Poker Blind Stealing - Stealing the Blinds in Poker

A Twist on Blind Stealing

A player who has been in the poker gaming system, be it on line or off line, is well aware of the term “blind stealing.” In a nut shell, it means that you basically want to “steal” the money coming from both the big blind and the small blind. If at this point you are already lost with the terms “big blind” and “small blind,” then let’s make this discussion more understandable by having a definition of terms.

The small blind is the player on the left of the “button” or dealer. This player will give an amount half of what the big blind will be giving, which will be set by the room that you are playing in. This is done to trigger the beginning of the pot (as there are no antes). The other players, who want to stay on the game will either check or raise this amount. The big blind on the other hand is the player on the left of the small blind and this player will give the full amount set.

Going back, in doing a blind steal, it is best to do this if the poker room has only a few players, like around 5 players and optimally, you have to be the last player to give a bet. Say the other players have checked and you are the last one to play. To blind steal, you have to at least raise the big blind by three or four times.

The “perfect” scenario for you would be for all the other players to fold and thus, you get to have both the blinds’ bets and the other players’ bets if they checked.

The weakness of this strategy is that most educated poker players know of this trick and if the big blind smells that you are about to blind steal, his or her recourse will be to meet your bet. This is when things get sticky. Or, one of the early positioned players who know of this strategy will smell that you are trying to blind steal and will end up meeting your bet.

That being said, in blind stealing, here are some things that you will want to ensure so that you get to lessen the chances of being captured in this situation:

1. Of course, follow the basics. Make sure that you are either the last to bet or that you are in the late position.

2. This works wonders if you have established on the early onset of the game that you are a tight player, a player who only stays on the game if he or she is absolutely sure of the win. Once players see that you are a tight gamer, they will have second thoughts of meeting your bet.

If the big blind that you are playing is known to be very defensive of his chips, better think through this strategy first. Or better yet, if you have an awful hand, best leave his or her as it is and fold.