| I will discuss a fairly straightforward tactic of stealing | | | | would be okay to go ahead and take a shot at the |
| the blinds. | | | | pot. In any case, the most important thing is trying to |
| Why steal the blinds? | | | | figure out BB's tendencies and how he may react. If |
| Why on earth why would you ever raise a trash | | | | he's been pretty quiet you probably have good |
| hand? Well if you knew the remaining opponents | | | | chances at winning it right there. If he's a wild player he |
| would fold why wouldn't you? Stealing the blinds is an | | | | might call, re-raise with a good hand, or even bluff you |
| easy concept. There's money in the pot before | | | | back! After evaluating the chance of a bad turnout for |
| players even know what their cards are. Anyone can | | | | your steal, weigh it against how much you'll be making. |
| grab it, it just depends on how much you're willing to | | | | Let's say out of ten times, BB will successfully defend |
| risk. | | | | his blind twice (20%). The blinds are 10/20 and you |
| Pros: | | | | raise to 80 on the steal. If you win 8 times, you've |
| - You can gain chips. | | | | taken 160 in chips, and two times he defends you lose |
| - You can create deception in a later hand. | | | | 160. Boy what a waste, and an unnecessary risk. |
| - You can create deception in your table image. | | | | However, there are a variety of other implications that |
| Cons: | | | | blind stealing can create. You may pretend to be |
| - You can end up losing more than your bargained for. | | | | stealing when you have pocket Aces! If BB doesn't |
| - You might not even get to see a flop. | | | | believe you because it's the fourth time and he's sick |
| - You can hurt your table image. | | | | of it, no more! then boy, he's in for a surprise. |
| All of a sudden stealing the blinds got a lot more | | | | Additionally, you may end up creating a loose image at |
| complicated! It's no longer at the point where it even | | | | the table. Conversely, you can develop a tight image at |
| really even concerns the blinds, rather the flow of the | | | | the table, and when the blinds really matter at 100/200 |
| game. For the sake of simplicity assume the situation is | | | | you can start stealing and no one will catch on. From |
| that you are on the small blind with the big blind to your | | | | their perspective: You played only few hands and |
| left. It's pre-flop and everyone before you folds which | | | | when you did they were premium hands, there's no |
| leaves you and your target whom we will call BB. | | | | reason to believe you would start bluffing now! Wrong |
| There are several factors to take into consideration: | | | | again! |
| 1. BB's style, is he passive or aggressive? | | | | Since the blind stealing situation is created often |
| 2. Does BB tend to call or re-raise? | | | | enough, it is generally a clue to other players regarding |
| 3. If BB just calls, is your hand worthy enough for a | | | | your tendencies. Knowing this you can harness your |
| flop? | | | | image, lay traps, or strike fear into the hearts of other |
| 4. How often have you stolen the blinds in the past? | | | | players. It all depends on the circumstances of the |
| 5. What are other players expecting you to do? | | | | table, circumstances which you must accurately |
| 6. Is BB even paying attention? | | | | survey. I personally prefer holding out until the blinds |
| 7. Is ANYONE paying attention? | | | | reach a high level until I start attempting to steal. |
| In the event that no one really cares about the blinds | | | | Generally no one believes me early on, I don't what it is. |
| at the moment, perhaps everyone is sitting tight waiting | | | | I'm a pretty honest guy. Wouldn't you agree? |
| for the field to narrow or for the blinds to increase, it | | | | |