If you are playing on more than one table at a time and you utilize a advanced Dewavegas strategy then you are using an advanced poker strategy that involves some thought and planning ahead. Using only this strategy on a single table can make your opponents believe you have no hand and allow you to steal blinds and antes.
Stolen from Ed Miller
In his excellent book, Ed Miller teaches the player how to identify gears in other players’ moves and to use them to your advantage. The gears WERE used by the professionals, but the novice players still use them and profit.
The advanced poker players will use gears to their advantage to steal pots and blinds, but they will use them in the opposite way than the pros. The pros always raise with small pocket Pairs, because they know that most opponents will be Calling-to-Army with any hand, so they simply want to hit a flop. You can’t steal the blinds with a 10-8, because everyone will call with a 10.
Unlike the other parts of your strategy, stealing the blinds is a position you will always be in, regardless of table conditions. I know you’ve read that before, but it’s true. The better you get at stealing the blinds the more pots you steal. The secret is learning when to switch gears and how to lever as much profit as possible out of your opponents when they don’t expect it.
Your objective should be to increase your runs on your starting hands – not increase your blinds steals. It should be the complete opposite. You should be comfortable with the fact that you are always going to be in a pot, no matter what cards you have.
completed rotation to enemy table, you should switch gears and play a lot more hands from your new location. Most of your opponents won’t have readjusted, so you can take advantage of them. If you are in the blind, a flop from an opponent to the blinds that gives you straight or flush draws – you should call. Why? Because you still have a hand. Even if it isn’t the nuts, you have a chance of still winning the hand.
Most players that struggle with giving up blinds will get into a habit of defending their blinds too religiously. Do not let this become a pattern. They are taking a blind away from you. Section your blinds off into little sections and only defend your monster hands. Do not defend your small blind, only defend your big blind.
Stealing the blinds should only be done in a situation where you have a monster hand, like a set or a flush. When you steal the blind, the other player doesn’t have to worry about it. They will already have a half-clear shot at the flop anyway, meaning they will have to fold to any attempt to steal it again. Give them the opportunity to raise and they will most likely fold.
Stealing the blinds can also come from anywhere on the table. If someone has been raising a lot of the blinds in front of you, and you know that you have a solid hand, you can choose to call on the blinds in order to steal them. Don’t always raise with the first hand you have. Choose to raise with certain hands like pocket pairs or suited connectors. When you have a flopped straight, you want to make sure that you get some action. Raise from the cutoff or the button, and watch the flop to see if you have a set.
Stealing the blinds from the button or the cut-off is always good for a couple of reasons. First, it can help you in the later stages of the tournament, when the stakes are a lot higher. When you are in the late stages, stealing the blinds can give you a strong advantage over your opponents, as they will be mostly playing from hands when they are in position.
Stealing the blinds to build your stack is also useful in the middle stages of the tournament, when you have more opponents but your stack is low. When you get a large stack in the middle rounds, you can begin to push around players with average stacks. When you get a short stack in the middle rounds, you can wait it out and play for free.
In the end, the advantages you have over your opponents when you are playing on the button are very significant. Try to steal the blinds on a regular basis to add to your profits. Learn when a steal is advisable and you will be able to do it without waiting for the right cards.