On the Flop
Raising to gain information on the flop is a very common tactic. Basically, you want to know the answer to one of two questions:
1. At the moment, does my opponent have a better hand than I dot
2. Is he on a drawl
Let's look at an example of this sort of situation:
You have A*8*. Your opponent raised before the flop, and the flop is A49*5*. He bets into you, telling you that he has at least a pair of aces. Whether your opponent actually does have the aces is something you don't yet know. If you just call here, and then call again on the turn and the river, you'll never know where you stand. He could have kings and be giving you a chance to fold. Here, you raise to gain information. If he folds, then it was your raise that told him that you have an ace or better, and he couldn't beat that. If he reraises you, then you've found out what you wanted to know. Consider the following hands (again, "s" means "suited):
AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, AKs, AQs, AJs, AK, AQ, AJ, KQs, KJs, KlOs, KQ, KJ, KIO, QJ, QIO, JlOs
There are 160 different hands represented here! These are all hands that he could have raised with before the flop. When he bet into you on the flop, he could have had any one of these hands. If you know this player, maybe you know that if he flopped nothing in this spot he would have checked it. Go through the above list and eliminate any hand that would have been nothing on the flop.
Now, go through the list and eliminate any hand that would have been something on the flop, but you think most players would have checked. Since he didn't check on the flop, he doesn't have those hands.
The next step is to eliminate hands with which he would just have called your raise. He didn't just call, so he doesn't have those hands. Now look at the hands that are left.
Which of these hands seems to fit with what you know about how he played his hand so far?
In most situations, I think AA, 99, AKs and AK are excellent candidates. I think he positively has one of these hands, even though I'm not sure exactly which one it is. I don't have to know which hand he has, all I have to know is that he's got me beat and I don't have the right odds to continue with the hand.
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1. A pair that's weak under these particular circumstances. It could be top pair with a weak kicker or bottom pair with a good kicker (why not bottom pair with a weak kicker? Because you don't continue with hands that bad)! You could have a pocket pair that is beat by the board, but you don't think it paired any of your opponents' cards.
2. A straight- or flush- draw.
Let's look at some examples of these types of hands:
You're in the blind with K¥5*. The flop is K*9*3V. There's a bet and you raise.
The other player will often check to you on the turn. If you like the turn card, or it improves your hand, or you feel that your pair of kings is the best hand, regardless of kicker, then you can bet it again. If the turn card doesn't help you, and your opponent checks into you, you can check and save a big bet. If it then turns out that your opponent had you beat with, say K>84, then you got a free card when you had the worst hand. Drawing for free with the worst hand! It doesn't get any better than that, and it happened because you raised to get a free card.
You have A434. The flop is JV6*34. There's a bet and you raise.
If the bettor checks to you on the turn you can also check and see the river card before you have to put any more money in the hand. If you spike another ace or 3, you'll have gotten in an extra bet with a winning hand, which is the essence of all forms of poker. If you miss on the turn and the river, you will at least have gotten to see the river for free.
If you repeat this situation over and over during the course of a game, occasionally you'll hit your hand, and you'll win much more than the cost of that little $3 raise on the flop. There's also the possibility that your small pair is the best hand at the showdown, and you, then he's telling you the opposite. Pocket aces and kings are two hands with which no one should mind reraising a sole opponent before the flop.
If he reraises, then you can put him on pocket aces or kings. If you know your opponent is a little looser than most, you might want to give him credit for pocket queens or jacks or possibly AK suited.
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