Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
Raising and Check-raising as a Bluff
Raising and Check-raising as a Bluff Some players love to check-raise the flop as a bluff. Someone will raise and a player will call out of position with a hand like Q-J. The flop comes A-8-4 and he check-raises, assuming his opponent will fold anything besides an ace or better. While this may be true, most opponents don’t bet with weak hands after the flop when they miss. Also, you never know if he has a weak ace he may fold later or a strong hand he will never fold.
Raising or check-raising as a bluff costs a lot of chips when you are wrong.
Raising or check-raising as a bluff costs a lot of chips when you are wrong. Suppose someone raises to 3BBs and you call with J-10. It comes K-5-4. Your opponent bets 6BBs and you raise to 17BBs. I don’t really like this situation because if he calls, you don’t know which cards to bet again on the turn. Also, if you hit a jack or 10, you will not know if you should continue bluffing or check down because you picked up some showdown value. You have invested 20BBs in attempt to win 12BBs with little value if called. There are very few upsides to this play. I rarely play my strong hands like this because I rarely play my bluffs this way.