A special move: Blindsteals

1. Introduction

The life of a player in the Blinds is not easy. They have to invest chips before they've even seen their cards. They spend the money for cards that could be any combination, and they have to act first on the flop all the time which makes the situation even worse. They rarely have a good hand, can only defend themselves poorly, and have to invest chips for doing this.

Because the players in the Blinds are in such a bad situation, a Swiss poker player once said: Hello there, there are chips to be taken in the pot already. The two girls in the Blinds rarely have a good hand and even if they are up in arms against me, I still have position on them after the flop so I can continue to play quite comfortably. Why shouldn't I play more hands and raise more hands in this position to put the Blinds under pressure? No sooner said than done, the Blindstealing was invented.

Important
Blindstealing means raising before the flop even with weaker hands to put pressure on the players in the Blinds and possibly make them fold.

It should be highlighted that Blindstealing is only profitable if the Blinds are relatively large in comparision to the chip stacks. Starting to steal the blinds in the early phase of a tournament is pointless, very risky, and unprofitable. You'll only start doing it when your chip stack has reached 24 Big Blinds or less.

This article explains how this move works, what you have to look out for and which hands you can attack the Blinds with. If you know how to steal the Blinds, you've learnt a fundamental move you'll always need in poker, not only in tournaments.

2. When do you attack the Blinds?

Blindstealing means that you systematically attack both players in the Blinds by raising before the flop. They are your opponents. You don't want to mess with another player. You don't necessarily want to see a flop because you steal the Blinds with much weaker hands as well. All you want to do is to raise before the flop and make the Blinds fold to receive these. This is the whole principle.

Important

When do I attack the Blinds?

You are in late position (Cutoff or Button) or in the Small Blind.
Everyone in front of you has folded their hand.

If you start firing at the Blinds from early position, the chance is simply too large that someone else has a hand with which he wants to play against you. You want the Blinds, not trouble. Therefore you only attack the Blinds from the late position, the Cutoff, the Button and the Small Blind, because then your only opponent is the Big Blind.

This also means that nobody in front of you entered the hand because this would mean that you play against that player.

QUIZ

QUESTION 1: From which position can't you attack the Blinds?

a) From the Small Blind
b) From late position
c) From early position

QUESTION 2: From which position can you attack the Blinds?

a) From early position
b) From middle position
c) From late position

QUESTION 3: How many players can enter the hand in front of you so that you can still attack the Blinds?

a) None
b) One
c) Two

QUESTION 4: If you have a medium sized chip stack and one player enters the hand in front of you, how is your action determined

a) By the standard plays from the "Adjustments to your strategy when the Blinds increase" article.
b) By the standard plays from the "Your strategy if you have lots of chips" article.
c) By your gut feeling.

3. Which hands do you attack the Blinds with?

Blindstealing doesn't mean attacking the Blinds with random hands. There's always the possibility that either someone has a playable hand or that someone just calls to play against you. Therefore your hand shouldn't be too weak.

Hands suitable for attacking the Blinds depend on your position, whether you are in the Cutoff, the Button or the Small Blind.

You can download a complete overview as a PDF-file here:

PokerStrategy Sit and Go overview

	You are in the Cutoff

	Aces:	AJ
	Kings:	KQ
	Pairs:	all pairs from 99 to 66

	You are on the Button

	Aces:	AJ, AT
	Kings:	KQ, KJ, KT
	Queens:	QJ
	Pairs:	all pairs from 99 to 22

	You are in the Small Blind

	Aces:	AJ, AT, A9, A8
	Kings:	KQ, KJ, KT, K9
	Queens:	QJ, QT
	Pairs:	all pairs from 99 to 22

QUIZ

QUESTION 5: You are on the Button holding an ace and a ten (AT). Do you attack the Blinds?

a) Yes
b) No

QUESTION 6: You are in the Cutoff holding a pair of deuces (22). Do you attack the Blinds?

a) Yes
b) No

QUESTION 7: You are in the Small Blind holding an ace and a seven (A7). Do you attack the Blinds?

a) Yes
b) No

QUESTION 8: You are in the Cutoff holding a queen and a ten (QT). Do you attack the Blinds?

a) Yes
b) No

4. What do you do if your opponents don't fold?

Your opponents won't always fold and give up their Blinds right away. Sometimes they actually have a good hand, sometimes they just want to defend their Blind.

