No matter what poker game is being played, whether it is a cash game or a tournament, there is no doubt that raising is going to take place. Most likely, every pot being played will see at least one raise by a player. But why do players raise? Believe it or not, there are actually 5 important reasons why a player might raise.
To Drive Out Opponents when a Player has the Best Hand
When a PokerStars.net player raises when he thinks he has the best hand to drive other players out of the pot, what he is essentially doing to raising to give other players insufficient odds to chase some of their outs. When cutting down another player’s odds, you will reduce the amount of money they win per dollar invested. A player raising to drive opposing players out of the hand is doing so primarily to prevent draws or second best hands from catching up. Simply put, a player is raising to terminate the hand.
To Get More Money in the Pot when a Player has the Best Hand
When a player has the best hand, he wants more money in the pot, so he wins more money. This is known as raising for value. This type of raise ideally occurs when a player has best hand and is not vulnerable to players catching up.
To Bluff or Semi-Bluff
This play is often done when a player is on a flush or straight draw on the flop and a raise can help in two different ways. First, the raise might take down the pot right away on the flop. That way, the player with the draw will win the pot without having to chase his draw, and will win with the worst hand. Second, a bluff or semi-bluff raise may set up a play on later streets. Additionally, a PokerStar bet of this nature (specifically a semi-bluff) often leads to other betting styles in the event a hand hits, such as when the flush card comes on the turn after betting on the flop with your draw.
To Get a Free Card
Even if the player’s raise does not win the pot on the flop, most likely the player’s opponent will check the turn. The raiser will then check back, and will get to see the river card free.
To Gain Information
Instead of check-calling an opponent on the flop, turn and river with what a player might THINK is the best hand but could very well be second best, that player might raise on the flop to see “where he is at”. If he is reraised, he can confidently fold. If he is called, there is a good chance the hand will check down to the river.
Raising is a helpful tool, and if used correctly, it could mean the difference between winning and losing a poker hand.
Check Raising is considered a devious, deceitful play used in poker. Some consider it such a “dirty” play that they find it insulting and disrespectful when it is used. This is even true in some casinos. The thing that the people who do not like this play are forgetting is that deceit and trickery are what makes money when playing poker. The whole point of the game is to fool your opponents on what cards you are playing. If everyone that played at online poker sites knew what their opponents held, there would be no game. In fact, the game could be played face up if deception and trickery were not a part of poker. Check raising is an important weapon that each player should have in their arsenal. The key is to look for the right conditions on when to carry out this devilish play.
There are two conditions that ideally should be met before a check-raise should be used. Before looking for the conditions, the potential check-raiser expects that a worse hand will call his check-raise. First, the check-raiser must believe he has the best hand, but not good enough that a slowplay should be used. The second condition is that if the potential check-raiser, he is quite sure that a player behind him is going to bet. (Otherwise he obviously cannot check-raise)
Position must also be taken into consideration before check raising. For example, imagine there are three players in the pot. The first player checks. The second player believes the player last to act will bet if checked to. Thus, the middle Ultimatebet player checks with the intention of check raising. The third player bets like clockwork and the first player calls. Action rolls back to the middle player, who then puts in the raise portion of the check-raise. This is a sign of strength from the middle player. Typically, the check-raise will knock out one or all players in this hand.
This play also serves another hidden purpose, in that if the player who is third to act calls or even reraises the check-raise, you can put him on an absolute monster hand and fold your top pair without losing more money. Think of how much money the check-raiser could of lost if he just check-called the entire hand.
However, if the player who has top pair was first to act, he should instead just bet out with his top pair. This way, the player is getting money into the pot with what he thinks is the best hand, and is hiding the strength of his hand.
If the conditions are right, the check-raise can be one of the scariest and deceptive moves a poker player can use at the tables.
The idea behind the FullTilt bluff is to force an opponent to fold a better hand. In order to do this, you need to be able to trick your opponent into thinking that you have a better hand than he does. This is usually done by betting or re-raising.
However, buffing can be a very dangerous move if it is not done properly, or if you do not know when and when not to bluff. Knowing when to bluff can be the difference between winning a tournament and going out early.
When to Bluff
Against weak or tight players: Weak or tight players are usually the best players to bluff against. This is because it is unusual for a weak or tight opponent to call a raise or re-raise with anything less than a premium hand. Although you still have to be wary if they do call your first initial bluff. This can be a sign of his hand strength from this player.
Everyone has checked previously in the pot: This can be a good sign of weakness from the players in the pot. If you are last to act, raising can steal the pot from players. This can also be called a squeeze play.
Against one FullTiltPoker opponent: If the pot was raised pre-flop, and enter the pot with one other caller. The chances are that he will miss the flop two thirds of the time, which makes it a good time to try a bluff.
When you have a draw or outs: Bluffing when you are on a draw or have outs can be a good time to try a bluff. If the opponent folds you win the pot, if he calls you also have a chance of winning the pot, by hitting your draw or one of your outs.
When Not to Bluff
Against bad players or calling stations: Bad players usually do not know what is happening around them and have trouble reading the board or realizing their beat. So trying to bluff against them is a bad idea. The same can be said for calling stations. Calling stations are known for the weak play and will call to the river with almost any half decent players.
Against too many players: The odds of a player hitting a hand that they will play to the finish increases as more players enter the pot. This is bad news if attempting a bluff.
If opponents expect you to bluff: Before bluffing, take into consideration the image opponents have of you. If an opponent thinks you bluff often, they will call with lesser hands.