Stealing Blinds
Stealing blinds is an essential skill when it comes to poker. Sure, the monster pots and the big hands get all the attention, but those pots tend to be few and far between. The big gunners who are always looking for the big score tend to be reckless and often set themselves up for huge hits to their stacks, while the guys who sit back and rake in the small pots slowly build up their stacks.
It seems like the players who end up winning poker tournaments are the ones who you don’t notice until the last few rounds. That’s because these guys are staying out of most of the huge pots, preferring instead to build their stack with smaller, more consistent pots. While some people like to take every hand to showdown, this tendency to chase excitement usually leads to an empty wallet at the end of the night.
Think about it-you don’t see any bad beats if you don’t see the flop, and you win every hand that your opponents fold to you. If you’ve got a middle to low pair or you find yourself in position with weak opponents, start snatching up some blinds. Before you know it, you’ll have a healthy stack and you’ll opponents, recognizing that you’re a more aggressive poker player, will start playing more tentatively around you.
