Poker Tournament - Blind Stealing Strategy

Poker tournaments are often not epic confrontations between two premium hands in the later rounds when it all is decided. They are generally 60/40 or closer confrontations, which ultimately decide the outcome.

With 10x the Big Blind or less, you have options. You could raise the minimum with steal hands, but I think this is weak. For one, you are inviting people to come over the top with many hands if you frequently steal this way. If you are the type to minimum raise with your premium hands as well, then you are also risking being busted by people who take advantage of the good price you have offered and see a flop from the blinds.

Minimum raising with big blinds and a 10 x big blind stack generally means you will steal blinds at a less frequent rate, but also risk less to do so. It also provides the chance for opponents to outplay you on the flop which you will miss more than not. Frankly, I don't minimum raise because it always seems to put me in difficult situations. I know that difficult doesn't necessarily mean bad, but I prefer to avoid these kinds of spots.

So if you don't minimum raise, you are going to be raising 2.5-3 x big blind with 10 x big blind stack. Now the problem arises here. You must raise 2.5-3 x bb with all your hands, right? If you raise 2.5-3 x bb when you are stealing, and do anything differently when you have a premium hand, then I think we could agree that this makes no sense. You must keep your opponents off balance.

If you raise 2.5-3 x bb with a stealing hand, and someone goes over the top for your stack, you are going to fold getting 13:7, or roughly 2:1 odds. Most stealing hands, on average, are worth this price.

The bottom line is this: If you steal enough using the 10 x BB rule you will have a higher rate of success than using any other method. More often than not you will be doing enough work to keep your stack growing, or to at least keep it where it is. When you do get called, it won't always be by aces or kings, and it will often be a coinflip situation. One better than raising to 3 x bb and then folding to a reraise.

The issue becomes a lot more clear with 8 x BB. It should all be pushing and folding. I suppose 10 x bb is an arbitrary amount, and I would agree that maybe 9.5 is a better mark. I really do not think raising less than all-in and folding is going to be a more +EV move than raising all-in to begin with.

So now we have this 'rule'. The real trick is deciding what to push, and what to not push. When you have 11xBB, you can afford to fold marginal hands like K8s from the CO, but if you had 6 x bb, this fold would be a crime. So obviously as you lose your stack relative to the blinds, you get more desperate.

So that at 11-14xBB you can afford to fold marginal hands (instead of opening for 3xBB), and at 8-10xBB you get more desperate, and at 6-8xBB you get even more desperate, etc.

At 5-6 x bb you should be the most desperate. What exactly this range of hands is, depends. But for the most part, this should be the height of your looseness. Why? Because you have folding equity, but not for long. When the blinds go up, or when you get blinded, or when both happen, you are sure to lose almost all of your folding equity, and you have no chance to survive and build a stack without showdown. If you have less than this, say, 1.5-3xBB, your folding equity is almost gone. You shouldn't be desperate now because you wont be able to make anyone fold with trash hands. So now you should be fairly selective, and worse case scenario just go down with any random two from the big blind.

Curt Feather is a professional poker player and poker writer. Visit one of his poker websites and read more of his informative poker articles. http://www.nlfreeroll.com , and http://small-stake.blogspot.com .

