Stealing

  We really hate to argue with the logic of major motion pictures, but according the Jurassic Park Velociraptors were six feet tall minions of death itself. In reality most of them were about the size of Gary Coleman, and much of their diet included eggs, not Laura Dern. One of the most famous fossils of all time is a Velociraptor locked in combat with a Protoceratops. Most scientists think these two died during a fight that ensued when the mother ceratopsian caught the little egg thief red handed. The lesson we can take from these dinosaurs is that stealing is a good way to make a living.  For those who are not aware of what stealing a pot is, this is the practice of bluffing before the flop and getting everyone to fold. Basically you win the blinds and the initial bets by default and all it cost you was the effort involved to lie in a credible manner. Now that you know what stealing the pot is, the question is when is the best time to do this?  Conventional wisdom says that the best time to steal is when you are sitting in the late position. From this position you obviously get the opportunity to act after everyone else has acted. If nobody in front of you has displayed any sort of strength, you attack like a Viking on PCP. In other words, you will raise aggressively. If nobody else is showing strength it either means they are slowplaying or that they really don't have anything. If your opponents are generally dealing with small pairs and hole cards that can only develop into decent hands, then they will probably fold to your aggression.  This works best with players who are just starting to learn the game. It will also work against intermediate and expert players, but if do that too often playing against experienced players, they will figure you out quickly. So space your steal attempts out more than you would when playing against the novices.  When playing folks who have some experience, you might want to try to steal out of position. Trying this from an early position may throw them off a bit. Of course the hazard here is that there are plenty of players behind you that can make things uncomfortable if they have any cards worth playing.  Good Luck!