At a glance
- On the HUD
- ATS
- Formula
open-raises from CO, BTN or SB / times it folded to them there- Typical range
28–55%
- Where it shows
- In the player database, where you can see every stat for a player (not on the table badges).
- Read hint
- Above: Steals wide: re-steal lighter.
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
A steal is an open from late position aimed at the blinds. With only two or three players left to act, an open wins the 1.5 bb in the blinds often enough that a wide range of hands can raise. ATS counts every such open, whatever the hand: an open with aces counts the same as one with 72 offsuit.
It’s raise first in limited to three seats: the cutoff, the button and the small blind. Opens from earlier seats don’t count, and neither do raises over limpers, which are iso-raises. A limp from those seats, including a small-blind complete, is a chance without a steal.
The other half of the spot is the blinds’ answer: fold to steal, 3-bet vs steal and BB defend vs steal. A steal is only as good as those numbers let it be.
How it’s calculated
- A chance: a raise-first-in chance in the cutoff, on the button or in the small blind, meaning everyone before them folded and nobody limped.
- Counts: if they open-raised.
- A chance without a steal: folding, or limping (completing, in the small blind).
The formula is open-raises from CO, BTN or SB ÷ times it folded to them there. It’s kept by seat, so the cutoff, button and small blind each have their own number.
Example: in one session it folds to Theo 10 times in the cutoff, 12 times on the button and 8 times in the small blind. He opens 4, 9 and 2 of them, so his ATS is 15 ÷ 30 = 50%: 40% in the cutoff (4 ÷ 10), 75% on the button (9 ÷ 12) and 25% in the small blind (2 ÷ 8). His small blind looks tight, but he completed 5 of those 8, so it’s passive rather than tight. Pair the seat number with open limp to tell the two apart.
Why it matters
Every steal is partly a bet that everyone left to act gives up. Open the button to 2.5 bb and you’re risking 2.5 to pick up 1.5, which shows a profit straight away if the blinds both let it go more than 2.5 ÷ 4 = 62.5% of the time. Opening to 2 bb lowers that to 2 ÷ 3.5 = 57.1%; opening to 3 bb raises it to 3 ÷ 4.5 = 66.7%. From the small blind, a raise to 3 bb puts in 2.5 more to win the 1.5 in the middle, which also needs 62.5%, but only one player has to fold.
Within the HUD’s typical ranges, the blinds never fold that much together. Even a small blind at 85% and a big blind at 62%, the tops of their ranges, both fold only 0.85 × 0.62 = 52.7% of the time, treating them as independent. Steals still work because the stealer has position and usually the stronger range when called, but it means a wide stealer depends on winning after the flop and is exposed to blinds who fight back.
For you, ATS sets how wide to defend and re-steal. The wider their steals, the more of your blind hands are ahead of their range, and the more often a 3-bet from the blinds takes the pot straight away.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 28%
What it says
Under 28%, the player opens from late position not much wider than from early position. They wait for real hands and let the blinds through, often because they don’t treat position as a reason to raise. Their late-position opens are strong, and their button range looks a lot like everyone else’s early-position range. Compare their early-seat raise first in: if it’s about the same, they play one range from every seat.
How to exploit it
- Respect their late opens. From the blinds, fold hands like K9o, QTo and small suited gappers, and 3-bet mostly for value.
- Don’t re-steal light. A tight stealer calls or 4-bets your 3-bet bluffs with a range that’s ahead of them.
- Call in position or from the big blind with pairs and suited hands that flop well, rather than bloating the pot preflop.
- If the low number comes from limping (a high open limp in those seats), they aren’t tight: raise their limps instead.
About right: 28–55%
What it says
Most players steal inside this band, and the seats spread it out: a solid player’s button number is well above their cutoff number, with the small blind depending on whether they raise or complete against the big blind. Inside the range, the blinds’ responses decide who profits more than the stealer’s number does. Theo’s 50% from the example sits here, but when he opens the button, his 75% there is the number that matters.
