Blind stealing is the foundation of every effective 6-max technique. It is the very foundation of a winning player’s game. We are not discussing in theoretical terms either. The difference between a break-even player and a somewhat successful professional is one blind theft per 100 hands. You’ll notice benefits soon because it’s a consistent source of profit.
Blind stealing is just raising before the flop in an attempt to win the pot instantly. But what does it mean to blind-steal better than you already do? There are two main variables:
- Stealing range
- Raise size
You have the option of stealing with one hand or passing it on. You can also raise the amount to other levels. You can tweak both of these parameters to improve your blind-stealing approach.
Stealing Range
For the time being, let’s focus on stealing from the button, as this is the most common stealing scenario. We will discuss stealing from the cutoff and small blind later in the segment.
The most important component in deciding your stealing range is how tight your opponents in the blinds play. If you have two tight opponents in the blinds, opening almost always pays off. You may determine how tight your opponents are by looking at their “Fold To Steal In Big Blind” number in a tracking application like PokerTracker or Hold’em Manager.
The Fold To Steal (FTS) statistic estimates how often your opponents fold from the blinds when someone opens from the cutoff or button. For normal players in $1-$2 6-max games, this number ranges from roughly 50 percent to 90 percent. Most players score between 65 and 85 percent.
For example, if a player has a FTS percentage of 80 percent, you may expect them to fold while your button is open about 80 percent of the time. It’s merely a rough approximation because the metric includes open raises from positions other than the button, and your opponents’ strategy will change depending on the situation and the opponent.
Remember that tracker metrics average your opponents’ trends across a wide range of situations and opponents, and they may not correctly reflect how your opponents will play against you in this specific situation. Having said that, if your opponent’s FTS stat is 80 percent, you may expect them to play tightly against your button opens.
Assume the players in the small and big blinds both have a FTS of 80%. They may play AA-22, AK-AT, KQ-KJ, some suited connectors, and the odd suited ace, suited one-gapper, and unsuited connector. That’s a 20% range, which translates to an 80% Fold To Steal.
Raising from the button typically results in a 64% chance of winning the blinds (0.8×0.8=0.64). In actuality, you’ll probably succeed slightly less frequently than that, so let’s round that figure down to 60%.
Assume you open up to $6 (three times the large blind). You’re risking $6 to gain $3, so if you succeed more than 67 percent of the time, your heist will result in an immediate profit. By “immediate profit,” we mean that even if you turbo-mucked your hand (without seeing the flop) as soon as your opponent called your steal, you’d still profit over time.
We determined that a steal will work roughly 60% of the time, so you won’t make an immediate profit. Fortunately, you will not be turbo-mucking your hands when called. You’ll see a flop, and even if your hand isn’t great, you’ll benefit from your position. In practice, it’s not tough to steal a few pots after the flip, which is all you need to accomplish to make the hand lucrative.
So, if both blind players fold to a steal at least 80% of the time, you can open any hand on the button and expect to profit.
If both blind players fold to a steal at least 80% of the time, you can open any hand on the button and expect to profit.
You can steal profitably with any hand. But that doesn’t mean that you should necessarily try to steal at every opportunity. If you pound on tight players too relentlessly, some of them will start to play back at you. You don’t want otherwise tight players to adjust to your stealing by starting to 3-bet (reraise) with weak hands. So mix it up a little bit. Show your opponents that you can fold your button every once in a while, preferably when you have an offsuit trash hand.
But don’t fold too often. Steal most of the time. And if the blind players are even tighter, folding to a steal up to 90 percent of the time, then don’t give them any room to breathe. When players are ultra tight from the blinds, it generally indicates that they’re playing a limited, nut-peddling strategy, and they aren’t likely to adjust to your steals. So rob them blind.
In a typical $1–$2 6-max game, you’ll frequently find two tight players in the blinds, and therefore you’ll often be in a situation where you can profitably open any two from the button.
