Poker Tips

Introduction

There are various ‘arts’ to playing poker, but perhaps the art of raising is the most vital one to master as quickly as you can. If you don’t master this poker art quickly your opponents will quickly mark you out as being easy to read as you will play either too irrationally or too timidly. It is absolutely essential to remember that your sole reason for raising in poker is to try and make the opposition play in a way that they wouldn’t do – if they actually knew what your hand was.

Why you should raise

So, who'd like to bet on the draw and be the come hands?

Bearing the above comment in mind there are seven reasons for you to raise in a game of poker. The first and most obvious one is, when you know you’ve got the best hand then raising will simply get more money put into the pot. Secondly, if there is already a decent pot, by raising you’ll force other players who are less confident of their hands to fold. Thirdly, you might just want to bluff or at least semi-bluff them. Fourth, it could be a way for you to get a free card, and don’t forget – everyone loves a free card. A fifth reason could be to test out the other players, seeing if they reveal anything about their hand by the way they respond to your raise. Or, sixth to try and force out a better hand when you’re not the best one. Finally, seventh to try and lose any better hands if they were to bet on the draw.

Rookies raising

I could yet live to eat my words but, when it comes to rookies playing poker, especially if they find themselves in a purely ‘heads-up’ contest, it is generally true that they will always raise if they’ve got the best hand. However, the very fact that a rookie is inexperienced can make raising when there are still several other players still in the hand seem almost alien to them. Those nagging doubts about just how good their hand is and whether or not the pot is really big enough already – all flood to the front of the mind, creating a raising conundrum in their heads. If that describes you – I’m afraid the only way to truly learn poker is to ‘try it and see’. You will find especially if you’re playing against a lot of other rookie players, that they will fold on you as soon as you raise. Whilst that’s fine for your confidence giving you some easy wins early on, you’re not learning what the real threat was and you’re only going to be winning smaller pots. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere, just be patient and build up your poker game slowly.

To raise or not to raise – that is the question?

These two couldn't raise puff pastry!

Winning a poker hand is one thing, winning a big poker pot is quite another. So sometimes you need to refrain from raising to quickly, with a multi-way pot you’ll get more money in it by calling if someone has already raised rather than by running the riskier option of re-raising if you’re confident you’ve got the best hand. In other words, string the other player along for a while, keeping them thinking they’re in control and can take you for some easy money. This will also draw players behind you into calling, because you won’t have frightened them off with another raise, swelling the pot further for you to pounce on later.

Bluffing and raising.

The idea of calling rather than raising isn’t just some sort of bluff, instead you’d be calling because you’ve still got a strong hand if not even the best hand. To begin with you’re recommended to only play a bluff raise when there are no more cards to come – but your hand hasn’t panned out the way you thought/hoped it would. Bluff raising is a tricky and risky thing to do and needs to be used sparingly. If your opponent(s) are still in there with you, they presumably have at least half decent hands, if not ones capable of taking your money from you. It is an irony but the more experienced the opponent is the more likely they are to fold, when a less experienced opponent is more likely to call you out of sheer stubbornness. So if you want to try a bluff raise – do it when there are more experienced players around. If you fancy trying a semi-bluff raise, this needs to be executed with more cards to come. If it works, the pot will be smaller than if you’d gone to the river, but then there’s also more chance of the opposition folding.