Daniel Negreanu on when to Bet and Check-Raise
Whenever I come upon a Daniel Negreanu article, I always take a lot of interest in reading it. And I also always hope to gain some knowledge to improve my game, which I admit needs improvement, despite my being a winning player. I’m under the impression that most players can be a winning player, especially at the lower limits, but it takes a lot more skill to be a true winning player, someone that can take on the best and come out ahead in the long-run. Negreanu has an article from the Falls Church News-Press about betting and check-raising.
The topic actually goes well with my last post about playing out of position, because that certainly effects when you want to bet or check-raise. In fact one of the criteria that Negreanu suggests that a player take into account, is table position. Here is what he had to say on that:
From Falls Church News-Press:
Table Position and the Number of Players in the Pot
This is an extremely important. Obviously, the more players there are to act behind you, the more likely it is that one of them will bet. So, if you’re in the small blind with a powerful hand, and there are five players behind, checking is a smart move. One of those players will likely take a stab at the pot; then you can pounce with a raise.
However, if you have that same hand but are the second to last player to act, going for a check-raise would be extremely risky. You’d be counting on the last player to bet. If he doesn’t, all of your opponents get a free shot to beat you on the next card.
This is solid advice, which I should have listened to when I was playing last week. Granted, Negreanu is only detail a situation when the player has a strong hand, rather than nothing. Mainly, I was the guy that Negreanu is referring to who will take a stab at the pot. And sure enough I got raised quite a few times last week.
You can read the rest of the article at Falls Church News-Press. The advice is solid. The hard part is implementing those ideas during game situations.
Negreanu, bet, check-raise, poker
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