Blind Stealing Defense, Part 2

Last month we discussed the larcenous minds of blind stealers, and how to spot them. We also talked about how to spot situations where raisers were likely to have the Goods, and not be stealing at all. If you are facing raises in these situations, then treat them like you would ordinary raises. But if you are reasonably certain that you are dealing with a player who is on a steal, then there are three ways to respond - folding, calling, or re-raising. Let's take each separately, and talk about when each is best as a counter attack.

Folding to a Steal

Sometimes, it is best to fold, even when you believe that you're opponent is on a steal. In fact, it is usually prudent to let the thief steal the blinds most of the time, especially if they aren't your blinds he is stealing. If you're chip count is less than 40 times the big blind, as is frequently true in a tournament, then you don't have a lot of chips to play with, and you don't want to risk what few chips you have taking a stand against a player with a marginal hand.

But even if you have a big stack in front of you, you shouldn't feel like you have to defend every blind steal you see. Doing so will give you the reputation as a defender, and while this will make it harder for your opponents to steal from you, you will get a lot more action after the flop, and will need to show down a hand when you do defend. Better to occasionally defend and win a high percentage of the hands that you do play than to be a habitual defender and give away most of them.

Re-Raising a Steal

Re-raising a steal attempt is a bold move, especially when you don't have a monster starting hand. It puts a lot of chips at risk, and if the original raiser calls, it puts a lot of chips into the pot before the flop comes out. But it is often your best chance of dispatching the blind stealer the swiftest, and can often be your highest-percentage move. Here are a couple of times when a re-raise is preferable over merely calling.

1. When your cards are unlikely to be dominated. This may seem obvious, but when you are holding AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, or AQ, a re-raise is normally your best move here. These hands are likely to dominate whatever your raiser is raising with, and unlikely to be dominated by your opponent's hand. Depending on other factors on this list, you may also extend this range to all top ten hands, which would include 10-10, 9-9, AJ, and KQ.

Some players would just call here, the idea being that they disguise the strength of their hand, and attempt to get the raiser to re-bluff on the flop. But I prefer to re-raise when I know I have the best hand, and make my opponent call me to see the flop. I don't like to see a flop with six big blinds in the middle with no idea of what my opponent has. A lot of flops look scary under those circumstances, and I feel better just taking it down right then and there.

2. When you are nearly certain that the stealer is stealing. Last month we talked about times when your thief may actually have the Goods, and not be stealing at all. The fact is, you can never be 100% sure that a raise is a steal, even if it looks like a steal. But if you are reasonably certain that it is a steal, then a re-raise is a good move. If you're wrong, you will probably get re-raised yourself, and will have to make a very big call to keep playing.

3. When you are in position. This may seem obvious too, but if you are going to re-raise, there is a significant chance that you are going to get called by the original raiser. And if you do get called, you want to play the hand in position. Now, by definition, most blind steals are made by players in position -- players on the button or next to the button. But there are many instances where you are in position to the raiser. First, when you are on the button, and the steal is made by the cutoff or someone to his right. They are trying to beat you to the steal, and are giving you an excellent opportunity to not only win the blinds but also their raise as well.

The second of these is the classic blind vs. blind scenario, when the action is folded around to the small blind, who raises the big blind, hoping to win both blinds. As the big blind, you are in position, and can raise him back with a much larger range of hands than normal. In this situation, I like to re-raise with any ace, any pair, or any two cards better than a ten. I might even re-raise with nothing if I am comfortable that I can get the small blind to fold. But this is another situation where I like the re-raise better than a call, since calling doesn't properly discourage the raiser from stealing in the future, and does not force him to define his hand by making a call before the flop. A re-raise give you the advantage of position and aggression, which will put you well ahead in the hand, no matter what your cards are.

4. When you are the chip leader. When you are the table's short stack, you have a sign on your back. It is kind of a poker clich�, but the reverse is true as well. When you are the chip leader at your table, you have a sign on your back that says, "Mess with Me at Your Own Risk." The chip leader can bust anybody at the table, and everybody knows it. Very often, he can put players all in while risking very little of his own stack. So players are hesitant to play big pots against him, unless they have the nuts.

