How to steal blinds effectively

Blind Stealing can be the difference between being a winner and a loser in poker. Find out everything you need to know below.

Which opponents are best to steal blinds against?

Obviously, nits are the best opponents to steal against. They fold too much, so you’ll make way too much money stealing against them. Players with high fold to steals are ideal.

However, of the people who defend their blinds, you want to steal more against people who flat than who 3bet. Why?

If people 3bet a lot as a resteal, you run the risk of realizing none of your equity with your worst hands. If they flat, you will always see a flop and have a chance to spike something.

So, BB and SB who are likely to 3bet a lot are the worst. These include:

1. Strong aggressive regulars
2. Weak aggressive fish
3. Short stacks who are likely to shove over your steals.

For the same reason, your decision to steal in the cut-off must take into account how often your opponent in the BU flats (bad, because you’re OOP) or 3bets (worse, because you have to fold)

Which hands should I use to steal blinds?

Since your choices for stealing are raise/fold, you have no option to polarize. There’s no “call” option for the middle of your range (unless you limp your SB, but that’s another discussion altogether).

So, you want to pick the best 50% hands for stealing. That means you want hands that have the best realizable equity – a combination of how strong the hand is, and how well it plays.

General rules for hand selection (in order of importance):

1. High cards > low cards
2. Suited cards > non suited cards
3. Connected cards > non connected cards
4. Blockers > non-blockers

Here is the absolute minimum range you should be stealing in the BU:

What spots are best for blind steals?

The best spot on the table for stealing is the button. Why?
You’ll always be in position if someone calls. That makes playing a wide range postflop way easier.

Also, stack pot ratios allow you to get away with stealing 2x or 2.5x, whereas the standard steal in the SB is 3x.

You also get to see what the previous 3 positions have done before you act. Not surprisingly then, your BU will be your highest stealing position.