Posted on Nov 25, 2009 | 0 comments

Raising Hell in Limit Hold’em

Raising Hell in Limit Hold’em
Whenever an opponent raises, it’s time to rethink the hand you’re playing.
Your opponent’s raise could sound an alarm, or be a cause for joy and celebration. It all depends on whether your opponent’s raise tells you their hand is better than yours, or they’re doing just what you hoped for and betting right into your monster hand.
Facing a raise can elicit differing responses depending on a variety of factors. These include what the current betting round is, whether you’re playing in a Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em or No-Limit cash game, or a tournament. Depending on how you interpret things, there are only three choices once you’ve been raised:
Fold
Call
Re-raise
…and that’s it. And if you are playing in a No-Limit or Pot-Limit game and choose to re-raise, you’ll also have to decide how much. Whatever variant you’re playing, you might want to ask certain questions of yourself. They don’t have right or wrong answers; they’re just a set of questions that can guide you toward a decision at the table.
How much do I like my hand?
Did I bet a big hand, a draw, or did I bet simply because I had position on my opponent and figured I could win the pot right there and then?
Who’s my opponent?
It’s not necessarily a cause for alarm if you’re raised by a lone opponent acting after you. It’s more serious when someone raises after two or three others have already entered the pot.
How many players are left to act?
A raise from the button smacks of larceny, but a raise from early position – with a number of players still to act – usually signifies a strong hand.
Is the prize worth the risk?
Pot odds – or huge implied odds if the pot odds are not there – must offset the odds against making your hand, to make the chase worthwhile.
A raise on the flop in a Limit Hold’em game can mean your opponent has a good hand, but if they have a great hand, you’ll probably face a raise on the turn, when bets double. A raise on the flop can also be a semi-bluff from a player on a draw who hopes to get some more money in the pot. In this case, your opponent will also be satisfied if you fold and they win the pot right there.
Raising may also be an attempt to obtain a free card on a more expensive betting round.
A player who raises on the flop, but can’t get his opponents to fold, will hope they all check the turn, so he can check too and take a free card. That free card may enable him to draw out on his opponents at half the price he would have paid by calling a small bet on the flop and another, bigger bet on the turn.
A raise on the turn usually means your opponent likes his hand and deferred raising until the betting limits doubled. This is a dangerous time for you and you will need to be very wary of what is in front of you.
If you know nothing at all about your opponent – you’ve never played against him before and have no read on him whatsoever – and he raises on the turn, the message in this bottle is pretty clear: it is likely he has a strong hand that can beat top pair/top kicker. You should save your ammunition for another battle, unless you have a much better hand than that.
Bluff-raising on the turn is uncommon in Limit Hold’em games, with the exception of five or six-handed games, where they are quite common. But in full ring games, a raise on the river can never be a semi-bluff; there are no more cards to come and all hands are fully realised once the final card is dealt. A raise on the river typically comes from someone who has been helped by the river card. Players holding a big, made hand prior to the river usually raise on the turn.
But a river raise can also be a bluff; most of the time this comes from someone whose drawing hasn’t improved. This player can only win by bluffing. Tracking betting patterns and analysing them against the cards that were dealt should help you determine when you’re confronting someone who bet with nothing more than a busted flush and a handful of hope.
The only time this analysis is likely to fail is when the river card either pairs your opponent’s kicker or connects with a pocket pair to complete a set. Assessing an opponent’s betting patterns against the cards that were dealt helps clarify whether the river card helped them. If the river card is a 5? – and the flop was 8? Q? K? – how likely is your opponent to play his underpair into all of the betting and raising that’s likely to take place with three playable cards on the board?

Whenever an opponent raises, it’s time to rethink the hand you’re playing.

Your opponent’s raise could sound an alarm, or be a cause for joy and celebration. It all depends on whether your opponent’s raise tells you their hand is better than yours, or they’re doing just what you hoped for and betting right into your monster hand.

Facing a raise can elicit differing responses depending on a variety of factors. These include what the current betting round is, whether you’re playing in a Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em or No-Limit cash game, or a tournament. Depending on how you interpret things, there are only three choices once you’ve been raised:

  • Fold
  • Call
  • Re-raise

…and that’s it. And if you are playing in a No-Limit or Pot-Limit game and choose to re-raise, you’ll also have to decide how much. Whatever variant you’re playing, you might want to ask certain questions of yourself. They don’t have right or wrong answers; they’re just a set of questions that can guide you toward a decision at the table.

How much do I like my hand?

Did I bet a big hand, a draw, or did I bet simply because I had position on my opponent and figured I could win the pot right there and then?

Who’s my opponent?

It’s not necessarily a cause for alarm if you’re raised by a lone opponent acting after you. It’s more serious when someone raises after two or three others have already entered the pot.

How many players are left to act?

A raise from the button smacks of larceny, but a raise from early position – with a number of players still to act – usually signifies a strong hand.

Is the prize worth the risk?

Pot odds – or huge implied odds if the pot odds are not there – must offset the odds against making your hand, to make the chase worthwhile.

A raise on the flop in a Limit Hold’em game can mean your opponent has a good hand, but if they have a great hand, you’ll probably face a raise on the turn, when bets double. A raise on the flop can also be a semi-bluff from a player on a draw who hopes to get some more money in the pot. In this case, your opponent will also be satisfied if you fold and they win the pot right there.

Raising may also be an attempt to obtain a free card on a more expensive betting round.

A player who raises on the flop, but can’t get his opponents to fold, will hope they all check the turn, so he can check too and take a free card. That free card may enable him to draw out on his opponents at half the price he would have paid by calling a small bet on the flop and another, bigger bet on the turn.

A raise on the turn usually means your opponent likes his hand and deferred raising until the betting limits doubled. This is a dangerous time for you and you will need to be very wary of what is in front of you.

If you know nothing at all about your opponent – you’ve never played against him before and have no read on him whatsoever – and he raises on the turn, the message in this bottle is pretty clear: it is likely he has a strong hand that can beat top pair/top kicker. You should save your ammunition for another battle, unless you have a much better hand than that.

Bluff-raising on the turn is uncommon in Limit Hold’em games, with the exception of five or six-handed games, where they are quite common. But in full ring games, a raise on the river can never be a semi-bluff; there are no more cards to come and all hands are fully realised once the final card is dealt. A raise on the river typically comes from someone who has been helped by the river card. Players holding a big, made hand prior to the river usually raise on the turn.

But a river raise can also be a bluff; most of the time this comes from someone whose drawing hasn’t improved. This player can only win by bluffing. Tracking betting patterns and analysing them against the cards that were dealt should help you determine when you’re confronting someone who bet with nothing more than a busted flush and a handful of hope.

The only time this analysis is likely to fail is when the river card either pairs your opponent’s kicker or connects with a pocket pair to complete a set. Assessing an opponent’s betting patterns against the cards that were dealt helps clarify whether the river card helped them. If the river card is a 5♥ – and the flop was 8♥ Q♠ K♣ – how likely is your opponent to play his underpair into all of the betting and raising that’s likely to take place with three playable cards on the board?

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes, average: 2.00 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Leave a Reply