The "Check Raise"

[blueday]

The "Check-Raise" is possibly one of the strongest moves a player can make in poker.  It shows strength in your hand and can speak volumes to your opponents but what exactly is a check-raise? 

A check-raise is when action gets to you, you check but you have the intention of raising if your opponent bets.

By checking your hand, you possibly show weakness to your opponents.  Some players who think they can "buy the pot" will bet or if an opponent has hit a middle or bottom pair, will come out betting (hopefully with all guns blazing).  Once the action gets back to you, you raise and the check-raise is made.

The check raise can be very useful to bluff your opponents out of pots or to get more money into the pot when you have a good hand. The check-raise also brings another element to your game by making you appear unpredictable to your opponents.  This play can un-nerve a lot of players.

You will need to be first or near first to act to make a truly effective check-raise.  It would be impossible to do if you were last to act.  When you make your raise, make a strong raise for example if your opponent bets 500 in an MTT, you need to re-raise to at least 1500 to show your hand strength.

You will likely be a good player if you already use this strategy but watch out for other players who use it too.  Make sure you know what you are up against when other players make this move.  For example, has the opponent who is check-raising you been bluffing?  Have they played a lot of hands?  What sort of hands have they been playing?

Here are two examples used by me recently, both were effective and both won me the pot.

Example 1: The good hand

I have   .  I'm big blind and my opponent is the dealer.  My BB is unraised and I get to see the flop.  I hit trips when another 8 falls on the flop. 

I want to extract as much as possible from my opponent.  If I bet, the opponent will surely fold.  I just check.

The opponent takes a few seconds before he bets two thirds of the pot.  I immediately re-raise 2x his bet and the opponent immediately folds without any hesitation. 

Example 2: The bluff

I'm dealt     .

I raised pre-flop and get one caller.  I am first to act.  The flop comes down and the highest card is 7.  I check and the opponent bets the pot.  I re-raise the pot and the opponent folds. 

I had missed the flop completely but wanted to portray a higher than 7 pocket pair.  It worked as the opponent folded straight away.

Things to remember:

Make sure you know your opponent particularly when you are bluffing.
Remember that a lot of players use "position" to make their bets (best position is dealer)
Ensure you are first or second to act - pointless when you are last or near last to act.
Ensure you make a big raise to show your hand strength, even when you are bluffing.

Good luck with this move and I would love to hear about your check-raise experiences.

blue