ATS in poker — stealing the blinds

Not all profit in poker comes from big pots. Part of the result is formed by small pots where we pick up the blinds without resistance. At first glance, such pots seem insignificant, but over the long run they're exactly what helps compensate for the mandatory losses on the SB and BB.

A typical situation comes up constantly: everyone before us has folded, we're on the button, and only two players remain on the blinds behind us. The hand looks medium, for example K♠️2♠️ or Q♣️4♣️, and a beginner often sends it to the muck. A more experienced player looks wider: how carefully the blinds defend, what opening size will be sufficient, what combinations the hand can make in position, and whether we can take the pot right here and now.

This is where the concept of stealing blinds kicks in — one of the fundamentals of modern preflop strategy. Strong players don't wait only for premium hands. They use situations where the structure of the hand itself creates an opportunity for profit: no active players ahead of them, a favorable position, and blinds that often have to defend with uncomfortable hands.

The ATS stat is used to evaluate this kind of aggression. It helps understand how often a player attempts to steal blinds, how wide they open from late positions, and whether we can adjust against them through more active defense.

In this article, we'll break down what ATS is in poker, how a steal works, from which positions it's best to steal blinds, which ranges and sizings to use, how to adapt to different opponents, and what to do if the blinds keep trying to steal from us.

What is ATS in poker

ATS (attempt to steal) is an attempt to steal blinds. In poker, this stat represents the frequency of raises from late positions in situations where everyone before us has folded. ATS shows how often a player uses the opportunity to be the first to open the pot from a position where few opponents remain before the blinds.

Openings from CO, BTN, and SB are usually included in the calculation.

We discussed in more detail what positions exist in poker and how to correctly assess their impact on our strategy in this article. Go check it out.

Some trackers may also account for HJ, but in the basic understanding, ATS is tied specifically to late positions. If a player opens from UTG or MP, that's a regular open-raise, not a steal. The reason is simple: too many opponents remain behind them, so the purpose of the action isn't really a direct attack on the blinds.

The formula for the stat looks like this: ATS = number of steal attempts / number of steal opportunities × 100

For example, if a player had 100 opportunities to open from CO, BTN, or SB, and raised 38 times, their ATS would be 38%.

A few conditions must be taken into account. Only situations where no one has raised or limped* before the player are included in the statistics. If there was already action before them, their raise no longer counts as a steal attempt. A limp is also not included in ATS, because a steal implies pressure via a raise.

*A limp is an action on the preflop where a player calls the mandatory big blind bet instead of raising.

We talked in more detail about limpers and why playing through a limp is most often a mistake in this article.

ATS doesn't show whether a player's hands are good or bad. It shows the frequency with which a player attacks the blinds. A player can also open from the button with aces or kings, and that will still count toward the ATS statistic, even though the goal here is no longer to take the blinds but to earn value* through resistance.

*Value is the profit you expect to get from your bet when you believe you have the best hand. A value bet is a bet aimed at getting paid off by worse hands.

That's why this stat needs to be read carefully. A high ATS doesn't mean the player is always bluffing. It means their opening range from late positions is wider than that of a tight opponent.

What is a blind steal

A steal is an attempt to take the mandatory bets with a preflop raise. The pot is already formed by the small blind and big blind + ante. These chips lie in the middle of the table before the players have made a voluntary decision to participate in the hand. That's the whole point of the move. We're not fighting for an empty pot, but for chips that other players have already put in.

If everyone before us has folded and we open from a late position, the players on the blinds are left with a choice — defend out of position or give up the pot. Many hands on the SB and BB look acceptable, but realize their equity poorly after the flop. That's why opponents are forced to fold part of their range.

Over the long run, these pots matter a lot. A player inevitably loses chips when they're on the SB and BB themselves. Even good blind defense doesn't make these positions profitable in absolute terms. That's why strong players compensate for part of these losses through active opens from late positions.

A steal differs from a regular open-raise* not only in position, but also in logic. From an early position, we're opening against a large number of players and more often build our range around hand strength. From the button or small blind, we more often consider how willing our opponents are to defend their mandatory bets. That's exactly why the same hand can be a fold from UTG, a standard open from CO, and a mandatory steal from BTN against tight blinds.

*An open raise is the first increase of the bet in a hand on the preflop, i.e. before any other actions have been taken. It allows a player to seize the initiative, start building the pot, and control the flow of the hand.

Which positions are best for stealing blinds

Stealing blinds is directly tied to position. The fewer players remain behind us, the wider we can open. But each late position has its own logic.

1. Cutoff is the first position from which a steal becomes a regular part of the strategy. After us remain the button, small blind, and big blind. This is already a fairly favorable situation, but the range here should be more cautious than on the button.

The main reason is the BTN sitting behind us. The player on the button will act after us on every street if they decide to enter the hand. That's why opening too wide from CO quickly becomes vulnerable to calls and 3-bets from a strong opponent in position. If the button is passive and rarely 3-bets, the opening range widens. If the button is aggressive and understands positional pressure well, it's better to fold part of the borderline hands.

2. The button is the best position for stealing. Only SB and BB remain after us. Even if one of them defends with a call, we'll play the entire postflop in position. This gives a big advantage: we see the opponent's actions before making our own decision, can choose sizings more precisely, and realize equity better even with medium-strength hands.

