KCasey

Sometimes in poker is pays to play in a way that your opponents won’t expect. Indeed, taking an unconventional betting line can often make you more money than if you do the obvious.

Take a situation, such as Texas hold em tournaments, where you hold a pair and make quads on the flop. Taking a passive line might be the standard play, but when we break it down the more deceptive thing to do is to be aggressive.

Checking to the pre-flop aggressor when you make a strong hand is pretty standard in poker, however, the game is all about deception so instead of simply calling when they make their inevitable continuation bet, raising actually has a lot of merit.

In poker you must always play against your opponent’s range, as well as what they perceive your range to be. Thus, if you flop a hand such as quads it defies all conventional poker logic to raise. Because of this check-raising actually looks really weak as it’s usually only done as a semi-bluff/bluff or to protect a weaker hand.

Because the move looks weak you can engineer a situation where if your opponent holds any type of hand they will be induced into continuing with the hand. Indeed, they may even be tempted to float the flop and make a play on the turn with any hands they think make a good semi-bluff.

To raise your opponent when you flop a strong hand only for them to fold might look like a wasted opportunity. However, building a pot straight away and allowing your opponent to mistakenly think you’re weak will make up for when they fold. Indeed, to make the most money in poker you need to be aggressive and take unconventional lines.