Stud Poker Strategy - Stealing the Ante

  Polite society frowns upon the act of stealing. Unless you work in the hip-hop music industry, where felonious behavior gives your personality an interesting and marketable edge, you should avoid taking what isnt yours. You can suspend this rule when playing stud poker. Stealing the ante not only will not result in punishment, but you do a little victory dance while saying neener neener to your opponents.  The basic idea of stealing ante is to win this money with cards that so weak they would need the help of Charles Atlas to even become mediocre. Some actually frown on the idea of stealing antes. These are the players who themselves as big game hunters going for the big pot. This is the same flawed logic that suggests a good player should only try to hit home runs. Hitting for average is a big part of the game, as is stealing the ante in poker.  First of all, stealing antes can stack up over time and add money to your annual earnings. In normal games your pot odds are good enough to show a good profit if you succeed in stealing the pot about 40% of the time. Sometimes your pot odds may not be that good, but you still may be able to steal the pot. About 12% of the time you are going to get a card that sends a shiver of fear through your opponents (such as a King or an Ace). Betting to represent a big pair may inspire your opponents to fold and try again on the next hand. Being the bully on Fourth Street is a good way to steal the occasional pot.  A less known aspect of stealing the ante is that it adds deception to your overall game. If the only time you raise is when you have a legitimate hand, you opponents will simply fold when you start to raise. A good time to consider stealing is when you either have the highest up-card or the second highest up-card. The cards you have in your hand dont matter. If you are holding a 2, 4, and 5 all of different suits, it is irrelevant as long as your up-card is scary. You can create the illusion your hand is a legitimate threat. By stealing you will keep your opponents off balance, especially if they get the idea in their heads that you might raise with nothing. This will increase the value of the big hands you get, and result in a nice pot when you have the nuts.  Be sure to evaluate the competition before trying to steal. If your opponent is more aggressive, be more cautious. If it seems to you that somebody is trying to steal the ante, you should try to steal it back. A good time to try this is if you have a bigger up-card than them.  Sometimes it pays off to be a thief in the night. There are short and long term benefits to stealing the ante. Remember, home run hitters strike out most of the time.