Check, Raise ...the Move of Strength
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 5:40 PM
We've all done it at some point in playing poker, whether it be in a ring game or tournament: the check / raise tactic to signify a strong hand position. When sitting at a table looking down at the nuts, there is no better feeling than to check your opponent, then to find them put money into the pot and/or raising the pot. Then, as you see your opponent putting money into the pot, you can't help but start the thinking process of how much more should you raise him/her and how much can you get out of them.Check, raising is a good strategy used by most poker players, however some players hate it when facing the check raise themselves. Either way, it is a very strong move to make and usually very effective in showing your opponent of exactly where you stand in your hand strength.
Most players will always take notice or precaution to a player check raising them. It is a move to signify strength. This is why we will advise you to use the check raise move in positions where you may be the weaker hand, to turn the tables to now take the stronger hand sentiment.
For example in $1/$2 table, if you have a hand of:
and say your opponent has:
and the flop comes:
You check at the flop, your opponent fires a continuation bet of $10. At this point, your probably thinking your opponent may have a pair at the very least and has got you beat so far, but if you think they are holding a smaller pair than what is on the board or a smaller board pair, you may want to do a check raise and see where they really stand in their hand.
At this point in continuing with your check raise, (knowing you are already beat, most likely) ...you raise your opponent to $22. Now, your opponent will have to do a lot of thinking here and seeing a Qh Jc on the flop, your opponent will no doubt put you on a pair of Q's or J's. At this stage, your opponent is more likely to think twice and fold, thinking you have them beat.This is a good example to show you how that even when you are weak, how you can turn the check raise into a signal / hand of strength for you, giving your opponents something to think about. We suggest to use the check raise not only when you are strong, but also when you are weak, in helping to turn losing hands into strong winning bets.
Keep in mind the more hands you turn from weak to strong, the more likely you are to walk away with the pot ...and in this game it's all about winning the pots. So if you can turn say your percentage (%) of weak losing hands, into a higher percentage (%) of strong playable hands that win, you are more likely to turn some great profits at the end of the day.
Remember to not always play the cards (when you have weak hands), play the player and push them off the best hand!