How to exploit it
- Defend by seat. Against cutoff opens, defend tighter from the blinds than against button opens, because the cutoff range is narrower.
- Use the opener’s badge. Facing an open, it shows their RFI from the seat they opened and their fold to 3-bet. A button RFI near 55% with a fold to 3-bet over 65% is a good re-steal target even when the overall ATS looks ordinary.
- From the small blind, 3-bet or fold more than you call, since the big blind still acts behind you.
Too high: over 55%
What it says
Over 55%, the player opens most of the times it folds to them late, and the HUD’s read is direct: “Steals wide: re-steal lighter.” Their range includes plenty of weak offsuit hands and small suited hands that can’t call a 3-bet. Often this is a player who has learned the button is the best seat and pushes it hard, or one who raises any two cards once everyone else folds.
How to exploit it
- Re-steal lighter: 3-bet from the blinds with your strong hands plus suited aces, suited kings and offsuit broadways.
- Size the re-steal bigger out of position, so calling costs them more with a weak hand.
- Defend the big blind wider by calling, especially against small opens. Against a 2 bb button open, the big blind calls 1 more into 0.5 + 1 + 2 = 3.5 bb, so it needs only 1 ÷ 4.5 = 22.2% equity.
- Check their fold to 3-bet first. If it’s high, re-steal with weaker hands too; if it’s low, re-steal mostly for value.
When it’s your own number
If your ATS is over 55%, observant players re-steal lighter against you, and the read shows on your own badge. More 3-bets from the blinds mean more of your wide steals get folded before the flop.
That doesn’t mean steal less everywhere. Check who is in the blinds: against blinds with a high fold to steal, keep stealing wide; against blinds who 3-bet steals often, cut the weakest hands and keep the ones that can call a 3-bet in position. If your small-blind number is low because you complete a lot, decide whether those completes are a plan or a habit.
Using it on the HUD
PokerNow HUD Advanced keeps steal attempt off the badges, in the player database, together with its cutoff, button and small-blind versions. Over 55% it shows gold, under 28% blue, and under 12 chances faded. Because it has a read hint, a wide stealer can still get a read once there are 12 chances and the number sits a standard error above 55%: 70% over 30 chances has an error of √(0.7 × 0.3 ÷ 30) ≈ 8.4 points, so at 15 points over it qualifies.
The spot itself shows at the table from both sides. Before anyone opens, the blinds’ badges show fold to steal and 3-bet vs steal. When the action folds to you in the cutoff, on the button or in the small blind, the panel shows how often each blind folds to a steal from your seat, then multiplies everyone’s fold rates into the chance your steal wins at once. Above 62.5%, a 2.5 bb steal is profitable before anyone sees a flop. Chances come at most three per orbit, so 12 take at least four orbits (24 hands six-handed).
Questions
What is a steal attempt in poker?
A steal attempt is an open-raise from the cutoff, button or small blind when everyone before has folded, aimed at winning the blinds. The HUD’s ATS stat is the share of those spots where a player raises, whatever their hand. Limping from those seats, including completing the small blind, is a chance without a steal.
What is a good ATS percentage?
The HUD treats 28–55% as typical. A good number depends on the blinds: against tight blinds who fold often, stealing above 55% can be right, and against blinds who 3-bet a lot, a lower number is fine. Look at it by seat too, since a solid player usually steals far more from the button than from the cutoff.
How often do the blinds need to fold for a steal to profit?
It depends on your size. With no antes, the blinds hold 1.5 bb, so a 2.5 bb steal needs them to fold more than 62.5% of the time between them (2.5 ÷ 4). A 2 bb steal needs 57.1% and a 3 bb steal 66.7%. Below that, the steal relies on winning after the flop, where position helps.
ATS vs raise first in: what’s the difference?
Raise first in counts opens from every seat when everyone before has folded. Steal attempt counts the same opens from the cutoff, button and small blind only. ATS is the late-position slice of RFI, and it’s the one to read when you’re in the blinds deciding how wide to defend.