Stealing the Blinds from Middle Position Builds Your Stack and Reputation

While it is common knowledge that people will actively try and steal blinds from late position, this is not something that a beginner player will often try to do in No Limit holdem game. This is a critical mistake as you not only add money to your stack, but you add some power to your reputation at the table in Texas Holdem Poker game. It is not something that you should do on every turn, but one out of every half dozen or so will pay off.

When you are sitting in middle position and have the hand folded around to you, it is an ideal situation. If this is something that happens regularly on the table, it is an opportunity that must be taken advantage of. The fact that it is happening a lot is a sign of a very tight table and this is something that can be exploited without being greedy.

By the time betting gets around to middle position, a bet of 3 or 4 times the blinds will be enough to scare most people out of the hand unless they are packing a hand. There is not an abundance of people behind you to make it worthwhile for someone with questionable starting hands to take a shot on a large pot, so you should be in pretty good shape. If someone does call and you are sitting on a weak hand, you pretty much know where you stand right off the bat.

If the betting holds true to the blinds, there is little to no incentive for them to call as the odds are hardly in their favor for an isolation hand. If they call and fire, you have something to worry about, but it is more likely that they would let the hand go unless they were holding or planning to make a move against you for stealing the blinds.

The two main concerns when you are doing this move are to not go after the same BB all the time and to not do it too often. If the same person continues to be pushed, it is only a matter of time until they push back. They will wait for a hand and then make a monster move to get you to put your stack in the middle of the table. This is a situation that must be avoided.

Not doing it too often is just as important as you cannot give away your strategy. If you steal blinds from the middle every time around, someone is going to catch on and set you up for a big hand. Again, this must be avoided. Build your stack by stealing their blinds, but don’t be a pig about it. If this is done the right way, that stack will be grow to a hefty size and give you more ammo for when you actually do get a hand.