POKER HAND #36

HERE'S SOME THOUGHTS: On two subtle hold 'em plays.

The first is check-raising as a bluff. I love this play.

I've noticed people check-raising less in general. Slow-playing is kind of going out of fashion. Still, tight players hate to be trapped, me included.

Gideon Friedman, winner of the Phil Hellmuth Jr. Invitational, has used this play to great effect. The checkraise is a great tool to use against aggressive players like myself and Jamie Galen.

The only time I really want to trap somebody is when I believe they would not call a bet.

Say you pick up the Ks-9s in the big blind. There's not really any point in raising if a few people have limped in and there's not much money in the pot. (With bigger blinds, this is obviously a different situation.)

I'll check in the big blind everytime with that hand and see what comes on the flop. I don't want to get reraised there.

The flop comes down K-6-5 rainbow. In that situation, who is going to call my bet? If I get called, the only hand I can beat is a K with a smaller kicker. And I know my opponents well enough to where I don't know that they would limp with the K-8 or K-7.

If I get called, I'm probably up against the 6-5, in which case I'm a pretty huge underdog. I could be up against a lower pocket pair, but in that case I'm a huge favorite and don't really need to bet.

If I check the King in that spot, a J can come off on the next card, making one of my opponents a pair if they saw a free card with the Q-J or J-10.

In that case, I'm set up to win a really big pot, where before the best I could do was lose a big pot or win a small one.

Over time, I've found this play to be an effective one, not that it's very complex.

If I check and someone else bets, I will easily raise in that spot. It's just plain a huge mistake not to raise there. It's worth an extra $5 or $10 just to find out what your opponent has--especially when your stack is in jeopardy.

Just look how your opponent is going to have to play a variety of hands in that spot. (I'm assuming he's a tight-aggressive player, like most of the folks I play with, and would give it some thought.)

They quite clearly don't have A-K here. Say they have something like the K-10. If I raise them in that spot, that's going to really put them to the test. If bet and got raised playing the K-10, I'm going to fold it. So you're making some hands that might beat you fold.

Now say the guy has something like J-J. He can't possibly reraise you in that spot. You just showed him that you were super-strong. He will probably think about it. With so much invested in the pot already, he will probably just smooth-call. A K-10 might smooth-call as well.

If he has the A-A, he's going to move all-in. If he has the 6-5 he's going to move all-in. And instead of potentially having to pay this hand off at the river, you've just got away from it the cheapest way you know how. He won't move all-in with a worse hand than yours. Not even I would do that, and I like to gamble.

This play can also save you a bet if you are beat. I don't know how many times that situation has happened to me. The guy bet, and I raised. He smooth-called. Depending on the preflop play, I can usually figure out what kind of a hand he's on.

And once you know what your opponent has, you're at a tremendous advantage. If you think he's trapping you, you'll probably right. And no matter what comes off on the river, he'll probably check it to you, expecting you to bet.

Because you know what he has, you now know exactly what to do. He hasn't just given you one free card, he's given you two. He's given you exactly two chances to make your hand.

If you spike a 9, you're in a great position. You've got him right where you want him. You can bet on the turn, and he'll probably raise you. Or if you don't hit your card, you get another free one because you can see the river.

If you don't make your hand, you can easily fold it without putting more money in the pot.

If you do, you'll win a huge one.