The Power of the Check-Raise
By the PokerStrategyKing

Do you have an advanced game or a beginner’s game? Is your strategy unpredictable or do you play strictly by the book? Anyone with access to a Barnes & Noble can walk in a learn about player positioning, starting hand strength and the virtues of starting in small stakes games to get your feet wet. But what happens once you’ve used this strategy and players catch on that you only play big cards and only bet out when you holds the nuts? You will become easy to play against and you won’t get any action with your stronger holdings. So you need to change things up in your game and add to your repertoire.

The check raise is one of the most potent and powerful weapons that any poker player has. If you are leaving this tool in your belt, you are missing out on more pots than you can imagine. Why is that? What is it about the check raise that makes it a great tool? It allows you to do many things. The check-raise intimidates players. When you make a check-raise you are throwing a wrench into someone else’s plans and makes them think twice about their holding.

Psychology, the check-raise allows you to control the tempo of a game, and puts other players on "tilt." It is safe to say that when I play inexperienced players, I win more pots with the check-raise then I do with good cards. This is why it is so confusing to me when people don't use this tactic. It creates doubt in your opponents and when that happens, you are in control.

To fully master using the check-raise, you must first understand what the check-raise really is. A check-raise is when a player checks to his opponent who then places a bet. Then the original player that checked proceeds to raise his opponent. This simple strategy is extremely powerful for several reasons. First, a check-raise confuses your opponents. A check is often read as a show of weakness and is usually met by a bet. However, when you raise after checking, your opponent must reconsider his hand and rea on you. Also, this strategy often intimidates your opponents. Especially if you are playing against amateurs, you can completely push players out of hands by using the check-raise. Yet another advantage of the check-raise is it will often put other players on tilt. For example, you have pocket 5's and the flop comes 10, 5, 2. If you check and your opponent tries to buy the pot with a large bet, a raise will "catch him" and win the hand. If you would have bet out, you wouldn’t have maximized your profits. Plus, anytime that you can catch someone on a bluff, you gain a serious advantage.

Since bluffing is so important, if a player becomes hesitant to bluff, he will be broke soon. The final benefit of the check-raise is that it can be used to win pots no matter if you have the cards or not. If you have great cards, you can check raise to increase the pot size. This is better than simply placing a large bet because other players will already have money in the pot. So using the check raise, you can drag in more money without forcing out your opponents. You can also use the check-raise when you don't have good cards. When you check, players will often sense weakness and try to buy the pot. When players try to buy the pot, they are not ready to be raised or willing to call a significant raise unless they have good cards. The check-raise is somewhat like an ambush. You show weakness with a check. Then your opponent bets into you, but falls right into your trap. Every strategy you add to your repertoire will improve your game and increase your winnings. Check-raises are very powerful, but they must be used as part of a large collection of strategies and "tricks." If you rely too much on one strategy you will become predictable and things will turn bad. Try utilizing the check-raise here and there in your next session and see how it works for you.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.