This is Tournament 101. But what most chip leaders think this means is that they should call all raises pre-flop. Not the case. What it means is that they should re-raise some raises preflop. Calling raises doesn't give anybody a chance to fold. It only gives the raiser a chance to see a flop, and other players the odds to call and see a flop too. Re-raising forces raisers to see a flop that could be their last one for the tournament, and there are very few hands that they are going to be comfortable doing that with. A short-stacked raiser may call you anyway, but a medium or large stack is going to be careful with you, especially if you are near the money. Take advantage of this by forcing the issue before the flop, not by waiting until after the flop to apply the pressure.

5. When you haven't re-raised before. Re-raising is like crying wolf. The more often you do it, the less often you are believed. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Imagine if you re-raised three times in an hour, and then looked down at aces just as you heard the chip leader call out raise. Your biggest problem in this hand will be keeping the smile from forming on your face. Why? Because you know that when you reraise, that chip leader is thinking, "This is the fourth time that guy's re-raised in under an hour. No way he has the nuts again." Normally, each time you re-raise, you are more and more likely to be called, and given less and less credit for a hand.

But your first re-raise at the table will be respected, even if you are normally considered an aggressive player. You can normally take down a pot with that first raise, unless your raiser has something to call you with. The same is true when you move to another table, or sit down on Day Two of a tournament. It is only after several re-raises that other players will begin to doubt your sincerity, and if you do so sparingly enough, it may never happen.

When one or more of these factors exist in a hand, you are probably better off re-raising as opposed to merely calling. But if they don't, and you still want to foil a steal attempt, calling is probably the low-risk option.

Calling a Steal

This is the option that most recreational players employ to stop blind stealers nearly all of the time, and much like calling in other aspects of poker, it is relied on too heavily. But it is not a horrible play, and where it doesn't make sense to re-raise, a call is probably the best play. So, if your situation doesn't resemble one of those listed above, then a call could be the right move.

One benefit of calling in a steal situation is that it is a stronger move than calling preflop in a cash game. When someone comes in raising in a cash game, and another player calls, the original raiser still controls the action after the flop. He can make a continuation bet on the flop, and if the caller hasn't improved (or no longer likes his pair), then he has to fold. So being the pre-flop raiser in a cash game is an advantage, even if you are called by another player.

In a tournament steal situation, the reverse is true. Let's say that it is folded around to the button, who raises. Obvious steal, right? Only the big blind sees that, and calls the raise. Now, who is in control of the hand? The button tried to steal, and got caught, when the big blind woke up with a hand good enough to call. Now, when the flop comes out, the big blind can make a continuation bet, and take down the pot if the button doesn't make a hand.

When the Thief Isn't Stealing

But what about those situations where it is not clear whether the original raiser was on a steal? Remember, I suggested earlier that if you are not certain and not in position, to call the raise rather than re-raising. Be sure that you are looking right at your opponent as you are making your call. Does his body language tell you that he is happy being called, or worried? If he seems genuinely worried, he was probably on a steal. Now watch him watch the flop. If he is very interested, then he probably needs some help from it. Maybe he has two suited or connected cards, and is hoping to pick up a straight or flush draw to work with.

But the best way to test whether your opponent likes his hand after the flop is the same as always. Make a bet of between half and three-fourths of the pot, and see what happens. If he calls and you have nothing, then you are probably beat. Otherwise, the pot is yours, and you have foiled a steal attempt. You can even rub a little salt in by showing the bluff if you like.

Limping to Prevent Steals

Finally, an often-overlooked technique for dealing with blind thieves is to prevent them from stealing in the first place by limping into the pot. In last month's article, I mentioned that one of the conditions that blind thieves look for is to be the first one into the pot. If players limp in ahead of them, the chances of their being called are much greater, and many thieves will simply wait for a better spot to steal. So limping - and encouraging others to do the same - is a good pre-emptive way to discourage blind stealing.

Now, I'm not crazy about limping in tournaments in general, and you certainly don't want to do so if you end up commonly folding to legitimate raises. But limping is a bona fide way to muddy the waters for blind stealers, and so it certainly shouldn't be overlooked. I like to limp with hands that can turn into monsters when they hit, but are easy to dump when they don't: small pairs, suited connectors, and small suited aces.

If there is a player at your table who always raises, the limp-reraise with Aces or Kings is also a good move. Everyone has seen it by now, but you'd be surprised at how often it still works.

Once again, it is not your job to prevent blind stealers from stealing, especially if they are not stealing from you. But sometimes it is nice to throw an albatross around the necks of your better opponents, just to watch them try to swim.

© The Poker Forum.com, all rights reserved