The Check-Raising Manual. Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 A) WHEN WE HOLD BLOCKERS TO VALUE HANDS, OR BLOCKERS TO HANDS THAT CAN FIGHT BACK...

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2 Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 A) WHEN WE HOLD BLOCKERS TO VALUE HANDS, OR BLOCKERS TO HANDS THAT CAN FIGHT BACK... 4 B) WE HOLD BLOCKERS TO DRAWS... 7 C) VILLAIN WILL PLAY PASSIVELY WITH HIS BLUFF-CATCHERS D) READLESS = NIT IT UP, WITH READS = LAG IT UP E) CHOOSE YOUR BOARD TEXTURE BATTLES WISELY

3 Introduction I can t help but notice that a lot of discussion nowadays revolves around playing looser from the blinds. It makes sense though, doesn t it? Conventional poker knowledge encourages us to open as widely as possible from the button, which suggests that defending ranges from the blinds should widen as well. After all, nothing feels more helpless than constantly allowing some regular to relentlessly min-open from the button and steal the blinds without facing at least some degree of resistance. After all, we came here to play poker.. So let s get in there and battle!! Except there s one caveat here.. Defending a wider range from the blinds when facing a wide button open would be immediately profitable, if the action ceased there. But it rarely does. One of the marked differences between PLO and NL is the postflop equity distributions: the nuts change more often on each street And although playing OOP in NL is certainly more difficult than playing IP, playing OOP in PLO is unquestionably more troublesome due to the fact that there are way fewer way ahead/way behind situations. (NL is a polarized game, PLO is a merged game, inherently, but that s a topic for another day). Seeing as how everyone is trying to play as wide as possible from the BB, it felt appropriate to spit out my thoughts on which factors to consider when check/raising postflop Because as you can imagine, widening your OOP peeling range becomes an expensive habit when employed incorrectly.. And if ever you notice yourself lacking a postflop plan and pair/draw mining, then it s time to creep back into your hole and tighten up until you gain better reads or a wiser laid strategy for countering late-position stealers. The following is a list of things I consider when plotting a check/raise in a singleraised pot. Hopefully the insight will help you leverage aggression OOP against those pesky late position stealers. Tread carefully, my friends. 3

4 A) When we hold blockers to value hands, or blockers to hands that can fight back Stacks: UTG $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $ bb Pre-Flop: ($1.50, 5 players) Hero is BB 4 7 Q J 2 folds, BTN raises to $2.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.50 Flop: J K 5 ($5.50, 2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets $4.40, Hero raises to $13 Most players think blockers are only useful when they block the stone-cold nuts (i.e., NF blocker on a monotone board). The truth, is that there are all kinds of blockers that are relevant in a hand.. From flush-draw blockers, to straight-draw blockers, blockers that induce thinner value bets, and blockers that block.. well.. blockers! Most importantly to understand though, is that blockers are very useful in check-raising scenarios when you hold a blocker to any part of villains value range, or to their range that can confidently fight back against your aggression. A common mistake made by beginners is to view all board textures the same, regardless of preflop context. One of my big aha moments in poker is credited to my first NL coach. It s pretty simple. Preflop VPIP = Postflop Equity. In other words, the wider a preflop range, the smaller amount of postflop equity our opponents have. 4

5 This flop texture connects well with tight preflop ranges, but when we hold a blocker to KJ** and JJ**, as well as QJT* type hands, the frequency in which our opponent has both a value hand strong enough to put in a flop 3b, or for that matter, peel our check/raise is diminished greatly. Furthermore, it s common knowledge in today s games to apply aggression on dry boards, but few players attack wet boards in fear of running into the nuts or big draws more often. Therefore, re-raises on these boards are perceived as genuine strength moreso than on boards such as A72r, 885s, and T53m. What s more our hand is too weak to call a c-bet with. Our two-pair hands have reverse-implied odds, and typically a profitable strategy I employ as much as possible is to avoid being the one calling and folding to bets on later streets. As a rule of thumb when OOP, if you can t call one more bet with your hand on a later street, then you should either c/r or fold. Stacks: UTG $ bb UTG+1 $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $ bb Pre-Flop: ($5.40, 6 players) Hero is BB 8 J T 7 2 folds, CO raises to $9.40, 2 folds, Hero calls $7.40 Flop: K 5 T ($22.20, 2 players) Hero checks, CO bets $15.54, Hero raises to $40 5

6 This hand is an extension of the previous one, except this board is slightly different. Again, here we see that our hand blocks KT**, KQJ*, and TT** type combos that villain can hold. Most importantly, it s important to note that our check-raise here is best suited against players with wide preflop ranges. I would be hesitant to attempt this same line against an UTG open, but villain in this hand had a high raise-first in stat from the CO. Therefore, knowing he was wide preflop and likely to c-bet this board a high % of the time (the heavy, high card boards get c-bet quite often by the players with initiative), my line is credible and our opponent is unlikely to fight back without a genuine hand. A common question I receive from players is, I never know when I should bluff in poker. It seems like whenever I bluff, I run into the nuts. Here s a good rule of thumb that s worked for me. If you have blockers bluff more, if you hold no blockers then play tight, and be ok with it. Avoid getting out of line without a blocker to some piece of the opponent's range that can retaliate against you. More simply, with no reads and no blockers, don't bluff. With a blocker(s) and some relevant info, look for an excuse to fire away. 6

