♣ Stealing Blinds From the Cutoff and Button

You are on the button in a cash game. Everyone has folded to you. You hold K8 offsuit, a hand you would throw away from early position without a second thought. Here the question changes. It is no longer whether your hand is good. It is whether the two players left in the blinds are going to fight for the pot.

That is the idea behind stealing the blinds. When you are one of the last to act and nobody has entered the pot, raising with a wide range makes money even though many of your hands are mediocre, because the blinds often fold and you take the pot without seeing a flop.

Why position is worth so much

From the cutoff and the button you get two advantages at once. Few players are left to act behind you, so it is less likely someone holds a strong hand. And if you are called, you play the rest of the hand in position, acting after your opponent on every street.

Acting last means seeing what the other player does before you decide. You can bet when they check, keep the pot small when your hand is medium strength and decide with more information. That is why late positions win the most in almost any hand database you look at, and why your opening range should grow as you get closer to the button.

Which hands to open

You do not need to memorise a chart to start. Think in three groups and widen from there.

• From the cutoff: all pairs, nearly every suited ace, broadways (two cards ten or higher) and suited connectors such as 98s or 76s.
• From the button: everything above plus offsuit aces, kings with a medium kicker, high offsuit connectors and some suited one-gappers such as J8s or 97s.
• What to keep folding: low offsuit hands with no connection, such as 72o or 93o. They do not win enough when you get called.

Suited and connected hands are worth more than they look because, when you get called, they make flushes and straights often enough to keep betting on the flop. An offsuit K2 looks better because of the high card, but when you pair the king against someone who called, you are often behind with a weak kicker.

Raise size

You do not need a big raise to steal the blinds. An open of two to two and a half big blinds is usually enough in online cash games. You risk less when you get re-raised and the blinds fold almost as often as they would against a bigger raise.

In live games, where players call more, many regulars raise a little bigger with their strong range. What matters is using the same size with your whole stealing range, so the size does not tell your opponent whether you hold AA or 86s.

Look at who is in the blinds

The range you open depends as much on who is waiting as on you. Before you raise, look at the two players in the blinds and ask how they defend.

• If they fold too much: open wider. Every steal that works wins the whole pot without a fight.
• If they call a lot and play poorly after the flop: open hands that play well on the flop, such as suited connectors and suited aces, and value bet more often.
• If they re-raise often (3-bet): tighten a little and decide in advance which hands you will call or re-raise with, because the most marginal hands lose money when you face a 3-bet.

If you keep a session log, note how each regular at the table defends. After a few sessions you will know who to steal from more and who to steal from less.

After the flop

Stealing does not end when you are called. If the big blind calls and checks the flop, a small continuation bet wins many pots, especially on boards with high cards that favour your opening range. On low, connected boards that hit the defender's range harder, check more often and play carefully.

The positional edge carries on to the turn and river. Use it to keep the pot manageable with medium hands and to bet when your opponent shows weakness by checking twice.

Common mistakes

• Opening the same range from every seat, as if the button were the same as early position.
• Stealing with an oversized raise that risks too much when you get re-raised.
• Continuing to steal against a big blind who re-raises every hand, without adjusting.
• Giving up on the flop every time you are called, which throws away the positional edge.

A drill for your next session

For one session, every time it folds to you in the cutoff or on the button, write down your hand and what you did. At the end, count how often you folded hands that sit inside the ranges above. For most recreational players that number is the first leak worth closing.

18+ | Play responsibly. This content is educational and does not promote gambling operators.