Raise Size
When it comes to stealing, you want to raise as little money as possible. After all, a lower rise indicates that you are risking less for the same gain. But everything else is not equal. Different raise sizes alter the dynamics in two areas:
- Folding frequency
- Postflop expectation
In theory, your opponents should fold more often against large opening raises than against little ones. If you raise to $4, the large blind must call $2 to win $7 (your $4 raise plus the $3 from the blinds). If you raise to $8, the large blind must call $6 to have a chance of winning $11 (your $8 raise plus the
$3 (from the blinds). Clearly, the odds presented in the first situation are better, thus the big blind should play a broader range of hands.
In practice, most players do not modify their playing ranges as they should. Many players, particularly tight players, will fold a significant amount of their hands from the blinds regardless of the game conditions. Many players avoid playing a hand like Q♠ 7♠ from the big blind against a raise, regardless of who raised, the amount raised, or their position.
Small steal raises pay off against many players who do not alter their blind ranges to match the size of the bet.
Raise little versus opponents who use essentially the same strategy when facing a tiny or large steal raise.
The story does not finish there, though. Postflop expectation is also significant in calculating the size of your steal raises. What exactly do we mean by postflop expectation?
Suppose you have a very tight player in the large blind. If you open-raise on the button, he will fold 90% of his hands, regardless of whether you raise to $5 or $10. However, ten percent of the time he plays, he three-bets
$24.
Against this opponent, you should steal all of your hands from the button. Because he folds so frequently, your raise will yield an automatic profit. However, when he does pick up a hand, you are frequently up against a massive 3-bet with a hand that is too weak to continue. So you have almost no postflop expectation versus this player: either you steal the blinds or he 3-bets you, forcing you to fold. There will rarely be a flop.
When you have a low postflop expectation, use a tiny raise amount. Why risk $10 when $5 will suffice just as well?
With limited postflop expectation, select a tiny steal raise size.
Let’s say the huge blind plays substantially differently. He folds eighty percent of the time and calls seventeen percent. He bets $24 with the best three percent of his hands. Against this player, your steals will not always win right away, but you will typically see a flop if they fail. You have certain post-flop expectations. Even with a bad hand (e.g. 9♣ 4♠), a well-timed bluff or continuation bet can help you win.
The higher your postflop anticipation, the more motivation there is to make a larger steal raise. Indeed, if you intend to win significantly more than your share of the pots postflop, you should raise as much as you believe your opponent will call. Because you have the advantage, the more money you put into the pot, the more you win on average.*
We are not advising that you make large raises with your good hands and little raises with your bad ones. In an online $1-$2 6-max game, you should often select one single raise size and apply it regardless of whether you hold a seven-deuce or pocket aces. Raising more with good hands and less with bad ones reveals too much about your hand strength.
Do not modify your steal raise size according on your hand’s strength. Apply the same fixed raise size to all hands in your range.
How your opponents play has a significant impact on your postflop expectations. Let’s consider the player that folds 80% of the time, calls 17% of the time, and 3-bets 3%. When he calls, you can assume he has a medium-strength hand—strong enough to call but not powerful enough to 3-bet.
Let us also assume that this player employs a passive approach following the flop. He checks almost every flop and folds if he misses. If he captures something like a draw or a pair, he normally calls only one stake. If the turn does not help his hand, he will check again and fold any weak draws or pairs. So, if he calls both the flop and the turn, he’ll typically have a solid draw, top pair, or better.
This postflop approach (or one similar to it) is so ubiquitous that it deserves its own name: the fit or fold strategy. The player views the flop, and if his hand does not fit nicely with the board, he folds.
It is worth noting that the player who adopts this technique does very little to no hand reading. He is just concerned about his own hand strength, not yours or anyone else’s.
The fit or fold method is incredibly and simply vulnerable. It loses to a tactic of raw assault. Just keep betting, and a fit or fold opponent will most likely fold. The few times the fit or folder makes a hand, you’re more likely to lose a larger pot than those you steal. However, using reasonable bet levels and understanding fundamental hand reading will provide you with a significant postflop advantage over a fit or folder.
Here is the bottom line. If a player prefers to defend his blinds by 3-betting rather than calling, choose a tiny bet amount. If a player prefers to defend his blinds by calling rather than 3-betting, and then employs a fit or fold strategy after the flop, you should use a large betting size. Because you’ll steal so many pots after the flop, starting with a larger pot pays off.