7 b) We hold blockers to draws Stacks: UTG $ bb CO $ bb BTN $350 88bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $ bb Pre-Flop: ($6, 5 players) Hero is BB K folds, BTN raises to $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $8 Flop: 8 2 J ($26, 2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets $18.20, Hero raises to $48 Student s often laugh when I say my reasoning for check/raising here is because we have blockers to blockers, but really that s how I feel! There s a lot going for us here that encourage a check/raise. Let s run through the list. a) we have a gut-shot, back-door flush-draw, and likely live set outs, so even when called, we can suck out (not to mention needle the Hell out of the guy with J8 or a naked overpair) b) the # of combinations of peelable draws is reduced because we hold two 9 s c) with this hand, there aren t enough turns capable of bluff-catching unimproved. If the action stopped after the flop we might be able to profitably call a bet (depending on his sizing), but against someone competent we will call and fold too often to make peeling profitable 7

8 d) some players would argue for an OOP float with the intention of leading straight completing turns, but I don t like it. In general, when OOP, I lean towards taking aggressive lines when it s a grey area, because playing OOP without the initiative is too hard in PLO, and when we take passive lines, from my experience, players rarely give you credit for having a hand. e) On a board texture this dry, there are few hands willing to put in a flop 3b. Therefore, even when we get looked up, we still get to realize our equity (even villain s bluff catchers will play passively facing our raise), therefore we can realize our equity, get fold-equity from our semi-bluff, and: f) With our blockers to blockers, we can barrel straight completing cards and credibly rep a flop check/raise with 9T**, QJT* type hands (very common line in today s games.) Stacks: UTG $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb Hero (SB) $ bb BB $ bb Pre-Flop: ($2.50, 5 players) Hero is SB T 5 T 9 2 folds, BTN raises to $3, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold Flop: ($8, 2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets $5.60, Hero raises to $18 Facing a bigger open from the CO, or even from the BTN for that matter, I don t mind folding. But with the antes, a small button open, and a straightforward BB I decided to make the call. 8

9 Middling paired hands get a bad rap, and typically they are trouble hands.. But there are situations where they re useful. For example, getting a good price preflop, combined with the fact that TT** and JJ** type hands have oversetting potential against wide ranges, and perhaps most importantly, the straight-blocker potential that these hands have postflop make peeling preflop for a competent player enticing. Readless though, I certainly don t mind a fold preflop. As played though.. here s my thought process. Similar to before, our hand certainly isn t strong enough to bluff catch on very many runouts.. But, there are a few considerations that make check/raising an attractive option: a) we know villain has a wide stealing range, and we assume he c-bets wide as well. Therefore, given what we mentioned earlier (wide VPIP = less postflop equity), we can assume that although this board is actually heavy on a wide stealing range, he will still whiff the flop more than 65% of the time. b) Hands that bluff catch us will play passively, and are unlikely to threebet the flop. c) Perhaps most importantly, when we do get called by overpairs and other pair+sidecard type hands, we have good barreling opportunities on straight completing cards. Moreover, when those straight completing cards do fill, we don t to bet very large to get folds from bluff catching hands that beat us, but that can t beat a straight. As mentioned earlier, something I try to avoid is creating the dead money to surrender later.. And in this situation, we are actually reversing the role: encouraging our opponent to call a bet on one street, only to give up on a high percentage of turns. 9

10 C) Villain Will Play Passively With His Bluff-Catchers Stacks: UTG $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $ bb Pre-Flop: ($6, 5 players) Hero is BB K 2 folds, BTN raises to $10, 1 fold, Hero calls $6 Flop: J A 7 ($22, 2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets $17.60, Hero raises to $56 Facing a 2.5x raise from the BTN, I typically peel any double-suited hand. Against very skilled opponents I can find a fold with the worst double-suited hands, like J642ds, but in general how widely I peel from the BB is directly correlated with the size of the open. In general, I play significantly tighter facing a min open than when facing a pot-sized open, with some exceptions. There are a few things at work here. In some cases I can see an argument for check/calling. After all, most of the time our FD will be clean (although flush draw domination is certainly a concern), and if we check/raise and our opponent threebets, we will be forced to fold our equity in the hand. But how much value does a 9 high FD have anyway? Frankly, not very much. A queen high FD would be worth a lot more, but here with a 9 high FD and no pair / straight-draw, I prefer check/raising. But if we have, say, a gutshot with our FD (T8** with clubs), I d be more likely to consider a check/call because the cost of getting re-raised out of the pot is more severe. 10

