If you ever read an article on playing a short stack you will realize that if you want to get anywhere in the poker world, you will have to master the art of making something from nothing; knowing how to play when things are going good is very important, but being able to bring yourself back from the edge of elimination is equally as important, more so some would say, and this is where blinds bounty can come into play.
They say that if you save the pennies the pounds will come and this applies to poker as much as it does to anything else – a bunch of small pots, of blinds even, can be worth its weight in gold, or atleast it can help to build up a pot in need of it. Stealing the blinds essentially equates to the skill of being able to make money for nothing – with no cards even, you can swap one blind for 9.
We’ve established why you might want to steal the blinds – to build up a short stack, but we need to know how it works, and why it works. How it works is very simple, you raise enough that it’s not worth any-ones’ while to call you, they fold, you steal the blinds. Of course, there is a fatal flaw with this plan, and this is why it’s important to understand other elements of strategy also. This raise on the blinds, only works if you are in a late position, and it only works if everyone before you has checked. The late position and the check is important because you need to know that no-one has anything- you’re aim here isn’t to get into a big pot! Even in a late position you do run the risk of being called, but this a risk that you must take. If you actually do have some decent cards, this is definitely worth while for you; if not, then it’s a risk that will probably pay off, but you must prepared for the possibility of not.
Why does it work? Simple – you’re bolting out of the stable making it seem that you have something; so far everyone has put in their blinds only and nobody really cares about loosing it. Thus, your opponents who have nothing would rather lose their blind to your something, than enter into the game with you when they know they have nothing.
As we said, this is a great way of picking up the blinds, but you should also be cautious of doing this too often. A move like this could get you the reputation around the table of being a loose player, this might in the long run do you a favor if you are in fact quite a tight player, none-the-less your table image is important and should be created deliberately, not by accident. Thus, use this move cautiously, try not to use it around aggressive players, and never let on to people that this is something that you do.