When Should You Raise?
One of the most common moves performed while playing Texas Holdem poker is the raise and you should definitely be using the raise in your arsenal of moves. A raise is simply when you make a bet larger then the last bet made by an opponent. When noone has bet and you make a bet it’s only known as a bet, but the tips below can be implied to this scenario as well.
A lot of players are unsure when they should be raising the pot and when they should only call or fold and if you don’t know when to raise it could become a problem. You want to make sure that you get paid off when you have a monster hand and you also want to steal some hands by bluffing while playing and the only way to do both is by raising the pot. There are quite a few scenarios when you should raise the pot and we’re going to look at them all now so you have an idea of when you should raise the pot while playing poker.
* When you have a monster hand on PokerStars you want to raise the pot so that you can maximize the value of your hand. Make sure you don’t over-raise in this situation though as you want people to call.
* When you have a good hand you’ll want to scare out the hands with low pairs or draws so that they can’t beat you later in the pot. Often big hands get beat because the player didn’t raise the pot enough and there opponent came in on a draw and hit the draw.
* If you have a hand that is only on a draw such as a straight draw or flush draw you could raise the pot to scare your opponents out of the hand. It also increases the pot value in case your draw hits, but you’ll most likely prefer seeing your opponents fold then need to hit the draw.
* If you’re curious about what your PartyPoker opponents might have in there hand then by throwing out a small raise you should be able to gain some intelligence. If they fold you’ll win the pot and if they come over the top with a re-raise then you can be sure they have a hand.
* If you think that your opponent made a small bet because they have a draw and want to keep the pot low while they see if they hit there draw then you should raise. It might scare them off there draw or at least they’ll think hard about making the call and if you raised enough most players will fold the draw.
The above tips are just guidelines for new players and shouldn’t be followed very strictly. download poker stars now and start trying these tips out today. There are other situations when you should raise and there are also some situations when you shouldn’t raise even if it’s one of the above scenarios. Raising is a risky play in Texas Holdem poker and you’ll need to balls in order to make the raise, but they can definitely pay off well. Many pots are won due to a raise and you should make sure you win your share of these pots.