Check-Raise: To Bet Or Not To Bet, That Is The Question

Check-raising in poker is when you check early in a betting round in the hope that someone else will bet. When the play comes back to you, you then raise this bet. If you had betted in the beginning then unless someone else had raised you then there would not have been a chance for the pot to get this big.

Basically, it’s an aggressive move in itself and you do it when you have a good hand - so you are pretty much hiding your hand and then pulling the trigger when the betting comes back round to you. Especially the loose players will take your bait and call to your raise even if they suspect you have at least a moderate hand and the pot will grow nicely.

Check raising is also useful if you have a not especially good hand. By doing this you make the price for staying in the game much higher than it would have been if you had betted instead of checked, and everyone had simply called.

The check-raise is basically an aggressive move designed to lure in the fish. The smarter and tighter poker players will usually fold at this point unless they have a good hand or they think that you are bluffing.

For best results, you should at least have a marginal hand anyway in case your check-raise does not come off as well as you had anticipated. Also, your raise should be at least twice the size of your opponent’s bet.

Some poker pros rarely use the check-raise. They think that it is better to be aggressive and just bet anyway. By check-raising you may be giving an obvious sign that you have a great hand and giving a cue for everyone to fold. Or if no one else bets then you are effectively giving your opponents free cards.

Moving From Free Money To Real Money

As any poker player will tell you, the game changes when you start playing for real money. In fact, many people would argue that playing poker for free money is not really poker at all.

Oh, and let’s remind ourselves - the whole point and thrill of poker is to win money, not just have fun!

Only when real money is played for do you see the true behaviour of poker players. Bluffing suddenly means something and players are generally more “tight”.

But how do you start playing for real money without risking the house?

The easiest way is to play the low limit tables. Many poker rooms offer limit Holdem games where the bets can be as little as just a few cents. Even though you won’t break the bank on a few cents, it is sufficiently a difference from playing for free that you will be able to observe how your opponents play differently and how your reactions in the game also change.

There are also some very cheap tournaments that you can play for next to nothing, a measly sum of a couple of bucks or so where you can take home a large amount of the pot.

Enrol with some of the poker rooms listed on the right and you will see that most of them have some low or micro limit games that are perfect for graduating to the paid game. Most of them also have some good freerolls too.

Slow Playing - Sandbagging Galore Your Way To Winning

Slow playing is when you have a great hand, possibly the nuts, and you don’t want to give it away so you don’t play aggressively. You’re hiding the fact that you have a great hand.

It’s the opposite of bluffing where you don’t have a great hand but pretend that you do.

Slow playing can backfire if other people are doing it as well and you believe that they don’t have a good hand when in fact they do. So you should only use it when you are pretty sure that the body language and behaviour of your opponents is telling you that they don’t have any good hands and definitely not a hand that can beat yours. For instance, a flush on the flop is a great hand to slow play.

The idea is that the pot will build and most players will conribute into seeing the river at which point you will happily take the entire pot.

The beauty of slow playing is that it works well against good players who tend to be aggressive. This can only help but build up the pot value.

The best way to slow play is to make a small bet - this will make your opponents think you are bluffing. Too high and they really will think that you have a good hand and are playing super aggressive. You can check but this will only give your opponents a free card. Why give cards away for free when you are going to win?

Stealing The Blinds - Effective Blind Stealing In Texas Holdem

Stealing the blinds is when you sense weakness in your opponents who are only calling the big blind. You then raise a suitable amount in the hope that everyone else folds.

Although you are risking a large amount to win a small amount, these small amounts add up to quite a lot by the end of a night. If you need an analogy, it’s a bit like always betting on the favourite horse, except there is no bookie’s edge here.

Position is very important here and being on the button is ideal because you are the last to act if everyone else calls the big blind.

This works well in limit poker and with tight playing players as opposed to loose players and on no limit tables where the showdown is more likely to be seen.

If you are going to raise then my recommendation is to raise 3 times the big blind. This should be enough to flush the other players out. Actually, let me rephrase that, raise somewhere near to 3 times the amount. If you don’t use the slider and instead enter an amount like 2.9, it will look to the players like you have thought about it and are confident.

Remember to mix it up and don’t steal the blinds successively for a long time. You want it to look like you are serious and thoughtful about your blind stealing and probably not worth calling.

Taking The Free Card - How To Do It Right

Setting up to take a free card is when you raise from late position on the flop. By doing this, you are hoping that on the turn that your opponents will not want to raise again since they were not aggressive in the first place and have already spent chips on meeting your earlier raise.

