Reasons To Raise
Unlike calling, raising has an extra way to win: opponents may fold. An opening bet may be considered a raise from a strategy perspective. David Sklansky gives seven reasons for raising, summarized below.
- To get more money in the pot when a player has the best hand: If a player has the best hand, raising for value enables them to win a bigger pot.
- To drive out opponents when a player has the best hand: If a player has a made hand, raising may protect their hand by driving out opponents with drawing hands who may otherwise improve to a better hand.
- To bluff A player raises with an inferior or "trash" hand attempts to deceive other players about the strength of their hand, and hopefully induce a better hand to fold.
- To semi-bluff A player with a drawing hand may raise both to bluff and for value. While technically still a bluff, as the player may not end up with a made hand and is primarily trying to drive out players, the player still has the opportunity to make their hand and win the pot if the bluff is called.
- To block Players on drawing hands may put out a "blocking bet" against players who are likely to raise when checked to, but unlikely to raise when bet into. This is a small bet made on a drawing hand to prevent having to call a larger bet from a player in late position.
- To get a free card: If a player raises with a drawing hand, their opponent may call the bet and check to them on the next betting round, giving them a chance to get a free card to improve their hand.
- To gain information: If a player raises with an uncertain hand, they gain information about the strength of their opponent's hand if they are called. Players may use an opening bet on a later betting round (probe or continuation bets) to gain information by being called or raised (or may win the pot immediately).
- To drive out worse hands when a player's own hand may be second best: A combination protection and probe raise, a player with a strong hand but not the "nuts" (the hole cards that make the best possible hand given the current face-up cards) may raise, both to induce drawing hands that may improve to the "nut hand" to fold, while also testing to see if another player has the "nuts".
- To drive out better hands when a drawing hand bets: If an opponent with an apparent drawing hand has bet before the player to act, if the player raises, opponents behind them who may have a better hand may fold rather than call two bets "cold". This is a form of isolation play, and has elements of blocking and protection.
Read more about this topic: Poker Strategy
Famous quotes containing the words reasons to, reasons and/or raise:
“Could truth perhaps be a woman who has reasons for not permitting her reasons to be seen? Could her name perhaps be—to speak Greek—Baubo?... Oh, those Greeks! They understood how to live: to do that it is necessary to stop bravely at the surface, the fold, the skin, to adore the appearance, to believe in forms, in tones, in words, in the whole Olympus of appearance! Those Greeks were superficial—out of profundity!”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
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—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Certainly, the mistakes that we male and female mortals make when we have our own way might fairly raise some wonder that we’re so fond of it.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)