Steal

A late-position open aimed first at picking up the blinds

Definition

A steal is an open raise from late position — CO, BTN — or from the SB, whose primary goal is to pick up the blinds (and antes) without a fight. Hand strength matters less than the situation: few players are left to act, and there's dead money to collect. The math is simple: a 2.2bb open that wins the 1.5bb in blinds is already profitable if opponents fold about 60% of the time — before even counting your hand's equity when called. With MTT antes the starting pot grows and the break-even threshold drops below 50%: that's why steal ranges widen considerably in tournaments. The defense has a name of its own: the resteal, a light 3-bet that punishes over-frequent steals, plus wide BB defense. At a table where the blinds give up easily, widen your steals; against active restealers, tighten up and prepare some 4-bets.