Online Poker Guide - Texas Holdem Strategies
Texas Holdem Strategies: Check Raising
Texas Hold’em is a very simple game to understand, with most players picking up the rules and basic idea of the game very quickly. However, once you have found your feet in Texas Holdem, you may wish to take the next step by applying some basic strategy to your game.
It’s important, when you’re just starting out in Texas Holdem Poker, not to over complicate things with regards to your strategy. It’s very easy to become engrossed in the many advanced strategy articles on the Internet or to try and copy some of the advanced plays shown in video clips and on TV. Let’s take a look at some of the “bread and butter” strategies you should be using when playing Texas Hold’em.
Check-Raising
Before playing your first game of online poker, you may have heard various things about the game. Some people refer to it as a “bluffer’s game” and that alone can inspire new players to bluff at far too many pots, sometimes all the pots! That is a poor approach to take, of course, and will nearly always lead to going bust. However, poker is a game where deception plays a big part in being a successful, winning player.
Check-raising is one common form of deception that works very well at beginner levels and sometimes at higher levels, depending on your opponents. A check-raise generally involves one player checking their very strong hand to induce their opponent, or opponents, into making a bet. Once a bet is made and the action returns to the player holding a strong hand that player will then make a raise. The check is designed to fool your opponent into thinking that you have a weak hand, thus inducing them to put more money into a pot. The raise can then trap opponents into a pot as they will then feel that they have to call if they have good pot odds (we will discuss pot odds in a later article) or if they feel you are bluffing at the pot.
The check-raise is a great, simple strategy that has served many poker players well over the years. It is, however, a strategy you may wish to adapt as you progress through higher stakes and, generally, meet better players. You can rightly assume that better players will not fall for the check-raise trap and, as you encounter those players, you may occasionally decide to try a check-raise bluff. That is a dangerous strategy involving checking your weak hand and then raising, following a bet, to represent a very strong hand. The strategy will only work if your opponent bets with a weak holding. If they have a strong hand you can expect to be called or even re-raised...
The key, therefore, is to start initially at low-stakes tables to experiement with the check raise. However, don't forget that lower staking tables can be occupied by new players (like yourself) or people with cash to burn, making their play more aggressive. Nonetheless, this shows how you should adapt your game to all opponents and that all experience is invaluable. Get on the tables and try out the check raise in Texas Holdem Poker.
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Online Poker Guide: The Check Raise
To summarise, the check raise is a basic texas holdem strategy to fool your opponents into thinking you have a weaker hand than you actually do.
The principle relies on your opponent(s) being lured into raising against your check call and adding to the pot. Once your opponents(s) have committed a signifcant number of chips to the pot they'll be more likely to call you later raises. They'll either fold (realising your trap and getting out) or call you all the way to the showdown and to a big cashpot win for you.