That's exactly why ATS on the button is usually higher than on CO and SB. Against tight blinds, the button can open a very wide range. Sometimes it's enough that opponents fold too often preflop, and the steal becomes profitable almost regardless of hand strength.

But that doesn't mean you should automatically open any two cards from BTN. If the blinds defend actively, 3-bet often, and play postflop well, the range needs to be narrowed. The profitability of a steal doesn't come from position alone, but from the combination of position, fold equity*, and the ability to realize the hand after a call.

*Fold equity is the probability that one player will fold in response to another player's bet.

3. Stealing from the small blind differs from stealing on the button. Formally, only one opponent remains before us — the BB. So it seems we could open very wide. But there's an important limitation: if the BB defends, we play the entire postflop out of position. This is exactly what changes the strategy.

From SB, the opening range depends heavily on how the big blind defends. If the opponent folds often, we can attack them very wide. If they defend with a call against almost their entire playable range, or actively use 3-bets, opening weak hands becomes less profitable.

That's why SB is a position where the opponent's stats are especially important. Against a nit, a steal can be almost automatic. Against an aggressive regular, you have to open more carefully and figure out in advance how you'll act against a 3-bet or call.

Normal ATS values

ATS can't be evaluated without considering the game format, position, and table composition. But benchmarks help understand an opponent's overall style. We can roughly identify several ranges.

ATS below 20% usually indicates a tight player. Such an opponent rarely steals blinds and more often opens with a strong range. Against them, it's not worth mindlessly widening your defense, because their raise from a late position doesn't necessarily mean weakness.

ATS 25–40% is the standard range for many regular players. The player understands the value of late positions, but doesn't open excessively wide.

ATS 50%+ indicates a loose* steal strategy. Such an opponent actively attacks the blinds, and against them, you can already defend wider, use more 3-bets, and look for restealing opportunities.

*A loose player is a participant who plays a large number of starting hands, even if they have minimal potential to make a competitive combination.

But the number itself matters less than its structure. A strong player doesn't have the same ATS on CO, BTN, and SB. Usually the stat is highest on the button, lower on CO, and heavily dependent on the BB opponent when playing from the small blind.

How to adapt your steal to opponents

A strong ATS strategy isn't built around a fixed range, but around adjustments.

If a BB's Fold to Steal is above 40%, we can open significantly wider than the standard range. The opponent is giving us profit themselves, because they defend the mandatory bet too rarely. In such situations, a steal becomes an automatic source of EV. This is especially noticeable in tournaments with antes, where the starting pot is larger.

Against players who rarely fold but prefer to call a 3-bet, the steal range needs to be rebuilt. Here it's better to open hands that play well postflop — suited aces, broadway hands, pocket pairs, suited connectors. Weak offsuit hands lose value, because we'll see the flop more often and need to be able to realize equity.

Against aggressive defense, you can't keep opening too wide without a plan. You need to understand in advance which hands you're folding, which you're calling with, which you're using for a 4-bet, and which you're opening for value.

If the opponent often restealsm but folds a lot to a 4-bet, you can add some bluff 4-bets. If they're aggressive and don't like to give up, it's better to narrow the opening range and continue more often with strong hands.

How to defend against a steal

If a steal is one of the main sources of profit for a player in late positions, then sound blind defense becomes a mandatory part of the strategy. The more often we give up the mandatory bets without a fight, the more profitable it becomes for opponents to open with virtually any hands.

However, blinds also need to be defended wisely. Playing too tight lets opponents take the pot with impunity, while defending too wide leads to a lot of difficult decisions postflop.

The main task is to find a balance between these extremes.

1. Defending via call

Calling remains the most common way to defend the big blind. This decision suits hands that aren't strong enough for a 3-bet, but realize their equity well once the flop comes out.

The simplest advice for defense: fold weak offsuit hands, because they play poorly out of position, and defend everything else, evaluating possible lines of play based on the flop.

2. Defending via 3-bet

The second way to fight a steal is aggressive re-raising. In a situation where we're on the BB and the SB player has raised against us, a 3-bet puts significant pressure on the opponent's wide opening range.

This works especially well against players with a high ATS. If an opponent opens more than half of all hands from the button, their range inevitably contains a large number of weak combinations. That's exactly why it's profitable to attack part of such opens with a bluff 3-bet. The best hands for this are ones with blockers: offsuit and suited low aces (A2o, A3s, etc.) and offsuit and suited low kings (K2o, K3s, etc.).

At the same time, it's important to remember that aggression should be deliberate. If the opponent practically never folds to a 3-bet, you should focus on a value range and drop the bluffs.

Common mistakes when stealing

Even when understanding the general principles of stealing blinds, many players regularly make mistakes that reduce the profitability of this strategy.

1. Using the same range against any opponent

The most common mistake is opening the same way regardless of who's sitting on the blinds. In practice, the range should constantly be adjusted. Against tight players, it can be widened. Against aggressive opponents who actively use 3-bets, it's better to drop some borderline hands instead.

2. Lack of a postflop plan

Sometimes a player successfully opens, gets called, and immediately gets lost once the flop comes out. In reality, a steal doesn't end at preflop. Even before opening, it's useful to understand how your hand plays in position, which boards suit your range, and which lines you'll use against different types of opponents.

Conclusion

There's no universal ATS percentage that suits every game. Some tables allow you to open with practically any playable hand, while others require a much more cautious approach. It's exactly the ability to adapt to specific opponents that distinguishes strong players from those who act by template.

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