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Playing back at blind thieves

The best form of defence is often attack, especially when it comes to blind thieves...

By Phil Shaw on Sunday 16 Aug 2009 09:00


When you suspect that someone may have their fingers in the cookie jar you have a couple of options open to you, but always check your stack size before acting.

The best form of defence is attack

We’ve already discussed the general principles and specifics of successful blind stealing, but because it is so prevalent in the modern game it’s also vital to have a good understanding of when and how you can accumulate chips profitably by restealing from blind thieves in multi-table Sit & Go’s.

The most obvious strategy, as mentioned in the previous parts, is moving all-in with a stack of 15-20 big blinds against a player that you suspect is opening with a wide hand range. This is a risky but foolproof strategy since there will already be four to five big blinds in the pot to win and your opponent will often have to fold his hand unless he has a strong holding. That knowledge will give you sufficient overlay for the times you are called and have on average 30-40% equity. To employ this successfully just look for players who open a lot in late position (or fold to a lot of re-raises) and make sure you have a reasonable hand in case you get called – A-5s, Q-Jo, 8-9s etc.

Snapping thieves fingers

Restealing gets more interesting and less risky when you have a deeper stack of over 30 big blinds, since now you can afford to make smaller re-raises that put pressure on your opponents without risking your whole stack. For example, with a stack of 35 big blinds against a deeper-stacked opponent you might re-raise his 2.5x open raise to seven big blinds. Now his options are to go all-in for his entire stack – in which case you can just call with your strong hands and fold your resteals – or call and play post-flop, which still gives you some room to manoeuvre. The beauty of this resteal situation, however, is that you are only risking seven big blinds to win four or five, and because you are threatening your opponent’s entire stack he will usually fold and rarely be inclined to shove in light.

This can be a great way to stamp your authority on a multi-table Sit & Go by creating an aura of fear and aggression. As with the 2.5 big blind raise, this tactic can be used to pick up chips without having to risk your whole stack. Therefore this move should be one of your most effective strategies, although when you get short you can still resort to re-raising all-in or moving all-in yourself.

Just remember to think ahead, use your chips to steal effectively, and you should be able to put together some top three finishes!
 


Comments

when you come across an aggressive pot stealer and you have hit your hand, i find it almost always better to check all the way to the end and save your reraise for when he/she has bunged in a large pot steal bet....and away they go! Play like a Scared Puppy!!

Comment by Britishmade1973 - 21/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 21 Aug 2009 06:35

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