When To Bet
When it comes down to
it, betting is the result of two thoughts.
a) "I have the best hand and I'll wager money on it" or
b) "I think you have a poor hand, and you will fold if you are
forced to wager on it".
In theory, players are
supposed to fold when they have a bad hand. Players with a
good hand are theoretically supposed to bet. But if all
people played like this you might as well play a game like blackjack
or 52 pick up. A lot of players play to this style, but a lot also
think they are cunning deceptive players who can trick you and take
your money. This section should help you on these situations.
You must learn when to
bet… and when to fold. Some great hands don’t hit, and its better to
fold even though the hand was great preflop. Sometimes you might
have middle pair with a crappy kicker, but you can sense nobody has
anything so you should bet.
Blind-stealing
Every little bit helps,
and this is one tactic sure to slowly help anyone build a bankroll.
This applies when you are in the dealer’s position (or small blind),
and only you and the blinds remain in the hand. A raise even though
you have nothing can give just enough pressure to push the blinds to
fold, and thus giving you the small pot that you would of likely not
of won. Just checking in this situation is stupid because you let
them check and not pay to see the next card.
The Steal-raise
If you are last to act and
all players have checked it to you, there is that feeling that no
one really made their hand. This is most likely time to act and
steal the pot with a raise (yes this is a bluff). What this usually
does it knock out most people out of the hand so you have a better
chance of winning, or you could win the hand right there. This is
perfect to do if you are drawing a flush or an open ended straight
because you have increased the pot size that you will be winning if
you made your hand. (this is the most common bluff)
The Check-raise
The steal raise is used
frequently used in online play so much that people start to count on
others to make a bluff. Check raising is when you have a good hand
and decide to check it to your opponents hoping one of them makes a
small bet. You give them the security with your check where they
think you don’t have a good hand. The goal is to have the person
right after you make a small bet, and have everyone call that small
bet. So when it comes to you there is a lot more money in the pot
and you can hit everyone with a hefty re-raise. Now you have them
right where you want them, because you have the dominant hand and
they are most likely paying money that will be lost to you. Often
people feel pot committed and pay your raise and end up losing it
all to you. If you had started with a raise perhaps people would
have folded out instead of staying in because of the ‘small bet’ the
other guy made, so this is a fun tactic to use.
Be careful though, when you
check you are giving people the chance to check and see a free card.
No one is forcing them to bet, so you can end up with less money
from the pot when you win, or even worse the free card just gave
them the better hand and now YOUR losing money.
Pressuring the Draws
This tactic is
used when you have a good hand and you see a potential draw on the
board. One card to a flush or one card to a straight, and you
already have top pair with a good kicker. The goal of this is to bet
more than you usually would to pressure these people that are
drawing out of their hand. You make them PAY really hard if they
want to continue chasing that draw, and due to math and pot odds you
will come out very rich with this tactic since it favors you. If
they call your large bet, they most likely won’t hit their draw (32%
they will hit) and you win. So even though you lose some, the times
you win will make up for it.
Prying for Info
Almost like a reverse blind
steal this tactic works when you are first to act. You make a bet
right away as first person to act, most people will instantly fold
assuming you have a monster hand (AA, KK, AK suited) leaving you the
blinds to keep. When people pay and stay in your hand it gives you a
good read on the person, they most likely have a monster hand or at
least pocket pair. This way when the flop comes you can see where
you stand and if you can seriously bank from this hand or just
check/fold and wait for a better one.
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