---

Google News Updated : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:49:35 GMT Pentagon denies US jet forced to land in Iran - guardian.co.uk Daily Mail Pentagon denies US jet forced to land in Iran guardian.co.uk - 36 minutes ago The Pentagon today denied a report that a US plane had been forced to land in Iranian territory. Iran's Fars news agency claimed that five US officials were questioned and released by the Iranian authorities after the plane they were flying in ... Iran says it forced down Western plane The Associated Press Iran says US plane violated Iran's airspace Reuters Bloomberg - BBC News - AFP - United Press International all 270 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:12:58 GMT Nobel Prize awarded for AIDS, cervical cancer research - Los Angeles Times CTV.ca Nobel Prize awarded for AIDS, cervical cancer research Los Angeles Times - 7 hours ago Luc Montagnier dedicated his award to AIDS sufferers and predicted results on a "therapeutic vaccine" for the pandemic within four years. 2 AIDS researchers receive Nobel Prize Chicago Tribune Three Europeans win the 2008 Nobel for medicine International Herald Tribune Detroit Free Press - People's Daily Online - The Associated Press - WTOP all 1,190 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:01:27 GMT The Ike Whitaker Saga - Washington Post Washington Post The Ike Whitaker Saga Washington Post - 40 minutes ago In case anyone missed Zach Berman's story in today's paper, Ike Whitaker appears to be done at Virginia Tech. I raise the story in this forum because Whitaker chose Virginia Tech over Maryland amid the usual fanfare that accompanies a top-level recruit ... Va. Tech WR Whitaker faces misdemeanor charges SportingNews.com More alcohol woes for Tech wide receiver Whitaker Richmond Times Dispatch Virginia Tech Collegiate Times Online Edition - The Virginian-Pilot - Daily Press - Washington Post all 32 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:08:42 GMT McCain aims to slow Obama momentum in debate - Reuters BBC News McCain aims to slow Obama momentum in debate Reuters - 51 minutes ago By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Republican John McCain hopes to halt Democrat Barack Obama's momentum and gain new life in the White House race on Tuesday when the presidential rivals meet in their second debate. A little word makes big waves on campaign trail CNN Political Ticker Tonight's debate is in McCain's favorite style The Associated Press CQPolitics.com - Washington Post - New York Times - AFP all 1,928 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:52 GMT US, Britain, and UN weigh options amid rising violence in ... - Christian Science Monitor AFP US, Britain, and UN weigh options amid rising violence in ... Christian Science Monitor - 40 minutes ago By David Montero Against the backdrop of a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan, British, American, and United Nations officials are grappling with the idea of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. UPDATE 1-Afghan govt denies Saudi meeting was peace talks Reuters India Afghan official: no talks held with Taliban Xinhua AFP - Minneapolis Star Tribune - The Associated Press - Hindu all 453 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:09:17 GMT Fed creates commercial paper-buying facility - Reuters Reuters Fed creates commercial paper-buying facility Reuters - 32 minutes ago By Mark Felsenthal and Glenn Somerville WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced it would create a special-purpose facility, with the Treasury Department's blessing, to begin buying commercial paper in yet another emergency move ... Euro, Dollar Gain on Fed Move Wall Street Journal Fed to Purchase US Commercial Paper to Ease Crunch (Update1) Bloomberg Washington Post - MarketWatch - New York Times - International Herald Tribune all 1,209 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:17:04 GMT Where Angels go...heartbreak follows - Baltimore Sun Los Angeles Times Where Angels go...heartbreak follows Baltimore Sun - 3 hours ago If you didn't stay up to watch, the Angels came back from a 2-0 deficit last night and had the go-ahead run on third base with one out in the top of the ninth, only to have the situation blow up in their faces when manager Mike Scioscia (right) called ... Oh, what a ninth! Sox-Halos a classic MLB.com Angels seething after being squeezed out ESPN Boston Globe - FOXSports.com - USA Today - Los Angeles Times all 569 news articles Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:42:08 GMT RSS Parser Increased Web Site Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

Virtual Casino Online

What is a "virtual casino online"? This is a term... Read More

Poker Tournament Freerolls Payout in Seven Figures

Poker tournaments freerolls are free poker tournaments that are hosted... Read More

Las Vegas Whales

What Las Vegas jargon names "whales" is in fact the... Read More

My Las Vegas Review

Recently I took ten days off and went to Las... Read More

Avoiding Tilt While Playing Online Poker

As many experts have said, poker is a game that... Read More

No Deposit Online Casino Bonus is for Lucky and Wise Only - The Myth of Free Money

No deposit bonuses are very popular, especially among "not-so-wealthy" online... Read More

Do You Believe These Four Online Slot Machine Myths?

The fact that people don't really understand how online slot... Read More

Roulette - An Easy Method

Here is a very simple method that gives you the... Read More

Shorthanded Poker, an Untapped Gold Mine

Feuled by seemingly nonstop television coverage and internet access in... Read More

Bookmaking Basics

The role of a 'bookie', the common name of the... Read More

Freeroll Poker Tournaments - The Greatest Deal Of All!

Freeroll poker tournaments are daily events that happen on a... Read More

How to Win a Million Dollars Without Spending a Lot of Money

I love Major Millions. And realistically speaking, there's not really... Read More

When Should You Hang Up Your Betting Boots for the Day?

Quit as soon as you are in front for the... Read More

Online Casino - What Is It?

Entertaining industry conquerors more and more space of our lives.... Read More

Slot Machine Basics

The first slot machine came into being in 1895. Since... Read More

There Is No Such Thing As The Gambling Olympics!

I often become bewildered when I hear of people bragging,... Read More

Do You Want to Discover the Three Hidden Secrets of the Poker Playing Professional?

What's the difference between an amateur and a professional when... Read More

College Football Betting - Totals

Betting totals in college football is very different than betting... Read More

Gambling Interesting Facts

SoccerbettingIs there such thing as "kangtao" or surewin tips?I have... Read More

Class: It Tells All

The word class, used by handicapper is no abstraction. The... Read More

Compulsive Gambler?s Journey To Day One Stop Gambling

Its day one and this was the most exciting day... Read More

2005 World Series of Poker -- Mid Tournament Report

The 2005 World Series of Poker started its 36th year... Read More

Take Your Online Poker Game to the Next Level

Playing Poker online can be quite satisfying, and financially rewarding,... Read More

Has the Party Poker Fish Pool Dried Up?

Party Poker has long been known as the place to... Read More

Poker Tournament - Blind Stealing Strategy

Poker tournaments are often not epic confrontations between two premium... Read More