Stealing Blinds

Stealing blinds is a key to winning poker tournaments. In the early stages of a poker tournament, it is not very important. However, in the middle to later stages of a tournament, it is very important. When the blinds become large in relation to your stack, you must steal them an average of once every round just to maintain your stack size. In order to win a tournament, you must do more than just maintain your stack size. You must continually increase it so that you will have a sufficient stack at the final table to enable you to win the tournament. Your goal when entering a tournament should be to win it, not to just survive to get to the final table. Your mindset should be an aggressive one. You do not win poker tournaments by playing passively. You cannot attack the blinds very aggressively in the early stages of a tournament because players will call you more often. When you are stealing blinds, you do not want to be called. You want to pick them up and get on to the next hand. Players call you more in the early stages of a tournament because the blinds are low in relation to your stack size, so it is not very expensive to call your raise. Also, players often gamble more in the early stages of a tournament in order to build up their stacks.

Your aggressive stealing mode should kick in during the middle stages of a tournament. This is when players start to tighten up. They are not going to defend their blinds as often and call your raises. Players want to protect their stacks and not gamble as much when it gets to this stage of the tournament. This is what makes it much easier to steal blinds than it would be in a normal live-action game. In a live-action game, many players will defend their blinds with just about anything. They know that if they run out of money, they can just buy another stack of chips. This is not the case in a tournament. They must protect that stack in a tournament, because they cannot buy another one. This enables the more aggressive players to steal more blinds and win more tournaments.

In a limit hold'em tournament, you can attempt to steal the blinds with just about any decent hand at all from late position. This would include hands like: 8-7 suited, 10-8 suited, Q-8, A-X, any pair, and so on. You can even do some of your best stealing from early position. Players naturally give your raise from early position more respect. Therefore, you can use that knowledge to your advantage. Raise from early position every once in a while with hands that are much lower in value than your normal raising standards from that position. That would include hands like: 10-9 suited, J-10 suited, and sixes. This will also help to fool your opponents concerning your early-position raises. When they see you raising from early position with pocket sixes, they will not be sure where you are on your next raise.

In no-limit hold'em tournaments, you may utilize the same type of blind stealing strategy from late position. However, you can do it in a more aggressive manner. Your raise would typically be three or four times the size of the big blind instead of just twice the size of the big blind, as it would be in a limit hold'em tournament. You may also shove in your whole stack in a no-limit tournament. This element of no-limit play allows you to steal the blinds much more effectively than you would be able to in a limit hold'em tournament. If you have ever watched the final table of a no-limit hold'em tournament, you must have noticed the lack of flops. Most of the time a player raises, and no one calls. The player picks up those valuable blinds, and the dealer then deals another hand.

In seven-card stud tournaments, you should be raising from late position anytime you show the highest card, no matter what you have in the hole. You must pick up those valuable antes in the later stages of the tournament. If you are not playing aggressively and picking up antes, you will be anted right out of the tournament.

In Omaha eight-or-better tournaments, you should be raising from late position with any type of decent hand, as well. Your raising hands should include, but not be limited to, A-K-J-10, an ace with any two wheel cards, a king with 2-3-4 or 2-3-5, and so on.

Knowing that other players are using this same strategy of stealing the blinds with just about any type of hand from late position enables you to resteal their steals. If you are on the button in a hold'em tournament, and someone raises from the cutoff seat, you should reraise with many types of hands. This includes hands like sixes, A-10, K-J, and J-10 suited. Do not give a player credit for any decent hand at all if he raises from late position in the later stages of a tournament. The exception would be a tight player who raises with only good hands no matter what his position. In a seven-card stud tournament, if someone raises from late position with a high card showing, reraise him with any pair. You more than likely have the best hand.

Just remember to play aggressively and to steal, steal, steal. That is the way to win poker tournaments. Good luck at your next tournament.