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 the Flop
Raising and Check-raising the Flop Occasionally you will have a very strong hand and want to build a big pot quickly. Raising or check-raising the flop is a great option in these spots. Since I do not like check-raising as a bluff, that greatly reduces the number of times I can check-raise for value because I should always try to remain at least semi-balanced. Hence, I check-raise for value with a fairly small range.
You generally want your opponent to have a strong hand
You generally want your opponent to have a strong hand when raising or check-raising for value. Suppose a tight opponent, who is known for never folding top pair, raises from middle position and you just call with 9-9 from the button. The flop comes A-K-9.