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An example of situations where you should bet would be the routine cases where a man shows something like
and you have a seven low. This obviously should be bet. Whether you should bet an eight low is a little more difficult. In general, the answer is no. You should, to best poker game play, bet a good eight low if you have a strong suspicion that all he has is an eight-seven-six.
Once again, in close decisions you can bet marginal hands if you don’t fear a raise because of the cards that you have showing and the cards he has showing and you would tend to check those marginal situations where a raise is a possibility.
Another key swing point on these marginal hands where he is going to check automatically would be the cards that are out. We now come to those situations where you are first to act.
One play that should be made much more often than is normally made even by experts is the check-raise on the end. It never ceases to amaze me how often opportunities are missed to check-raise in razz poker game. This is especially strange because there is an almost automatic situation.
This situation arises when you have what appears to be something like an eight low and your opponent has either two or three cards to a seven. Anytime you have a six low or a good seven in this spot, you should check-raise.
Once you check, your opponent will almost always bet a seven low. You can now raise and very few players can throw their hand away once they have put this much money in the pot.
However, if you come out betting with your hand, most decent players will get a little bit worried that you don’t have an eight, but in fact, have a real strong hand, and they will simply call you. As I said, it comes up all the time and to not make this play is silly.
Theory of online poker gives the specific formula as what is needed to make a check-raise profitable. What it boils down to is simply that if you average winning more by check raising than by betting, the check-raise is the better play.
Most times when you appear to have a decent hand and he has a draw to an even better hand, you should check it even if your hand is very strong, since he will bet if he makes his hand.
Not only do you have a chance for a check-raise, but you also have a chance to snap off a bluff. So, for instance, If you have
and, in fact have a bicycle, you should certainly check to
since you are not only going to get a double bet if he makes a seven or better, but you may also entice him to bluff if he misses altogether.
Should players start not paying you off when you do make this raise, you can cure them of that very quickly by check raising in this spot without having them beat.
The play of checking and calling should be made if you do better by playing it this way than by checking and folding or checking and raising.