Choose small steal-raise sizes when facing players who like to 3-bet. Choose huge steal-raise sizes when facing opponents that prefer to call and then play fit or fold.
When unsure about your opponent’s tendencies, stick to a small raise size. It is less exploitable.
Return To Stealing Range
We have already suggested that you should steal with all of your hands against adequately tight players in the blinds. However, we did not discuss how to change your stealing range when your opponents are not sufficiently tight. We’ll talk about it now.
Assume the two players in the blinds will defend frequently enough that stealing will not result in an automatic profit, even if you raise to $5 or $4.50. Furthermore, presume they will never flatly reject your stolen rise. If they defend, they will make a 3-bet of around $24.
In real games, few blind players will use this tactic. If they did, each of these players would be 3-betting on approximately 25% of all hands. However, for the purpose of argument, suppose you have two very loose and 3-bet happy opponents in the blinds. How should you adjust?
Clearly, you should not steal with all of your hands anymore. Too often, you’ll raise your trash, get a 3-bet, and have to fold. So fold your off-season rubbish.
Instead of folding to a frequent 3-bettor, you might sometimes call and make a play postflop or 4-bet as a bluff.
We’ll go over these possibilities in detail in the “3-Betting Light and the 3-Bet, 4-Bet, 5-Bet Game” chapter. For the time being, just be aware that if your opponents fight against steals by 3-betting with a variety of hands, you will tighten up and occasionally 4-bet bluff.
In practice, you will seldom see players who 3-bet more than 25% of the time. Even players who like to 3-bet to defend will regularly fold, making stealing beneficial.
When stealing from players that frequently 3-bet when defending, use a small bet amount and exclude the worst offsuit hands from your range.
If your opponents frequently defend yet choose to call rather than three-bet, your stealing range is determined by how they play postflop. If they use a fit or fold approach, you can steal aggressively—up to 100 percent of your hands versus adequately willing opponents. Fit or fold players do not consider your hand strength and typically fold by the river. So it doesn’t matter which hand you have because you’ll win so many pots against them without a showdown.
Choose a large bet size and open with the majority of your hands when facing opponents that frequently defend but usually call and play fit or fold postflop.
Now, let’s talk about the actual calling stations. They call preflop with a variety of hands and avoid folding postflop. As you might expect, stealing becomes a relatively ineffective technique against a calling station. These players force you to tighten up slightly.
Assume the large blind player will call around 70% of the time you open from the button. You should stick to opening a range of hands that you can easily play for value postflop, such as:
- 22+,A2s+,K2s+,Q7s+ JTs-54s,J9s-75s,J8s-96s
- A2o+,K9o+,Q9o+,J9o+,T9o*
This range represents around 40% of your total probable hands. It’s a broad range—whether a given hand is profitable or not depends on how your opponent typically plays. Calling stations push you to pass up steals with weak hands, but they more than compensate by paying off your strong hands after the flop.
Calling stations force you to limit your stealing range. However, against them, you can choose greater raise sizes and value bet more aggressively after the flop.
When you have two very distinct opponent types in the blinds, you’ll likely have to choose the more conservative of the two associated strategies. For example, if you have a fit or folder with an 80 percent Fold To Steal (your associated strategy: 100 percent open, big raise size) and a frequent 3-bettor (your associated strategy: tighter open, small raise size), you should protect yourself against the 3-bettor by tightening up and using a small raise size.
Button Stealing Summary
When you open the button, you want to steal with as many hands as possible. When both blinds are really tight, you can steal with all of your hands. You should probably fold a hand here and there to avoid making your plan too obvious, but you can open almost every time.
When your opponents try to defend by calling and then playing a fit or fold strategy postflop, you can open almost all of your cards. This holds true even if they defend frequently. You’ll win enough pots by snatching them postflop to make the total strategy lucrative. When your opponents are playing fit or folding, make huge raises to maximize the value of the pots you steal.
When your opponents defend pretty tightly but respond aggressively to your steals by 3-betting or calling and playing back postflop, you can still steal with a broad range. You may wish to discard your worst offsuit, but you can profitably steal with the majority of other hands.
Choose a minimal raise size to limit your exposure to your opponent’s assault. If your opponents 3-bet too frequently, you may need to integrate some 4-bet bluffing into your strategy to maintain your button steals profitable.
