[gobboboy]

Until the average stack is around 20 big blinds, most raises that I make are not flatout steals. I'm very aggressive and very loose preflop when it comes to raising with suited connectors, suited aces, kings, etc. One of the key things is that calling reraises is a very poor idea unless you have a very strong hand. Aces smaller than AQ should immediately get thrown and all kings should get thrown unless he's a big bully and has shown down a lot of mediocre hands.

The key to stealing successfully is having a good image. Don't show down a lot of bluffs. Even if you show down some bad hands, showing down the BEST hand is often the best way to get respect. This is one reason why chucking to a reraiser while out of position is key.

Honestly, stealing is one of the easiest things to do. All you need to do is raise and then fold when you get played back at. It may feel like you're being weaktight, but one of those times you're going to have a real hand. People really don't reraise light very often at all, though it feels like they're trying to bully you just about every time. People are afraid of your raises too.

On that note, NEVER OPEN RAISE MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE BIG BLIND. I see so many people open raise so much more than they have to. At the 1k/2k level, if someone is folding for an extra 4k, they will almost always fold for an extra 3k. Don't be throwing extra money out there. It makes it much easier to fold to a reraise because the odds don't drag you in and it hurts a lot less when you have to fold. It also lets you make much smaller bets after the flop. It's all about pot control.

I think, actually, something that a lot of people on 2+2 could work on better (instead of stealing, something which people do frequently but should pick their spots better in) is defending your blinds. People say "It's not your money, it's in the pot already." It's still money that you could be playing for. A lot of people in MTT's raise far too much late in a tournament. There are people who raise 9x the big blind for no reason. I recommend staying away from these people without a real hand. On the other hand, there are some people who minraise or do a smaller raise of about 3x the big blind. I love these people. When you're in the big blind, I recommend defending against a minraise with almost any two cards, and against a 3x raise I will call with suited one gappers, any pair, suited aces, big kings, hands like JT, and against some people when the blinds are large I call raises with things like J6o out of the blinds just because I can take the pot away from people.

One of the best examples of this is leading the flop. It is incredibly frustrating when people lead into me on the flop when I completely whiff, and your opponents will think that too. You can't do it that often, but leading the flop for a significant bet (half to two-thirds the pot) often will take it down right there.

Bear in mind that most of my blind defense suggestions apply not from UTG raises or raises from notoriously tight players. Give them respect unless you have a decent hand. Minraises though, I will almost always call. The pot is too big to let go for so few chips late in a tournament.

The best way to get better at blind defense and stealing is working on your postflop play. Figure out what different bets mean, what different kinds of players do at certain times and with certain hands. Experience is vitally important for this, and postflop play is something that everyone (even 2+2ers) can work on. I'm not trying to sound snobby here, since I will be the first to admit that I am about a 5 out of 10 on my postflop play sometimes.

Mix up your play, try something different every once in a while. Being unpredictable is a great way to improve your game and picking up a lot of pots. When your range is possibly any two cards, people be confused a LOT of the time.