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The Check-Raise I think every poker player will agree that a check-raise is the most powerful statement one can make at the poker table. Exactly what it means, depends on the set of circumstances under which it is used. It can mean: ‘Gotcha!’, it can mean ‘I’m a donk who doesn’t realize how easily readable I am’ or it can say ‘I have you read…I may have something or may not, but I won’t let you get away with a free card on your draw, and you know it.’Check raising is a move which is usually associated with the trapping of an opponent. People will check on a monster when they know someone will bet after them, so they can raise his bet and possibly pot-commit him. This is the standard use of the check raise, and in this respect, the person making the move needs a bet in order to succeed. If everyone checks around behind the initial checker, the move will fail. If you are the check-raiser, you want a bettor coming up behind you for several reasons: first of all, you know you have your hand made, and you know that (depending on the circumstances) you’ll be able to pot commit the poor unsuspecting bettor who might simply be attempting a strong steal. Often, when people check around, the thief will bet a large part of his stack just to show that he indeed means business and to make sure that his opponents do indeed give up their pot-equity. If you’re lucky enough to happen across such a fellow on an attempted check-raise, you may be able to get him all in, or to rip a sizeable bet away from him. If not, you’ll still be able to get one more bet into the pot, and thin out the number of drawing hands around the table in the process. Everyone checking around after you means the ultimate failure, because that way none of the above mentioned goals will have been accomplished. You’ll have given a free card to all the drawing hands at the table (one of which may well end up beating your hand) and you’ll have missed the opportunity to get another bet into the pot. How can you tell though, that someone is likely to bet after your check on the flop? Preflop action is your best read in this respect. People who bet preflop will often fire that second bullet even if they do not improve, partly because apparently it is the right thing to do for them. Look for preflop raisers, and trap them on that second bullet. Advanced players may also use the check-raise to bluff. As they know how powerful a statement a check-raise is, and they’re also aware that their opponents know the same thing, the check-raise turns into a double edged sword. At a table where mostly good players play, the check-raise bluff can well turn into an addiction for some, and that is where things get dangerous. Abusing this powerful weapon will punish the person who wields it, on account of upsetting the delicate balance of reads around the table. It takes a very short time for a good poker player to see what the frequent check-raiser is covering, and it takes even less for him to bust the whole case wide-open. In this situation, you’ll find that a backfiring check-raise is not only extremely unpleasant, but it’s very costly as well. Do not let your check-raising ways be read at the table, and use it for bluffing when you’re fairly certain that the target of you bluff is not only attempting an easy steal, but that he also understands the statement behind the check-raise. If you know you cannot afford 3 or even 4 bets on the hand that you have, depending on the reads you have of your opponents you should be extremely cautious deploying the check-raise. Your first goal regarding the incorporation of this advanced move into your game should be to learn not to abuse it. It looks extremely pretty when it works, and that means the temptation to use it again and again will be big. |  | |
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