Online Poker Forum at Full Tilt Poker

Riddim · Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 4:30 am Post subject:

You didn't disagree with me, you just misunderstood me. Mixing up your play to be harder to read is certainly a valid reason. What I was saying was that mixing up your play just to mix it up wasn't, and that I have a hard time seeing the benefit of taking the line we've talked about other than to exploit very specific tendencies, because I don't think it fits well into an overall strategy that's hard to exploit and still as close to optimal play as possible.

I feel that we're giving up less when we make alternative plays by taking certain lines with different ranges at different times rather than taking awkward lines just to mix things up. As I said earlier I just have a very hard time seeing how this line can fit comfortably into optimal strategy, with the exception of some highly exploitable players with very specific leaks. And even then I think our opponent has to be pretty unobservant, because otherwise it seems that we're giving up more value when taking this awkward line with hands that aren't very strong, or when it doesn't work with a strong hand, than we're gaining the times that it does work and we do have a strong hand.

ridic x

T_Rumble · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject:

I'm a huge fan of the check raise in limit as it gives you an excellent way to obtain extra bets from your opponents. The check raise though is a very situational play. Its not something you can expect to do on every single hand you play, and its not going to work all the time. There are plenty of times where I've gone for a check raise and completely whiffed, but thats poker. In the long run the move has made me a lot of money.

The check raise is generally the most successful against your more aggressive opponents. Against passive calling stations you're much better off just value betting your hand to death.

I like to use the "donk flop bet" against a preflop raiser if I've limped in before him and hit a decent hand, either two pair or better. This way if he raises me on the flop (and it doesn't seem like he's raising for a free card) I'll know that I have a better chance at a check raise on the turn when the bets are double. Sometimes you get lucky though and they just smooth call your flop bet, raise you on the turn, thus letting you get in three or four big bets.

I'll check raise an aggressive player who will always throw out a continuation bet no matter what comes on the flop. I don't do this all the time and knowing when to do it is part of becoming a good poker player. However, its an easy way to take down a pot you've either missed or that you are semi-bluffing on when its likely the preflop raiser has missed.

I'll go for a river check raise when its likely I've hit a draw thats somewhat concealed. A flush is the most obvious draw when it comes, so if you river your flush its probably better to just bet out when out of position instead of risking a check behind to lose that river bet. However, if I've hit a straight a set or two pair that looks to be good and my opponent is aggressive, then the river check raise is a nice play. The thing to remember is that a river check raise is going to be much less successful than a flop or turn check raise because a lot of players are more than willing to just show down and hope their hand is good.

Lastly, I like to check raise in a blind defense situation. This happens more in shorthanded games which is where I spend the majority of my time. Generally a button raiser is just looking to steal the blinds and if I have a reasonable hand I'll just call the preflop raise and check raise a non A high flop. If he still calls, I'll again lead out on the turn where they generally give up.

Hope this helps....T_Rumble

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