[greendrag00n]

does anyone check raise anymore cause i dont really do it anymore i mean sure when i was less experienced i used to do it all the time but now that i have grown much wiser i find that check raising just makes a hand ultra suspicious i usually just go ahead and make a small value bet and hope for them to raise or I just go ahead and let everyone bet their minds out and raise huge on the river but that 2nd one is also very suspicious.

[BSgutshot]

Check raising is a great way to sucker players into a big pot. Say you have K-K and the other player has like K-10. You both call after one of you bets preflop. Flop comes K-J-3 rainbow.

You check the flop, he bets, now would be a good time for a raise. Especially since he can have a straight draw with Q-10 or A-Q.

This would probably be the best possible play at the time and would garuntee that he can't just get a chance to catch his BS straight without putting a lot of chips in the pot.

[iceberg]

I still check raise once in a while to mix things up and keep the other players off balance. Sometimes it will backfire on me when he also checks and developes a hand.

[TriptreysNJ]

I like check raising the turn. Lots of crappy players out there(including me) and you can sqeeze an extra bet out of them by calling their flop bet. even if you have middle pair, this works alot to scare people into making them think you have a set. not that i recommend doing that, its just another way to use the check-raise.

i give the check-raise a thumbs up. but only use it occasionally

[hayden1009]

if too many people are in the hand I know that I most likely have the best hand peflop and dont like the flop...it looks like a drawing flop then I check raise to narrow the field...you lose some chips but you raise the advantage of winning the hand.

[ad1129]

I only go for check raises if i'm drawing on the flop and make my hand if they were the PFR, and raised on the flop if not i value bet. Too many times they check behind. If i'm first to act i like to check/call and lead on the turn/river.

-ad

[nxtyear]

Personally i'd suggest you don't checkraise.
you'll probably be checkraising with a very strong hand. and with a very strong hand, u want to maximise the amount of chips into the flop.
check-raising has become too common that people will know your hand is strong if you check-raise.
a better line would be just to bet out. that disguises the strength of your hand. if the opponent has anything on the flop, they'll call you. if not, they weren't going to pay you off anyways.

in cash games, don't check-raise. fishes will call your strong bets down anyways. so it's better to build your pot.
most fishes are loose-passive. meaning they don't bet as much.
if this is the case, there's alot of chance they'll check after you, meaning that your bet on the turn will have to be smaller than it would be if you bet and he called (since that built the pot).
also, if your hand isn't the absolute nuts, you might be giving your opponent a chance to draw out on you.

so, in a draw heavy board, just bet out, don't give your opponent a chance to take a free card. also you want to maximise the payoff from your big hands so obviously you want to build up the pot.

--------
checkraise is rather more significant in later stages of the tourneys.
each pot size and blind levels are high in proportion to the stack sizes.
in this stages, many people will be bluffing in order to win the pot on the flop
this is a good stage to do check-raises, and also, your hand strength requirements can be lower.

[ad1129]

good post nxtyear, but when you have the nuts check raising/checking it down might be the way to go. I.e. you flop a boat other person has a 5 suited of hearts one heart on board. You check he checks. River 3 heart you check he checks. River 2 haert what do you know he has the nut flush, betting for value gets him to fold on the flop most of the time but instead your getting paid off. I have no problem giving free cards on a non draw heavy board or when i have the nuts, but in most cases i agree check/raising just sucks. And this is a fairly uncommon scenerio.

-ad

[nxtyear]

ad1129, i see what you are saying.

but think of it this way, the chances of a hand improving massively like your runner runner to give him a nut straight/ flush is very rare.
so in most cases slow playing your cards will lead to getting no money out of him.

most of the time your opponent will only have a marginal hand by the river.
in which case, if you had checked it all the way to the river, the pot would be too small that you will only be able to win a smaller amount more from him.
obviously the only way you can get more chips from him then is to make a massive overbet on the river, which the opponent won't call with his marginal hand.

obviously you adjust to the situations according to your read.
in some situations your opponents hand may be hopelessly bad that your checks will be the right move.
but in other situations, your opponents will have a marginal pair which will call your bets but will not likely pay you off big if you check-raise or slow play till the river. over the long run, slow-playing your hands won't maximise the amount of money that you win.

[nxtyear]

in addition, i just want to say

while sometimes you should slow play your hands.
(and generally you want those hands to be ones that aren't likely to be drawn out on),
i never suggest slowplaying the turn as well.
reason? if by the turn he has any sort of draws, it's better to bet into him for him to make a mistake calling.

reason? u want to maximise your long run profit

scenario 1: You check the turn, he chceks behind
a: he misses his nut flush draw, you bet your full house, he folds
b: he hits, you bet river, he raises, you reraise him back, he calls.
(a happens more often than b, due to odds of hitting flush card)

scenario 2: you bet, he calls with his flush draw.
a. he misses, you bet, he fold
b. he hits, you bet, he raises, you raise him back, he calls.
(b in scenario 2 has a higher payout as the extra bet on the turn built the pot so the raises on river are proportionately larger)

unless your opponents are real donks, they WILL be scared of the full house when they are holding the nut flush in a paired board. in which case u won't see a reraise all in bet at the very end but rather just a call.

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other way around, if you are holding Ax suited and you flopped nut flush, bet out.
no body is going to put you on a flush (chances very slim)
so nobody with a flush draw will chase (as they won't be holding the Ace of the suite to chase the nut flush).

you are betting for value against people who possible flopped top pair good kicker, or someone who flopped a straight, or someone who has two pair or someone who has a set.

no one will pay you off if you slow play a flopped nut flush. because your big check-raise on the turn/river will not be called by anyone except the person who holds a full house. in which case it was your fault giving them the free card to pair the board.

bet out, make em pay for drawing to their full house.

also, the fourth card of the suit on the turn is a nightmare and now definitely nooone will pay you off, so ALWAYS bet strong when you flop the nut flush