Check Raise, Exploiting
Players Who Can't Fold
One of the best ways to build up a pot is
through a check raise. If you are unfamiliar
with the terminology, a check raise is when a
player checks, another player bets, and then the
player who originally checked now raises. This
move will often scare away other players, for
this reason you should only use it when your aim
is to build up a pot against a player who does
not like to fold. It is also effective against
players who fold too often, but that is an
entirely separate subject.
The flop, setting up the check raise against
a loose player
The flop can be a good time for a check
raise, but it can also be a great time to set up
a later check raise. If your opponent is someone
who likes to call, you are better off executing
one check raise on the flop and then betting for
value on the turn and river. It becomes
increasingly hard to get someone to call a check
raise the later it gets in the hand. For the
majority of people it is better to bet out on
the flop, and then check raise on a later
street. This will allow you to get the most from
hands that are floating you as well as
legitimate made hands. Many tight players will
be scared of the flop check raise, so you might
reconsider check raising them at all. Tight
players like to call initial bets much more
often than they like to call check raises.
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The turn, check raising the loose players
If there was a single spot in a hand where
you will most profitably make a check raise for
value it would be the turn. This is for a couple
of reasons. The primary reason is because many
players won’t be able to fold once they invested
money pre-flop, on the flop, and then again on
the turn. These types of players don’t want to
feel like they “wasted” the previous money they
put into the pot, and they are the exact people
you will be able to exploit.
Most often you will
check raise the turn after leading the flop or
check calling the flop. It is a spot where you
should feel like your opponent’s hand is strong
enough that you will be able to make such an
obviously strong move (a check raise) and still
get paid off. If the flop was checked by you and
the villain it is unlikely that he has a hand
strong enough to call a check raise on the turn.
In addition to being able to exploit players who
have a made hand, you will be able to get the
most from players who have floated you. If
someone floats you with nothing and then you bet
out strong again on the turn they are unlikely
to call you again. If you check the turn,
however, they will bet hoping that you had
nothing (and completing the second step of a
float) and you can then raise them. You now have
profited the extra money that the other player
would not have put in had you lead out the turn.
The river, a check raise for pure value
There is one thing to remember when check
raising the river, players hate folding at this
stage of the hand more than any other. For this
reason you can pull off river check raises with
a high success rate, provided your opponent is
somewhat loose. They hated folding pre-flop, on
the flop or on the turn, but they hate it even
more on the river. They simply hate to let go of
their hand when they are so close to seeing
whether their hand is good, even if it is
blatantly obvious that you have an extremely
strong hand.
