Poker: The Check-Raise Part 3

 

Example 1: Bet flop, check the turn, check-raise the river:

SB posts the small blind ($0.5)

BB posts the big blind ($1)

Cards dealt to Hero King of Spades and King of Hearts.

Hero Raises ($3.5) Pot= ($5)

MP folds

CO pays ($3.5) Pot= ($8.5)

BTN pays ($3.5) Pot= ($12)

SB folds

BB pays ($2.5) Pot= ($14.5)

***Flop*** Jack of Clubs, 8 of Spades, 3 of Diamonds.

BB checks

Hero bets ($10) Pot= ($24.5)

CO pays ($10) Pot= ($34.5)

BTN folds

BB folds

***Turn*** 6 of Spades

Hero checks

CO checks

***River*** 2 of Hearts

Hero check

CO bets ($11) Pot= ($45.5)

Hero raises ($39.50) Pot= ($85)

CO pays ($28.5) Pot= ($113.5)

Hero shows King of Spades and King of Hearts

CO shows Queen of Clubs and Jack of Spades

Hero wins!

Pre-flop, you raise with a pair of Kings and you are paid by three other players. The flop gives a Jack, otherwise it is fairly poor. So you then make a continuation bet, which is subsequently paid by CO. The CO is sat behind a $53 stack. Because the flop is pretty poor, his range of possible hands are fairly tight (Jack-x or possibly Ten Value-9). Because you suspect that your opponent is going to bet the turn with a jack, you decide to embark upon a check-raise. Nonetheless, he checks after you. The river gives nothing, and now you are hoping that your opponent will bet with his Jack-x combination. The fact that you had chosen to carry-out a check-raise has barely influenced the game. Because you appear to represent very little threat and your opponent is now fully committed in the hand, it is very probable that he will go All-In.

If you have bet at the river, your opponent would have paid, even with his Jack-x. Therefore, your decision to check-raise at the river, has given him the opportunity to undertake a bluff. If he had the top-pair in the hand, he would have felt fully implicated and you would win his stack.

Example 2: Check the flop, bet the turn, check-raise the river:

SB post the small blind ($0.5)

Hero posts the big blind ($1)

Cards dealt to Hero= 2 of Diamonds and Queen of Spades.

UTG pays ($1) Pot= ($2.5)

MP folds

CO folds

BTN pays ($1) Pot= ($3.5)

SB pays ($0.5) Pot= ($4)

Hero checks

***flop*** Queen of Diamonds, 2 of Spades, 2 of Hearts

SB checks

Hero checks
UTG checks

BTN check

***Turn***

SB checks

Hero bets ($3.2) Pot= ($7.2)

UTG bets ($3.2) Pot= ($10.4)

BTN pays ($3.2) Pot= ($13.6)

SB folds

***River*** 6 of Diamonds

Hero checks

UTG checks

BTN bets ($13.6) Pot= ($27.2)

Hero raises ($54.4) Pot= ($81.6)

UTG folds

BTN pays ($40.8) Pot= ($122.4)

Hero shows 2 of Diamonds and Queen of Spades

BTN shows 5 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts

Hero wins.

Our hero gets a full house here and even though you could have bet, you would simply check. The whole distribution of cards is very poor and you had the maximum game. This is why there is no reason to scare of your opponent with a bet. The turn brings a straight draw and a colour draw. You thus decided to attack and two players paid. The river is probably the best card dealt because it completed several draw hands. In this situation, our Hero could easily make a check-raise in order to garner as much profit as he possibly could. Following your opponents bet, you decided to bet the pot. Pushing your opponent to go All-In could equally have been an option because it is very doubtful that he would fold colours. Here, he managed to get a suit and did not relinquish his hand.

In brief: you can make a check-raise at the river to win more money, after having disguised your hand by checking twice before. If, in example 1, the flop gave cards such as Jack, 10 value, and 8 (-assorted), you should have bet the turn in order to force your opponent to pay his draw. You should not give your opponents a free card.

Example 1 is a great situation for making a check-raise at the river, providing your opponent is a really good poker player and has a stack of 100 x the big blind. If he had a big hand he would have bet the turn. If he had not done this then you could have safely assumed that he possessed a weak hand and was looking to add value to it by betting at the river but that he should have folded at your check-raise at the river. This is why it is important to satisfy two conditions when making a check-raise when in full bluff at the river.

Firstly, you need to know that your opponent knows how to fold a hand and you need to know if he is going to bet at the river. If he possesses, for example, 78 and you make a continuation bet on a flop of Jack-Ten value-5 and are paid; the turn does not give any good cards and you both check; in this situation you can make a check-raise instead of folding. Your opponent will have a hand like a Queen-Jack or a missed draw hand and you could then have followed this train-of-play with a 55. But I must reiterate: only attempt this with an opponent who knows how to fold his hands with a Queen-Jack in play here. You may even notice that the occasional player will pay you even when they have a weak hand because they think you are bluffing.

Example 3: Check-raise at the flop, check/All-In at the turn or check/All-In at the river, this is a very unusual way forward, but in the following example is perfectly justified. You flop a large hand on a very poor flop and you check-raise once your opponent has made a continuation bet, and he then pays you. You check the turn and at the river you say clearly "I'm ending my bluff". At the showdown an opponent will always bet at the river with a hand, such as a top pair, on which you can go All-In.

Finally:

Hero posts the small blind ($0.5).

BB posts the big Blind ($1).

Cards dealt to Hero= 3 of Spades and 3 of Clubs.

UTG folds

MP raises ($3.5) Pot= ($5)

CO folds

BTN folds

Hero pays ($3) Pot= ($8)

BB folds

***Flop*** Ace of Diamonds, 9 of Clubs, 3 of Hearts.

Hero checks Pot= ($8)

MP bets ($6) Pot= ($14)

Hero raises ($19) Pot= ($33)

MP pays ($13) Pot= ($46)

***Turn*** 5 of Spades

Hero checks Pot= ($46)

MP checks= Pot= ($46)

***River*** 7 of Spades

Hero checks Pot= ($46)

MP bets ($32) Pot= ($78)

Hero raises ($77.5) Pot= ($155.5)

MP pays ($45.5) Pot= ($201)

Hero shows 3 of Spades 3 of Clubs

MP shows Ace of Clubs Queen of Clubs

Hero wins.

Your opponent thinks: he check-raised at the flop, which he can do with nothing or three-of-a-kind. I decided to pay to see what happened at the turn. At the turn, he and I both checked, I in order to control the pot and to bet at the river if he checked again. Effectively, he checked, which probably means that I have the best hand, thus I will make a value bet. He check-raised me All-In. He does not represent any threat here and has given me good odds, so I will pay. WRONG!!! I was tricked!!!! ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

$$$$$ to Hero!!!

 

The Check-Raise Part 1 The Check-Raise Part 2 The Check-Raise Part 3
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