making critical steals in NL

been making a lot of decent showings lately with no big kills. after reviewing my game over and over, i think that in order to win consistently, i need to steal a few more blinds and pots over the course of the tournament. not many, but a few well-chosen spots.


when i attack the blinds, i am currently limiting myself to tight players with medium to small stacks. when i steal a pot, i will take a stab with a 1/2 pot-sized bet into a field of not usually more than two opponents. ocassionally, i will run at a pot when three suited cards flop, or a pair flops.


what are your strategies/ requirements?


captain marlow

Well, blind and pot stealing is mucho, mucho important late in any tournament.


You said :"when i attack the blinds, I am currently limiting myself to tight players with medium to small stacks. "


That sounds reasonable but understand that you don't necessarly need a hand if the blinds will fold enough.


The time to really shift in high gears is near the bubble. This is when almost all weaker players tighten up to get in the money. This is when you can open up your play and pounce. This is when you can really accumulate chips to give yourself a better chance at the final table.


There is no secret remedy to stealing. You have learn to pick your spots and only experience can provide that. But, be more agressive near the bubble.


Good luck,


Nicolas Fradet (The Prince)

prince,


you wrote: "That sounds reasonable but understand that you don't necessarly need a hand if the blinds will fold enough."


just to get me moving in the right direction...


1)what percentage of the time should i need my opponents to fold in order to raise with no hand at all?

2)what size raise do you recommend?


c. marlow

it appears you try to avoid big stacks---just a word of caution about small stacks, some of them make desparate calls if blinds are putting pressure on them


about size--with blinds at (fjor example) 200-400 it's not uncommon to see a 400 raise, but a raise of 2 or 3 times the big blind usually tells you that there is a strong hand there---thus you may want your bluff to "tell" that you have a strong hand


and remember, you may need to fire again after the flop

The two questions are linked. I like to make it about 3 times the blind, as Greg says, it should be just enough to do the job. Anyway if the blinds are 100-200 you are putting in 600 to win 300. So if the blinds fold 2/3 of the time the play is profitable even if you never win a chip from the flop onwards (and of course sometimes you will get called and still win the pot).


Another word about shorter stacks, you should indeed be a bit more careful when one of the blinds has less than twice the amount you are raising (1200 in this case). This is because if he goes all-in you will have to call for the amount of money in there and so it's nice to have something with a little bit of value in your hand.


Andy.


Andy.

Your heading is "making critical steals in NL" but you're talking mostly about stealing the blinds. I believe that even more important than that is to pick the correct spots to steal more than just the blinds. Like a re-raise steal. As I've gained more experience, I have a better feel about when to do this. Early in my NL career, I tried it at the wrong times and it resulted in some mid tournament bustouts. But I think this is a part of most of our game where we can really make a difference.


JohnnyD

I agree with Jellow and Andy about the small stacks.


As Andy pointed out, if you only raise to 3x the BB, you'll make a profit if they fold 66% of the time, not considering that you may win even if you are called. So I'd say if they fold 55-60% of the time you make a profit.


I try to raise the lowest amount that will get the job done. So that if I get called and lose on the flop or if I get reraised, I can fold without losing too many chips. 3x the BB sounds good as a general rule of thumb.


Good luck,


Nicolas Fradet (The Prince)