Blind Stealing in Tournaments

[Precept2]

Blind stealing is one of the leaks in my game, and I understand that it's an integral part of tournaments. I play in a game with a few TAGs and a bunch of LAGs and LPs. I need your help.

Should I only steal in late position?

Should I wait until folded to me?

Should I make an absurd raise?

What if there are limpers in front of me?

Should I only steal a TAG's blind?

Do I need any kind of hand to steal?

All suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[UATrewqaz]

I have pretty simple rules for stealing...

If it folds to me and I'm in the cutoff or button I raise with any ace, any king, or any hand I would normally call with in a standard game (say a suited connector).

But I'm no NL tourney pro.

When stealing the blinds, I would recommend doing it when blinds are high relative to the average stack at your table. Steal the blinds when everyone has folded to you in cutoff or dealer position. I would not do an absurd raise because it may draw attention, which is the last thing you need when stealing the blinds. Make a standard raise and hope for hte best. Its good to have at least a king when stealing.

these are some of the scenarios where I attempt a "steal", that work well for me (I say for ME because, I feel everything is relevant to your image at any given time)

-when someone who limps in front of me has shown a tendency to fold if they dont have a decent hand. The main reason i like this scenario is because not many ppl play over the top of a limper and a raiser when trying to steal the pot, so if someone calls/raises my raise then im pretty postive they have a strong hand and ill slow down. and the person who limped is more than likely to have a weak hand. (although, I personally love to limp in early with monsters hopin for someone to raise it up). this can be very risky, i only like it when 6-handed or shorter. i dont steal to much until tables are shorthanded and the blinds are big.

- i also like to put pressure on ppl who just went from a shortstack to a "comfortable" stack. not many ppl will play back unless they catch a hand.