A check raise is a simple little method which can achieve several things,
Check raising is often part of a bigger slow playing strategy. Read below for more on slow playing.
Slow playing is an effective strategy to draw more cash out of your opponents by lulling them into a false sense of security. If you are holding a good hand, take for example pocket 7's and you call the blinds to see the flop. Lets assume that the flop brings another 7, an ace, and 3. There is now very little chance that you will be beaten. With luck your opponent will be holding an ace. Slow playing is when you are usually seated in an early position and check rather than bet. Hopefully your opponent will bet, giving you the opportunity to raise. In this instance, by allowing them to lead the betting, they have become pot committed and are now lacking confidence in their hand. With luck they will call your re-raise allowing you to bleed more cash from their bankrolls.
However, there are several arguments against slow playing. The first and foremost is that you are most likely playing poker to win money. By not betting you are not drawing any money out your opponent. With each betting round that passes and no bet is placed, you have missed a valuable opponent to draw money from your opponents when you are holding a confident hand. The other argument against slow playing is that you will often slow play, and come the next round, you opponent will pick up that card they need to trump your hand. Losing in this fashion, can be destructive to your game play, and set you in to an emotional frustrated state, which will only lead to you losing.
This is one of the biggest points where new players often come undone. Many new players bet a random number, with out any thinking or strategy behind the bet. In poker you bet for a reason, and the size of your bets put forth information about your hand to the other players. By making suitably sized bets you can increase your edge of your opponents.
Poker is a game of precision and strategy, and every play should be made for a specific reason. What is the purpose behind your bet; do you want the player to fold? To call? To re-raise?
Whatever your goal is will influence the size bet you place. Take an instant to think about what you want the bet to achieve before placing it.
So you've thought about it, and decided you want you opponent to fold. The trick here is to bet as little as possible to get achieve this. Usually a half /two thirds pot bet will accomplish this just as well as a full size pot bet. If your opponent is set on calling, he will call no matter what size bet you place. In the event that he does call, you will have saved your self some chips.
For example.
$1/$2 NL. $100 Stacks, you raised preflop with KQ, only the BB calls. Flop comes down A, 6, 9. BB, checks,
There's $18 in the pot.
The goal is to get your opponent to fold. So how much do you bet? Many players would bet close to the full pot - $16 or $18. Betting a full pot amount, may come across as if you're bluffing big, and trying to buy the pot. Where as a two thirds amount - $10, means business. If you opponent is going to call, you will have saved your self the extra $6 in chips, and he is just as likely to fold to the $10 bet as the $16 bet.
When you are betting with the intention that you opponent will call, you are making a value bet. The idea is to get money out of your opponent who has a lesser hand. Your goal here is to bet the highest amount that your opponent will call.
To effectively do this, first off know your opponent. Hopefully you will know their tendencies this far into the session. Many players will think an over bet equals a bluff; others will think it means a strong hand. Choose your bet size carefully, a good starting figure (depending on the opponent and game stage) is between 2 and 5 times the big blind.
Another very common mistake many new players constantly make is that they play too many hands. Its exciting to be involved in the action, but if you don't want to lose all your money, then its best to play only a very limited selection of hands. Many pros play little more than 15% of all hands they are dealt. Employing a good hand selection strategy is one effective way of managing how many hands you are playing. Poker hand selection often goes hand in hand with table position. Read more about poker hands.
Poker is first and foremost a game of probability. It is why you head the term odds bandied around so much in poker guides and forums. What poker is not, is a game of feeling and emotion. If I had a lot of money for every time I saw a new player play a hand because he had a 'feeling' about it. Sit with him on the same poker table, I would have a $#%^ load of money.
The same can be said of players playing with their emotions; it rarely turns out well. Poker is about decisions, to make the best possible decisions with all available information. Feelings and emotions should be left at home with your partner. Be careful when you lose a couple of good hands that your emotions don't get the best of you.
