Blind Stealing

Many times in a tournament I will find the stacks directly to my left as bad targets to blind steal from. Much of the advice for MTTs always says to observe your opponents and steal from the tight players.

How do you take advantage of these players when they have the blinds but you are in EP or MP? I feel raising with any two here, like I might in LP and a tight player in the blind, is too risky with so many people yet to act.

Should I be opening up my game and raising with hands I might normally pass on just because I know the blinds to be tight?

Almost everytime I enter a pot it's with a raise, but I have seen some players have success limping into the blinds when tight players are in them and then taking the pot on the flop with a small bet. This puts less of your stack at risk and keeps the pot small, but also may bring LP players into the pot that might have folded if you raised.

Any advice on the trade offs between stealing when in position as compared to stealing from out of position but the players in the blinds are tight would be appreciated.

You can't really steal blinds fom early position. the advantage is, if they're tight, they won't steal yours. And if they do, reraise. Tight players would fold then.

When you win a hand with solid cards, whether stealing or otherwise, show them several times in a row. Create the illusion that you are only playing with top hands. Also, don't try to steal every orbit. It is less likely a big stack won't try to come over the top of someone to defend his blind when you have been showing down strong hands and he has 72.

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You can't really steal blinds fom early position. the advantage is, if they're tight, they won't steal yours. And if they do, reraise. Tight players would fold then.

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Is this a joke? Are you telling him to resteal from tight opponents? I'm sorry, but this may be the single worst piece of advice I've ever seen given out in any forum. Please tell me that I'm missing something in your advice? As for stealing from ep it's a play that I will make several times throughout the length of an MTT if only to mix up my play if I'm at the right table. Most solid opponents will be forced to give you credit for a monster if you're raising from utg or utg+1. Thus, you don't usually need to risk more than a min-raise to make this move. Overall though, I think that most people get way too caught up with thinking they have to steal blinds every orbit or every two orbits or whatever.

Blind stealing is often over credited as a make you or break you thing in tournament play. Yes, you need to do it, but no you don't really need to do it out of position with total air.

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Blind stealing is often over credited as a make you or break you thing in tournament play. Yes, you need to do it, but no you don't really need to do it out of position with total air.

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I realize that getting too caught up in picking up blinds will get you in trouble. Also I'm not looking to be raising with air OOP just to make a steal attempt.

When you make a play from UTG or UTG+1 what conditions are you looking for. I realize this is a play that is used rarely during a MTT but that there is still a place when it should be done occasionally.

Are you focusing on tight players in the blinds? What kind of hands are you trying this with? Something like AJo, KJ, suited connectors, or is your hand of less concern? Are you only looking to do this when the entire table is tight... i.e. close to the bubble or what situations are you looking for?

It's a disadvantage to have loose players to your left--especially in a tourny. You don't want to compound the problem by playing more loosely because you're going to get called/reraised a lot, even when you raise in EP to steal someone elses blinds. In this spot, tighten up, and hope to get paid off by the loose players with good hands.

Your hand range is about right, add low to mid pairs and if the conditions are right mid sc. The conditions aren't really so much to do with the blinds themselves imo. Obviously if you've got someone who is hyper aggressive in defending and you know they'll push ATC to ward off any attempt to steal it's not the right time.

I think that the rest of the table and how their playing is a far greater element in this. Also and most importantly is my image. If you play as I do, TAG and very T! AG in the early rounds it is the perfect play to make as you are approaching the bubble. Blinds are high enough to make the steals matter and my image at that point is generally very tight. As you get deeper in and the blinds are even higher, and it matters even more, any time I've not played a hand for a few orbits if I pick up one of these moderately playable hands it seems like the right time as long as half the table isn't in push fold mode due to the stack to blind ratio (with proper hand selection this isn't even the worst result). If you're generally being perceived as LAGGY, have been stealing more than your fairshare or have other reasons to believe that your image is such that you'll get a lot of playback be wary.

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It's a disadvantage to have loose players to your left--especially in a tourny. You don't want to compound the problem by playing more loosely because you're going to get called/reraised a lot, even when you raise in EP to steal someone elses blinds. In this spot, tighten up, and hope to get paid off by the loose players with good hands.

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When you do tighten up go to playing a solid TAG style with loose players to your left do you look to take advantage of your image at all? Also I'm not saying that the players are loose but more that they are good players and are aggressive themselves.

I find that when I've been making quit a few steal attempts in LP that good players to my left start to pick up on this an play back at me. I then tighten up and look to take advatage, an obvious gear shift.

Now it's been a couple levels and my image has changed and I feel like the players to my left are good enough to have noticed. When I do raise it gets played back at less and has become more successful again. I don't feel it's time to shift gears again and get looser though.

I feel like if there are tight players in the blinds when I am in MP or EP that there are situations where raising can be an effective play with cards you don't normally look to raise with in that spot. Just like blind stealing in LP with any two when it's folded to you, I realize you must proceed with caution if called or raised.

[dmk]

if the blinds are tighty, and coldcalling/reraising out of the blinds is infrequent, then i'll raise their blind from any position w/ anything. especially if they're short.

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if the blinds are tighty, and coldcalling/reraising out of the blinds is infrequent, then i'll raise their blind from any position w/ anything. especially if they're short.

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Care to expand on this at all? I can't see this as being a good strategy. The blinds may be tight and fold easily but raising any position w/ anything forces you to get through a lot of people who can't pick up a hand. Seems like quit a bit of risk for the reward.