I’d like to start my ITH tenure with what will be a lesson in sucking eggs for many of you I am sure…but a nice, simple article to help you guys gets to know me. I heard a quote recently (no idea who said it so if anyone knows could they PM me?). It went something along the lines of: “Whoever invented poker was clever; whoever invented the chip was a genius.”

The Sit-And-Go – particularly the Turbo SNG – demonstrates how accurate the aforementioned quote is. With the small number of entrants relative to increasing blind structure, chips do the talking in a SNG and cards basically settle disputes between those that like to throw their chips in the middle. It’s a chip game, not a card game.

Because you don't get dealt AA every other hand, you need a way of winning chips without being dealt cards. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by stealing blinds pre-flop. When things are going right, you can win a SNG purely by stealing blinds and never having to catch a hand. When things aren’t going too well, you need to be stealing blinds just to keep yourself afloat. This is also the case in MTTs, but let’s stick to SNGs for the purpose of this discussion. Because it is much sooner you are thrown into that end game dynamic.

In the early stages of a SNG, I will play in the same fashion in which I would approach a cash game. I muck 99 percent of the time and I will only really play a premium hand. If someone wants to steal a few of my chips then they are welcome to them. They're only getting action off me if they are beat. There is no benefit to trying to take down blinds at this stage. They are too small to benefit your stack and you are not putting any pressure on your opponents whatsoever.

Blind-stealing should start around the middle to late levels. I might get jiggy and start taking a stab at them at the 50/100 level, but the 75/150 level is when it starts to make an impact. From this point on, the blinds are eating players alive and the action remains predominantly preflop, with most pots being taken down uncontested. Because we rarely see a flop by this point, most of the time you don't actually need a hand to win a pot. The important thing is that your opponent doesn't have one. The reason why blind-stealing works so effectively in the latter stages is because to call a strong raise at this point would essentially commit your opponent’s entire tournament to one hand. So it needs to be very strong.

Position is important when stealing blinds. If you start raising with junk from under the gun at a relatively full table, it won’t be long before you run into a decent hand. And at this stage, players will respect your UTG bet less because they need a hand soon themselves, and suddenly pocket sixes look like a quads to them. The button is perhaps the optimal position to raise from. You are in position if you do get a caller, and with only the blinds left you are less likely to run into a hand. A lot of players will know what you are up to on the button, which is why the cut-off can also work too because you are less likely to arouse suspicion. The battle between big blind/small blind is perhaps where the most stealing will occur. The most important thing to consider when thinking of where to steal from is making sure you are the first person to act. If someone enters the pot before you then they clearly have something, so stealing at this point – most of the time – is not a great idea.

Steal From the Rich, Steal From the Poor

In addition to where you steal from, who you steal from is equally important. Observe your table and determine who it is you are going to get your chips from, and who is going to put up a fight. I personally have no problem with somebody pillaging my big blind as long as I know I'm getting it back somewhere else on the table. Some very good players will know what you are up to and reraise you with nothing. Other poor players might actually be pleased they have J10 and be happy enough to call with it. Note those players and stay out of pots with them. Fortunately, for every one of those types there are other players who either refuse to call with a marginal hand or are just hanging on for dear life to make it to a paid spot. Those are your bread and butter, and even if it means stretching your position a little you should be making your moves at those people.

Don’t let stack size intimidate you. Some of the easiest people to steal from are the rich. If the chip leader is thus because he has only played two hands and they were AA and KK, he won’t be calling off his advantage to your advances at his blind. Medium stacks are the easiest to rob because they are not in desperation mode yet and can afford to wait a little longer for a hand to get their chips in with. Small stacks can also be easy to bully because they don't have the chips to reraise you, and even if you lose a showdown you will still be alive and kicking. However, make sure you are aware when you are pot-committing some of the smaller stacks at the table, because you don’t want to lose a chunk of chips when their 10-high holds up.

A Thief’s Image

Most players will know exactly what you are up to. But even though you are stealing, try and create an image of tightness. Prior to and during the blind stealing period, if you raise up a good hand like AK or 99, consider showing if the table folds. People remember (and player note) more when you show a few hands, and the lazy thing that is the human mind will associate your raising of hands with having good cards. If you get reraised off a hand, pause for a moment, tell them you have something like KQ or A10, and then fold. They might not believe you, but others at the table will. Now and then, give someone a walk. For example, give them your small blind for free. Passing up a chance to steal from them now will make it harder to defend next time, with the other player(s) bearing in mind that you don't raise every hand.

How much to raise then? I keep it very simple. If I have 13 big blinds or more, I will make my standard three times BB raise (leaving me with at least 10 BB if I get taken off the hand). I won’t bet less, because you are giving people good odds to call. But three big blinds is enough for someone not to play unless they have something good. If I have less than 10 big blinds I will just shove all in. With less than 10 big blinds you are committed to the hand anyway if you are going to play it, so I favor the all in move because there is no defense against it. Your opponent has to have the best hand to call.

If I have a good hand I don’t mind seeing to a show down. I don’t do anything different (unless it’s a monster, I might limp if its AA or KK to ensure action). I’m still happy to pick up the blinds alone at this stage with a pair or AK, and people will smell a rat if I play the hand any differently to the previous 50 blind steals. Sometimes I might slightly manipulate my bet to make it look like I am leaving myself room to fold if someone comes over the top of me, in the hope that someone comes over the top of me! For example, if I get dealt JJ, the blinds are at 50/100 and I have 1730 in chips, I might bet 230 in chips, which leaves me 1500 in chips if I fold to a raise. This looks like a healthy amount to retain and some of the better players might pick up on this and fall into my trap.

You’ll be fully aware at the times when someone else is stealing everyone’s blinds. They’re either raising one too many hands or have had their hand caught in the cookie jar. Every now and then you might want to resteal from these people – reraising their standard raise and representing a huge hand. The best position to do this from is the small blind, because you already have a little invested in the pot anyway and the action before him will make it almost impossible for the big blind to participate in the hand. Not only does this create a potentially big pot to win, but it will send a message to the table that they will have to find their blinds elsewhere. This move is arguably less effective from the big blind because it will be seen as defending your blind as opposed to representing a big hand. A great time to practice this move is if the player to your left has been disconnected, everyone will want his blind and he is not going to re-pop you himself.

As a rule though, keep blind-stealing simple. Make sure you are the first person to act in the pot, and if you are not comfortable stealing with 48 off suit, perhaps preserve your stealing range for speculative hands like KJ, suited connectors, etc…basically, hands where you might suckout if you are forced into a showdown/seeing a flop. Keep doing it until you get caught out, and tighten up a little after you’ve been exposed for the thief you are.