So because they simply check then you too can also check and get to see the river thereafter.

Although you “pay” a small raise, this buys you the turn card and gets you to the river as well, hence why it is called “taking the free card”.

This works best when you play from late position and in no limit games. In limit games, people are more likely to want to see the showdown and will pay the limit to do so.

Taking the free card works well because at the river you can then raise if you think you are on to a winner or otherwise check-fold.

If you are re-raised at the flop then this gives a good indication of the type of player and hand that you are up against so at least you remain educated.

On the other hand, don’t give away the free card cheaply either. You could be giving someone with a poor hand a chance to turn it into a winning hand. If you yourself have a great hand then it is fine to give it away. Or if you think that you are up against a bunch of loose playing fish then it can also be a good idea to allow the free card to be taken as it will cost you relatively little to see such players at the showdown when they will also be less likely to hold good cards anyway.

Small Pocket Pairs - How Best To Play Them In Texas Holdem

We all know that pocket pairs like Aces or Kings are basically the best preflop cards that you can get and almost guarantee you a win. But what about the smaller pocket pairs?

For these small pocket pairs ranking around 22 up to 66, first of all you should know that unless you can improve your hand on the flop and make a set, then it is usually not worth pursuing.

Basically, if you don’t make a set on the flop then fold because your chances of winning at all are low.

However, position is also a factor. For instance, if you are in early position, then you should definitely fold in the situation I just described because if you call then it will be wasted money when you are forced to raise or call again.

But if you are in late position then it may not be a bad idea to limp in and call if that is at all possible. What with everyone else limping in, your opponents’ cards may be as bad as yours and it is probably worth the cheap effort it is to see the turn.

Especially if the game is being played by loose players and fish, it is definitely worth seeing the turn cheaply if possible.

By the way, the chances of hitting a set on the flop are around 1 in 8.

How To Play And Win From The Small Blind

Your odds of winning in poker greatly depend on your position at the table. Even at the weakest positions, the blinds, you still need to have a strategy because poker is a game of winning some and losing even less - this latter point is especially important when playing from the small blind.

Don’t fight over the pots, you will be folding quite a lot from this position. Yes, you are always coming up against it but do not try to fight a losing battle. Remember that the goal when playing in the small blind is to limit your losses so do not let pride get the better of you and make you raise when you should not.

If you are up against opponents that you know are good, it’s better to frustrate them and often just fold. Live to fight another day and limit their winnings.

Generally, you want to play very conservative and not as aggressive as you might normally be. If everyone folds and there are only two of you left then this could be a good time to get aggressive.

Otherwise, it is better to only bet your very good hands and otherwise try to limp in or fold. If you bet big and maybe re- raise your good hands, then the few times this happens will outnumber the times you have to fold and lose your blind. Overall, you will come out a winner.

How Much Should I Raise Before The Flop

How much you raise before the flop depends on a lot of small factors that you learn through experience.

Having said that, there are some easy rules that you can use to start off with and then, with time, you can adjust this according to how tight or loose you and your opponents are.

Remember, your position is key - as we know, late position holds an advantage in poker and therefore you should risk more money from here. Conversely, you should risk less from early position.

Not only that but larger raises from late position will also convince many players to fold and make it harder for those in early positions to re-raise to you.

Here is a good ready reckoner that you can use:

Early Position: Raise 2.5x-3x
Middle Position:Raise 3x-3.5x
Late Position: Raise 3.5x-4x

One key thing to remember - never vary the size of your raise depending on the strength of your hand. If you start doing this, then your opponents will recognise this trend and be able to guess your hand strength with ease.

Instead, as I have shown above, vary it according to your position and other conditions.

Is Slow Playing A Big Hand A Good Strategy To Use?

Slow playing - will you win big with this strategy or be easily outguessed? That is the question.

Slow playing is when you have a good hand after the flop but you don’t let it be known. Of course, it’s best used when the likelihood of anyone having a flush or straight is remote e.g. when you have a pair of pocket threes and the flop is all off suit 3-6-K.

The best thing to do in this situation is to simply check or call against aggressive players. They’ll see this as a sure sign of weakness and playing loose on your part.

The main thing to watch out for is the possibility of a flush because this will scupper your play big time. Also, if a pair appears in the community cards then you could be up against a full house.

Make sure that you only slow play against agressive players so as to build up the pot. If you are playing against tight wads, then this strategy will not work - they will only likewise agree with you if you check or call and you will not maximise your gains.

Just remember not to slow play all the time. As we need to remind ourselves all the time, becoming predictable in our game is when we risk losing money.

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