Check-Raising

After gaining some playing experience, many hold'em players learn about check-raising and become very enamored with this play. They like to check-raise because it gets more money in the pot when they have the best hand. They also use it as a tool for eliminating players by forcing them to call two bets cold, thereby protecting their hand. Many of them see it as a nifty tactical weapon to be used in controlling the hand. However, check-raising has some difficulties. It requires someone else to bet your hand for you. When this does not happen, you can lose bets. You may also inadvertently give a free card to an opponent who makes a hand that beats yours, whereas he might have folded had you bet. As is the case with many poker concepts, whether or not you should employ it depends upon the specifics of the situation. The following six hands taken from live-action play discuss some of these situations.

Hand No. 1: ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the K 3. An early-position player, two middle-position players, and the button limp in. The small blind folds and you take a free play. There is $110 in the pot and five players.

The flop is K Q 3. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. I prefer a bet over a check-raise attempt because there is both a flush draw and a straight draw on the flop. Don't run the risk of allowing a free card to four opponents. Instead, hope that someone raises so that you can reraise. Anyone with top pair will probably raise you. There are also players who love to raise with come hands. Give them a chance to do so.

Hand No. 2 ($20-$40 game): You are in the big blind with the Q 2. An early-position player and the small blind call. You take a free play. There is $60 in the pot and three players.

The flop is Q J 7. The small blind checks and you bet. The early-position player raises and the small blind folds. You call. There is $140 in the pot and two players.

The turn is the 2. What should you do?

Answer: Check with the intention of check-raising. With no flush draw on the flop, your opponent does not figure to be drawing. This turn card appears to be totally innocent to him, so he will bet. You are a big favorite to have him beat, and he's likely to pay you off.

Hand No. 3 ($10-$20 game): You are in the small blind with the Q J. Two early-position players, two middle-position players, and the button all limp in. You also limp in. There is $70 in the pot and seven players.

The flop is Q Q 10. What should you do?

Answer: Bet. Planning to check-raise or slow-play is a mistake with this board and this many opponents. It is quite possible that someone has an open-end straight draw, a gutshot-straight draw, or just a pocket pair, and will be happy to take a free card to run you down. Change the 10 to a 6 and checking with the intention of check-raising would be less objectionable, but still wrong given the large field.

Hand No. 4 ($10-$20 game): The game is temporarily shorthanded, with only five players. You are in the small blind with the K 2. A middle-position player opens with a raise and the button calls. You call, as does the big blind. There is $80 in the pot and four players.

The flop is 9 8 4. You bet and the middle-position player and button call. There is $110 in the pot and three players. The turn is the 3. Should you bet or check (planning to check-raise)?

Answer: I think you should bet and forget about check-raising. The problem is that when you check-raise in this situation after a flush card comes off, it is very obvious to your opponents that you have a flush and they can get away from their hands quite easily. By betting, you might get a call from a lower heart who assumes that you are betting top pair or an overpair.

Hand No. 5 ($10-$20 game): You are in the big blind with the A Q. An early-position player opens with a raise, the cutoff calls, and you call. There is $65 in the pot and three players.

The flop is A 8 3. What should you do?

Answer: You should go for a check-raise in this situation. You have a preflop raiser who figures to bet with only two opponents, you have top pair with an excellent kicker, the flop is raggedy and rainbow, and if it gets checked around, there are no possible overcards to your top pair that could turn up.

Hand No. 6 ($10-$20 game): You are in the small blind with the 8 7. Two early-position players, a middle-position player, and the button limp in. You make a dubious call. There is $60 in the pot and six players.

The flop is 8 3 2. You bet your top pair. The big blind and the first early-position player fold. The second early-position player raises. The other players fold, and you call. There is $100 in the pot and two players. The turn is the 7. Should you bet or check, perhaps planning to check-raise?

Answer: Before attempting a check-raise move, you need to picture what your opponent may have. First, a very likely holding is a flush draw. If you check, he may well take a free card, which you do not want. Second, he might have a very powerful holding, such as a set. This means that it will cost you three bets to take off a card rather than just two. Third, he may have been fooling around with other hands, such as a pocket pair (sixes, fives, or fours) or some wheel cards (A-5, A-4, or 5-4), and be planning to take a free card if you check. Fourth, he may have raised with top pair. Only in the fourth case would check-raising be right, assuming that he will bet top pair 100 percent of the time, which he may not do if his kicker is bad. I think you should bet.