http://www.apat.com/forum/index.php?topic=3496.msg60786#msg60786Ever since i replied to Robs thread something had been nagging at me,i was not happy with my answer and the more i thought about it the more i liked his move.Rob had been on the button with the big blind sitting out and he raised to steal the blinds with effectively only one player to act [1st situation] he was also creating a situation where by the small blind could make a play and 3 bet,Rob had the instinct to recognise this and produced a 4 bet all in [creative play] which is something i do not want him to stop doing or discourage.As replied it is better to do this with some idea/read of your villain/target but what i liked here was that he had the heart to attempt in the first place but also be aware of why he was doing it [not just blind aggression].
My thinking was that the SB thought I"d steal light given that the BB was a sit out. I thought he could easily 3 bet light here.
Rob then went on to say -
In hindsight, I can see that I would need a stronger read to do this again (I didn"t try it again!!) and a stronger hand if I did it for all my chips.
No No No !!!!! do it again Rob,you need to pull off moves like this to advance in mtts when you are card dead so you can at least maintain your stack whist waiting for a strong hand,just do not make a habit of it
BUT keep this sort of play in your arsenal by all means.
One other point that niggled me when i wrote in my reply to Rob was the selection of cards of doing it with [suited connectors,hands with showdown value etc etc] although being a bonus if called is not really how i feel/think stealing is about.To explain myself i mean any two cards are fine if you feel your opponent/opponents will fold nearly every time.
The reason i think that the cards do not matter is that if you factor in the strength of your cards as to when/why to re-steal then
you will miss opportunitys and missed opportunity equals less chips/deep runs in mtts.
The main objective is to play/manipulate the situation/player thus the cards are immaterial,when a player reaches this stage, now you are beginning to play poker for real !! not just making moves based on the strength of your own cards.
This should be the goal of anyone learning poker to try and reshape there game, shifting the emphasis from cards to situations.!!!!!!!
So Rob i will end this post with some situations/patterns that i look out for which i hope will help you [and anyone else who are interested]
1.I love situations where there is a weak raise (not weak in amount, but just a weak raise from a laggy person who I dont believe) and a flat call or two behind.I"m on the button say especially with a stack 13-25xbb or so, this spot is often ideal to just shove it in there with anything.Most of the time the only one you have to be worried about is the open raiser,it is risky sometimes but hey ho we are trying to win a mtt.When i say shove anything i mean anything 72o 94o etc etc.
2.I always try to pay attention on all orbit of hands and try to find out who"s/or maybe the bully of the pack and who folds the minute someone raises.Its the folders i notice as when they are in the blinds and it is folded to me in mp say then i"m raising to steal there blinds.
3.Image is important because without it [good image=good hands shown down] then forget stealing with trash for a few orbits.
4.Creating the situation - take that T9s utg and raise with it, representing a big pair or big paint. If the flop comes very big or very little, you can bet out and maybe win right there. But if the flop comes middleish? then thank the poker gods as now you can proceed in all sorts of creative and profitable ways. Why? Because you set up the situation by raising before the flop with an unlikely hand.
5.Another rather risky move is limping from ep and say two or three others call along and the big stack in the blinds raises it up [you know the sort,the aggressive lag]then now is the time to go all in. [not for the faint hearted]
6.As in Robs situation re-raise the lp raiser from the blinds are situations to be on the look out for but can also be a great spot to mix it up with the call from a blind and then a leadout on the flop. Some opponents who will recognize a preflop resteal make this attempt the better option as they will usually not play back here if they miss which is 1 in 3 after all they say [seems more to me sometimes
]
7.All in all i guess most of re-stealing will be done from the blinds,button,cut off and hi-jack positions but always be aware of stack sizes [your own and others]
8.Bubble play and nearing or on the final table i look for the survivalists trying to nit there way up the pay ladder and i try to apply pressure where possible.Easy to spot these guys they just fold hand after hand and when they see a flop it is fit or fold.
9.When one of my targets loves little pairs, and pushes them aggressively before the flop or is just plain aggressive and on my left.Then what i do in this situation is i call/limp with nothing Then/When, if the flop comes with high cards, i can bet out or check-raise and win the pot right there.
All the above are based on reading others or just guessing/instinct/gut feel and knowing stack sizes and being able to create enough fold equity.Please feel free to post any situations you see that crop up so that you can steal chips pre or post flop........
