Steal Blinds Victim
Stealing blinds is an important part of tournament poker. When we say "stealing blinds" that suggests your starting hand isn't that great, otherwise it wouldn't be considered a steal, but an opening raise.
Who is your best victim? You might first assume that a bad player is the best target. Not always. When you raise to steal blinds with a crappy hand, this is considered a bluff or a semi-bluff. Bluffing or semi-bluffing into a bad player isn't a good idea because bad players call with all kinds of hands, putting you in a bad spot the rest of the hand.
Example: You try to steal raise with 96 into a bad player's big blind. He, of course, calls. The flop is Q-4-2. You bet, hoping he will fold, and he calls -- as you should expect. The turn is a blank: Q-4-2-5. Now what? You can bet again or check. Neither option is good.
You bet the turn as a complete bluff, and he calls again (or you check the turn). Then what? Will you bet again or check? Say you check the river and he wins with A7, J5, or K3 or some other trash hand, or worse you fire again and bleed off a bunch of chips, making the guy look like a genius.
Who played badly? You did. The best target for stealing against is someone who is predictable and capable of folding -- often times good players. Bluffs and semi-bluffs work mainly because the opponent is willing to fold when he/she doesn't have much, unlike a bad player. You take away that factor and the move loses most of its potency.
To repeat the hand above with a good player: You raise, most likely he would fold unless he has a decent hand. He defends and calls. We can now assume he has something of value, but most likely nothing great or he would have reraised (never just assume someone has a great hand and is trapping you). The flop is Q-4-2. You continuation bet. Now your bet will most likely work a lot of the time unless he has a piece of the flop, and if he does, you can easily bow down. If he has a hand like KT or A7, or something, chances are he will muck. And had he held something like J5 or Q3, most likely you would have already won.
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