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Check raising pre and post flop

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Saturday November, 14th 2009 by fullhouse

The check is one of the strongest moves in all of poker. Check raising can make your hand very translucent, or very hard to read, depending upon how you use it. It can be a great weapon when trying to extract the most value possible from a strong hand, but can also be used as a bluff. A trap that many players fall into is polarizing their range when they use the check raise. Polarizing your range means that there are very few hands that you are likely to be holding. For obvious reasons you should never want others to perceive your range as polarized (unless of course they are totally wrong.) Some moves in poker are very difficult to “master,” and the check raise is certainly one of them. For any player to use a check raise effectively they will need to know the proper way to play their own hand as well as playing the other person’s hand.

Check raising pre flop

Check raising pre flop, in general, is not a good idea. Almost all check raises pre flop are indicative of extreme strength. If you are strong a check raise will only reveal your hand’s true strength and if you are weak you will be tying yourself up in the hand. The only time a check raise would be a good idea pre flop would be if you were at an extremely loose table. Loose opponents aren’t even enough to justify a pre flop check raise; they need to be maniacal calling stations. You should also be sure that they will continue to pay you off on later streets if you plan on check raising with a strong hand pre flop. There are very few times where a pre flop check raise is a good idea. Making a pre flop check raise as a bluff will also get you into trouble. You will be representing a strong hand, so unless you take it down pre flop you will have to play against strong hands post flop. Remember that a pre flop check raise is virtually always perceived as extreme strength.

Check raising post flop

The most commonly accepted time for a check raise is on the flop, turn, or river. You are most likely to see a flop check raise as a bluff, a turn check raise for value, and a river check raise for value. There are situations where all three streets can either be bluffs or for value, but generally speaking this is what you will encounter. The flop is the ideal time for a check raise as a bluff because you will lose the least if it is unsuccessful. By the turn you will likely have to invest (and risk) a fair amount of money to try and check raise as a bluff. The best choice would be to stick to making turn check raises purely for value. The river plays almost the same as the turn, with a bluff being an even worse idea. The river is when the pot will be its largest so there will be a great amount of risk involved in making a check raise as a bluff. The amount of money involved, however, will make the river a great spot for a check raise with a strong hand.