Steal

Also known as: blind steal, steal attempt, stealing

A late-position open-raise aimed primarily at winning the blinds (and antes) uncontested.

A steal is an open raise from late position — typically the CO, button, or small blind — whose primary profit comes from folding out the blinds and collecting the dead money. The button is the prime stealing seat: only two players remain, you have guaranteed postflop position, and a wide range realizes equity well.

Steal ranges are wide and roughly linear/merged — you're not polarizing, you simply take every hand with enough equity and playability to profit, often 45%+ from the button. The immediate profitability is a fold-equity calculation: risking \(R\) to win a pot of \(P\), you profit instantly when folds exceed \(\dfrac{R}{P+R}\); a 2.5bb steal into 1.5bb of blinds breaks even on folds alone at \(\dfrac{2.5}{1.5+2.5}=62.5\%\), and you still have equity when called.

In tournaments, antes and the BBA massively boost steal value by enlarging the dead money, so correct late-position steal ranges are wider than in ante-less cash. The counter to over-stealing is wide blind defense and resteals.