Raising for Information
Raising for Information
Raising for Information
Before the flop all that can be known about an opponent's hand is the odds of being dealt any two cards in combination, the position relative to the blinds, the size of the pot before and after your opponent bets or raises and whether he was the original better or was he a caller or re-raiser. Not much to go on.
You might know something of the way your opponent(s) at the table play. Perhaps you have played with them before or you have been at the table long enough to observe and catalog your observations. You may know that an opponent likes to raise in middle position with solid hands and a few suited connectors. If he then raises you may be able to put him on a range of hands like AA through TT, AK, AQ, AJ, AT suited, AK and AQ off suit and a range of speculative suited connectors like QJ, JT, T9, 98, 87 or 76. If that same opponent just calls then you might narrow his hand selection to medium pairs and suited connectors, hands he can get away from easily and cheaply if he doesn't hit the flop. If you enter the pot as first to act with a raise then you can learn some information from your opponent's response to you.
The next place to gain information is on the flop. Whether you open the pot or raise you are trying to answer two questions:
Is my opponent on a draw?
On this street, does my opponent have a better hand than I have?
The answer to these questions really is a matter of narrowing the hand range you can now put your opponent on.
Lets say you hold an Ac8c and your opponent raised pre-flop. You called with a suited ace. The flop comes, As9h5d. He is first to act and bets into you. His bet represents that he holds at least a pair of aces. At this point, all your opponent is doing is representing that he has an ace. Whether he does or not is still a matter of speculation. If you merely call you will not gain any further information and, since information is important in poker, you would not be acting correctly. With an ace in your hand the correct move is to raise your opponent. He may fold, believing your representation that you too have an ace in your hand. If he re-raises he may have a better ace than you do. There are 6 combinations with an ace that would beat yours, an AA, AK, AQ, AJ, AT and A9. These combinations, with the exception of the AA, could be suited or not. Furthermore, he may be holding a 55 or 99 which could also beat you, Unless the re-raise is a bluff, then you are probably beaten and now might be the time to lay the hand down. He may choose to only call your raise. Because there are no flush draws on the board, but there is a 3 gap gutshot straight draw, you cannot rule out 67 or 78 0r 68 as possible holdings. If your opponent holds two suited cards in spades, hearts or diamonds he may want to hang around for the turn to see if he four flushes, making the river a possible draw. As unlikely as runner-runner is, they do happen. In any one of these conditions you learn much more about your opponents hand with a raise than with an unwise call. There is an added benefit to a raise; you may induce your opponent to muck a better hand if the hand is marginal.
Raises made on the flop often determine the outcome of the current hand. Whether you win because your opponent gives up or your raise induces a free card on the turn, the action taken on the flop puts you in complete control of the betting and places significant pressure on your opponent. It is always better to be the one applying the pressure than being subject to the same pressure yourself.
One more thing, if I am sure I am beaten and I am not getting the right price to call, I will gladly give up on the hand and fight another day. Sometimes, when I am absolutely sure I am beaten and even if I am getting the right price to call, I will give up and muck my hand. Sometimes those lay-downs are hard to make but they are correct. There is no shame in protecting your stack by minimizing your loss in any given situation. Careful analysis of the texture of the board and what cards your opponent might hold along with their betting patterns on this hand and on prior hands as well all provide the information you need to continue in a hand or to walk away. It all begins with an aggressive raise.
Tile Work - Info Wall Tiles - Info What are ecigs? Some Useful Information! Commodity Exchanging Simple Info For Newbies More Info On Swimwear Care Need Roofing Information? Dreaming Of That Windy City Excursion? Read This Information On How To Land Grab Chicago Excursion D Information Of Finding The Right Psychologist In Cape Town All The Thailand Information You Need Thailand Information For Everyone KODAIKANAL GENERAL INFORMATION Taking A Windy City Adventure? Peruse This Information On Ways To Grab Land Windy City Getaway Deals Wanting To Take A Chicago Getaway? Read This Information On Ways To Grab Land Chicago Adventure Deal