Regarded as one of the best moves in poker, check-raising is a formidable strategy that allows players to exploit and read their opponents. Although luck is rife within the game, you’ll find it incredibly hard to win poker tournaments without having an array of strategies in your arsenal.

For beginners, ensuring you’ve learned simple strategies – such as mixing up your bets – can go a long way in an online poker room. Why? Because poker games online attract players from all over the world – some experienced, others not. By implementing newly-learned skills, you’re instantly differentiating yourself from novices and increasing your chances of being active in the latter stages of a game. Read on as we discuss why using check-raising in your game is essential.

What is Check-Raising?

So, what is a check-raise in poker? An effective move for maximizing the pot, a poker check-raise is the act of checking first and then raising your opponent’s bet. By doing this, you’re controlling the pot and applying pressure on the opponent as it often catches them off-guard. And once they’ve raised the pot, they’ll feel obliged to call your raise.

Using this strategy is a brilliant way to check the strength of someone’s hand and identify whether they’re bluffing. For example, if you’re head-to-head against a player who’s bluffing on the river and decide to check them, they may perceive you to be backing off. In this scenario, most players would raise in a bid to make you fold and steal the pot. So, if you re-raise their bet and they’re bluffing, there’s a good chance they’ll fold as they become aware that you’re using strategy.

Here lies the benefits of implementing check-raising in your game; it allows you to gain a deeper understanding of what hand your opponent is holding and from here, use the information gathered to make the best decision possible.

How to Use Check-Raising Effectively

From understanding your opponent’s playing styles and how they approach certain hand ranges to your hand and the texture of the board, there are many considerations you need to process before using strategy.

By watching professional poker, you’ll notice that most players use check-raising to maximize the pot. And most will be holding a strong hand when doing so, otherwise, they risk being exploited by an opponent holding the nut hand (or something even stronger.) If you’re playing via an online casino, be sure to slow play by not betting quickly, even if you’ve already pre-prepared your move. The trick is to avoid attention so opponents are blinded by the fact that you’re using strategy. But once they’ve raised, feel free to reraise as quickly as you want.

Another good way to add check-raising to your gameplay is to incorporate it into your bluffing (or semi-bluffing.) By playing check-raise poker, not only will most players perceive you to have a strong hand and act cautiously, but you’ll also get a gauge on the betting behaviors of your opponents and from here, decide whether you have a chance of winning or identify whether they’re holding a strong hand and are likely to call till the end.

When holding a deep stack, check-raising is a great way to force your opponents to fold and steal the pot – even when they’re holding a strong hand. Additionally, during the preflop or flop, it allows you to narrow down the competition and improve your chances of success. An effective way of doing this is by raising the initial bet by four or five times the amount – statistically, most players fold.

Remember, it’s crucial to constantly monitor the board, your positioning and the players who remain active. Without gathering external information, you’re hindering your chances of making the best move. The last thing you want to do is semi-bluff via a check-raise, have an opponent call you and lose big because your cards never showed up.

Regarding online poker tournaments, it’s vital to mix up strategies to remain unpredictable. Some great tips for effective tournament strategy include stealing the big blinds in the later rounds, identifying the good players from bad and embedding TAG strategy into your game.

Check-Raising For a Bluff vs More Value

Check-raising is a multi-purpose strategy. From a bluffing standpoint, it’s historically known to steal pots, create unforced errors (due to applied pressure,) and allows players to gain an understanding of what hands their opponents hold.

When using it to add value, the strategy allows players to maximize the pot, surprise opponents and exploit short-to-medium-stacked players.

Play Poker on Borgata Online

Want to play poker online games at one of the best online poker sites? A great way to test your freshly-learned strategy is with Borgata Online’s range of poker games – from Texas Hold’em to Omaha and Seven-Card stud. There’s also an endless array of online casino games to choose from, such as blackjack, online slots, roulette and more. Register today and test your skills.