CO 50bb Steal

Overview

CO (Cutoff) is the position to the right of the button, with positional advantage often used as the primary position for stealing blinds. "CO 50bb Steal" describes a common scenario where the CO player opens with a raise when the effective stack is 50 big blinds. At this stack depth, it's moderate — enough to pressure the blinds while leaving room to respond to resistance.

Strategic Considerations

• Raise sizing: Typically raise to 2–2.5 big blinds, avoiding too large a bet that makes stealing costly or too small a bet that invites easy calls.
• Range selection: Includes weaker hands such as small pairs and suited connectors, leveraging positional advantage postflop. If opponents are tight, widen the range; if loose, tighten it.
• Responding to resistance: When facing a 3bet from the blinds, decide whether to defend based on opponent tendencies and hand strength. With 50bb depth, a 4bet or call may be viable.

Example

Assume blinds 0.5/1, effective stack 50. The CO player holds 8♠7♠ and raises to 2.5. The small blind folds, the big blind calls. Flop Q♣5♥2♦, big blind checks, CO can bet half-pot as a continuation bet.

Related Terms

• Steal: The act of raising to take down the blinds using positional advantage.
• CO position: Cutoff, short for Cutoff.
• Effective stack: The smallest stack among players in the hand.
• 3bet: The second raise preflop, often used to counter a steal.