The Art of the Check-Raise
November 25th, 2008
Check raising is one of the most gratifying experiences in poker–it just accomplishes so much for you. It sucks other poker players into betting into a pot that you’re going to win, it makes the aggressive players think twice before raising you again, and it lets everyone know that you’re not to be trusted.
Say you’ve got pocket Kings and the flop comes out 5 of Diamonds, 7 of Clubs, and King Hearts. Great news, but now you have to figure out how to keep everyone in the pot. This is one of the few occasions that it’s good to be in an early position. Either limp in with a blind-equivalent bet or check and wait for an aggressive player to raise you.
Once the betting comes back around to you, come over the top of his raise with a more substantial bet, putting him at a difficult spot. If he’s bet enough to be pot committed, then you’ve got him for as much money as he’s willing to give away. The best case scenario is that you’ll sucker him all in, while the worst case (barring a suck-out) gives you his raise and keeps your poker hand safe from any draws that may come up.
