Stealing the Pot

When a player tries to 'steal the pot' they are playing with an inferior hand whilst trying to represent a stronger hand than that of their opponents. Should their opponents fold their hand, the player would have pulled off a successful bluff and will have stolen the pot (as they didn't have the cards to win).

This is a common part of poker as players always have hole cards meaning that their opponents will only be able to judge on a players hand strength by their actions. This play is common when a player feels that their opponents have shown weakness, or the pot size warrants, knowing that if they put in a sizeable raise, that their opponents could fold and give them the pot.

Of course knowing when to bluff is also beneficial as particularly in no-limit games, trying to steal the pot can be devastating to your stack, particularly if you run into a big hand. The trick is really only to bet enough to get your opponent to fold without compromising your stack. When a player is short stacked, it is more common for a player to declare all-in which means they would either double up (at least) or be eliminated (unless a re-buy is available).