If one player raises behind you, you simply fold your hand, if you have tried a Blindsteal with one of the mentioned hands.

If one or more players call your raise, you continue to play as usual, as you learned in the Your strategy when you have lots of chips article. If you only have one opponent, you always bet on the flop. If you encounter resistance you only continue to play with good made hands.

Important

What do I do if my opponents don't fold immediately?

One opponent raises

You fold.

One or more players call the raise

You continue to play on the flop as if you raised regularly and didn't try a Blindsteal.

QUIZ

QUESTION 9: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. Unfortunately the player in the Blinds raises and moves all-in. What do you do?

a) You fold.
b) You call the raise.

QUESTION 10: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. The player in the Small Blind calls the raise. He checks on the flop and doesn't bet. Which hand do you have to hold in order to be able to bet?

a) At least a top pair
b) At least two pair
c) It doesn't matter. You always bet if you only have one opponent.

QUESTION 11: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. The player in the Small Blind as well as the player in the Big Blind call the raise. Both of the players check on the flop and don't bet. Which hand do you have to hold in order to be able to bet?

a) At least a top pair
b) At least two pair
c) It doesn't matter. You always bet if you only have one opponent.

5. Conclusion

You now know what Blindstealing means. It is the systematic attack of the blinds from the Cutoff, Button or the Small Blind. As the Blinds are your targets, you can only attack them if nobody entered the hand in front of you. You also don't attack with any random hand because it could happen that one of the players in the Blinds has a good hand.

If you are in the Blinds yourself and a player attacks your Blind, you would want to know which hands you can defend yourself with and how you can defend yourself. You can find the answer to this question in the next article: A special move: Stealreraises

LINKS

	Further articles: How to play a tournament? How the position affects the strength of your hands Which hands are profitable after the flop Your strategy when you have lots of chips Adjustments to your strategy when the blinds increase A special move: Stealreraises Your strategy when the blinds become very large How to follow your path: The bankrollmanagement
	Discussion forum: Here you can ask professionals or discuss with other players
	Videos: Here you will find tournament videos from the PokerStrategy coaches
	Live-Coaching: Here you will find live-coachings with the PokerStrategy coaches

6. Appendix: Solutions

Question 1: From which position can't you attack the Blinds?	c)	From early position

Question 2: From which position can you attack the Blinds?	c)	From late position

Question 3: How many players are allowed to enter in front of you so that you can still attack the Blinds?	a)	None

Question 4: If you have a medium sized chip stack and one player enters the hand in front of you, how is your action determined	a)	By the standard plays from the Adjustments fo your strategy when the Blinds increase

Question 5: You are on the Button holding an ace and a ten (AT). Do you attack the Blinds?	a)	Yes

Question 6: You are in the Cutoff holding a pair of deuces (22). Do you attack the Blinds?	b)	No

Question 7: You are in the Small Blind holding an ace and a seven (A7). Do you attack the Blinds?	b)	No

Question 8: You are in the Cutoff holding a queen and a ten (QT). Do you attack the Blinds?	b)	No

Question 9: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. Unfortunately the player in the Blinds raises and moves all-in. What do you do?	a)	You fold.

Question 10: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. The player in the Small Blind calls the raise. He checks on the flop and doesn't bet. Which hand do you have to hold in order to be able to bet?	c)	It doesn't matter. You always bet if you only have one opponent.

Question 11: You tried to steal the Blinds from the Cutoff with AJ. The player in the Small Blind as well as the player in the Big Blind call the raise. Both of the players check on the flop and don't bet. Which hand do you have to hold in order to be able to bet?	a)	At least top pair.