 things going for you
a) a hand that does well heads up
b) position
c) tempo
I will raise Ax, middle to high suited connectors and even k high sometimes. If I see that I'm not ending up with a heads up situation post flop I increase my standards and if I'm actually getting folds I increase my steal attempts. This is an adjustment that you should be making on the fly. Sometimes you will get played back at and a decent number of players will re-raise your A rag with A rag in which case it makes it hard for the other blind to follow through the action in a pot that will likely split if played to the river. Other times if they see you stealing a lot they will play back with more speculative hands and then you rely on your ability to outplay your opponents either to get free cards or value betting which is much easier with position on every street.
I'm not trying to flame your idea, but it seems that you limp because you feel like your post-flop play is superior to your opponents, but if thats the case you should consistantly get one more sb from your opps preflop as you will be the favorite postflop. I see that adding up more consistantly than allowing the BB to see the flop for free and giving the SB 5 to 1 to call which leaves you 3 handed instead of heads up.

Paprika · Full House Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 194

Not sure if you mean small, med or large stakes, but in small & even sopme medium limit games, stealing and or bluffing doesn't work that well. Just my experience and what I've read from many on artickles. Cna't name the sources but I've read numerous times. Especiall live play where at the 2-4 3-6 level ther are just too many in on the flop to justify trying to steal blinds. If it is a really tight table(unlikely) that may work a bit.

AllInDrawinDead · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:43 am Post subject:

I'm talking about small stakes hold em. A lot of players realize that raising from the big blind will not get anyone to fold so they don't raise unless they have a real hand. Usually that real hand is an A w/ a medium or big kicker. If someone limps to me I won't raise it from the BB with anything because I know if the opponent flops any pair any draw I'm going to get stuck. Even by raising from the button you have not gained any information about the opponent's hand since they could have called with anything and could be calling with anything on the flop.

I raise from the button with quality starting hands although I lower my requirements for when I'm folded around to. I will fold rags and will limp with medium or small connectors. You don't want to raise with 78, get reraised and then have to fold the flop.

AllInDrawinDead · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:44 am Post subject:

We all know it is easier to steal a small pot than it is to steal a large one so I try to keep it small when I've got nothing.

Riddim · Moderator Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 8151 Location: Sweden

Do you really mean that you literally won't raise with anything in the BB?

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