Calling stations require you to severely limit your button stealing. Because they call preflop and do not fold easily postflop, you cannot play terrible cards profitably. However, your superior hands will prove more profitable against these players. So, if a calling station is in one of the blinds, make hefty raises with approximately 40% of your hands.
Finally, if your two opponents advocate for completely different techniques, go with the more conservative alternative.
Stealing From The Cutoff
The cutoff is an appealing position to steal from, but it is nowhere near as effective as the button. You have an extra player to cope with, and he has position and a reason to play.
Do not attempt to steal with offsuit trash from the cutoff. Conditions must be practically perfect to make it profitable, which they rarely are.
If you have three tight and cooperative players behind you, try starting in the 40 percent range from the calling station discussion above:
- 22+, A2s+, K2s+, Q7s+ JTs-54s, J9s-75s, J8s-96s
- A2o+, K9o+, Q9o+, J9o+, T9o
If one of your opponents is aggressive or loose (especially on the button), remove the weak hands from this range. So, against two somewhat tight players and one bothersome player in the large blind, consider opening a range like this:
- 22+, A2s+, K9s+, Q9s+ JTs-54s, J9s-T8s
- A2o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo
This range covers around 30% of your hands.
If the difficult player is on the button, remove any of the weaker hands, such as A7o-A2o, from this range.
Again, all of these ranges are variable and dependent on your own situation. We merely want to put you in the proper direction so you may create your own hand ranges.
You should not take as aggressively from the cutoff as you would from the button. If all of your opponents are tight, you can use up to 40% of your hands. If there is a difficult player behind you, tighten your grip to around 30% or 25%.
Because you’re taking from three players, you should normally stick to a modest raise size.
Stealing From The Small Blind
When everyone folds to you in the little blind, things become interesting. Unlike stealing from the button or the cutoff, if you are called, you will play your hand out of position. This fact can significantly influence your strategy.
Say you raise it to $6. You’re betting $5 more than your $1 small blind, hoping to win the $3 in blind money. If the play succeeds more than 5 times out of 8 (62.5 percent), you will make an automatic profit.
Some players in the large blind fold far too frequently in these blind vs blind situations. Indeed, a significant number of players will fold more than 62.5% of the time. Against these players, you should raise all of your modest blinds.
If the big blind folds more than 60% of the time, open every hand in the small blind.
Here’s when things become difficult. Assume there’s a reasonably skilled player in the large blind. You choose to open all of your hands from the little blind. The skilled player will counter by guarding almost all of his hands. He may 3-bet with 35% of his cards, call with 50%, and fold only the poorest 15%. He can play so carelessly since he is in position and you are playing every hand.
Raising all of your hands in response to this loose defensive approach would be devastating. You need to tighten up. Depending on how fiercely and aggressively your opponent plays postflop, you might tighten up to about the 30% area from the discussion about stealing from the cutoff:
- 22+, A2s+, K9s+, Q9s+ JTs-54s, J9s-T8s
- A2o+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo
So, like stealing from the cutoff, you must play fairly closely when the conditions are unfavorable for stealing. However, unlike stealing from the cutoff, you can open all of your hands while the large blind is tight. Because your approach from the small blind might vary greatly, pay close attention to the player to your left and decide which strategy you’ll utilize before entering a blind vs blind encounter.
Putting It All Together
Because online 6-max games tend to play closely preflop, blind stealing is critical. Indeed, an aggressive blind stealing strategy can increase a player’s total winrate by 1.5bb/100 ($3 per 100 hands in a $1-$2 game) compared to a tight or weak strategy.
A large number of your opponents will play closely enough from the blinds to allow you to profitably open all of your hands from the button and small blind. Stealing from the cutoff is more perilous, thus even under ideal circumstances, you should generally avoid opening trash from the cutoff.
When your opponents protect their blinds by calling and then deciding whether to fit or fold postflop, you can steal with a variety of hands and rely on taking pots away. When your opponents are looser, more aggressive, and less likely to fold, you must tighten up your steals. However, you will generally compensate for the loss of thieving opportunities versus these players by generating more money with your strong hands.