11 It should be noted that most of the time, my excuse for peeling an open from the BB doesn t have much to do with my actual hand. It has more to do with how investing some bb s into the pot allows me to purchase the opportunity to check/raise the flop. In general, I ve always felt that good players are constantly searching for reasons to bet.. While weak players are constantly searching for reasons to check. While we will occasionally have to check/raise and fold (I d say 15% of the time), I believe that not only do we get many folds (Ace high boards, even the dynamic ones, get c-bet with the widest of ranges, so expect more folds), I believe that even the hands our opponent may get suspicious with will play passively. Hands as strong as AJ will look for a clean turn, and play straightforwardly on flush completing runouts. With the SPR this high, most competent players aren t happily jamming in AJ** with no redraw (although the stronger pieces of the AJ** range will happily play for stacks, that is less likely when facing a wide button opener). Therefore, check/raising allows us to: a) get immediate fold equity b) realize equity against the range that beats us In short, be willing to semi-bluff lighter when villain will allow you to get to SD, and play passively with his bluff catchers. 11

12 D) Readless = Nit it up, With Reads = LAG it up Stacks: UTG $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $ bb Pre-Flop: ($1.50, 5 players) Hero is BB A 5 7 T 2 folds, BTN raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $1 Flop: 2 Q 6 ($4.50, 2 players) Hero checks, BTN bets $3.15, Hero raises to $10, BTN raises to $24.15, Hero folds I showed the results in this hand to prove a point. Although this board is a good candidate to insert a light check/raise, I would prefer to check/raise against an opponent with a read, or at least with a blocker. In general, on these types of boards, my decision for check/raising or not (when I hold nothing) boils down to two things: a) Player Reads: how well do I know this player? Does he c-bet his air? Is there a deviation from his standard sizing? What was his timing? What s the bottom of his bet/folding range? What is my image? Most of the time without an answer to these questions, I default to straightforward play. b) Blockers: As discussed in other HH s, blockers to hands that can retaliate against your aggression greatly enhances the profitability, and likelihood of success in check/raising scenarios. For example, change my hand to AsTx7x5x then I don t mind check/raising.. We decrease the likelihood opponent has a hand capable of peeling, and also provide ourselves the opportunity to barrel flush completing runouts. 12

13 To summarize, without holding either of these things, folding is clearly the best option. In situations where you hold an abundance of either one of these things, feel free to apply pressure. And if you happen to run into a hand, chalk it up to variance and continue to fire away in the future. 13

14 E) Choose Your Board Texture Battles Wisely Stacks: UTG $ bb UTG+1 $ bb CO $ bb BTN $ bb SB $ bb Hero (BB) $197 99bb Pre-Flop: ($3, 6 players) Hero is BB J T 7 8 UTG raises to $6, 4 folds, Hero calls $4 Flop: ($13, 2 players) Hero checks, UTG bets $10, Hero raises to $28 I ve alluded to this already, but it s important to recognize that how aggressively you can attack boards is directly correlated with the opening ranges of your opponents. Here s a few quick tips: a) the heavier (high ranking cards, think KQ8), a board is, the less you should attack it when facing a tight opening range. b) Contrastingly, the heavier a board is (higher ranking, think KQ8), the more you should attack wide ranges. In general, I like attacking KQx and other heavy boards, because most players nowadays have all KK and QQ combos in their peeling ranges from the blinds. Therefore, when you check/raise, you will get more credit for having a value hand.. Whereas on lighter boards, such as 834, opponents will put us on more complete bluffs and light semi-bluffs, and will therefore be more likely to peel in position or ship it in light. 14

15 Furthermore, K and Q high boards get c-bet almost as frequently as A high boards do nowadays, so the mantra of attacking high c-bet spots applies here. c) When facing light boards (think 752), you should attack tight preflop ranges more, either by floating or bluff-raising. d) When facing light boards, understand that wide preflop ranges connect more with these. So for example, BTN opening ranges will actually connect more with a light board than with a heavy one. That s why I prefer many times to apply aggression against wide ranges on heavy boards, and play straightforwardly on light boards. In this hand, I think there are many valid flop options. Villain was playing tight, a 23/14 overall, with of course, a nitty UTG opening range. In general, I peel quite wide when villain has a well defined preflop range. In PLO, even the strongest hands connect less than 40% of the time, so having knowledge of someone s preflop range can give you a great amount of postflop power. In NL, it can be difficult to steal pots postflop against someone with a very tight opening range, because hand values are more static, and strong hands preflop have a greater likelihood of getting to showdown as the best hand. In other words, getting someone to fold big pairs, or TPTK can be difficult in NL. But in PLO, players get more credit on disconnected and paired boards, so against competent and non-straightforward opponents, it s important to have good board coverage.. Or at least awareness of what level your opponents are on, so you can be cognizant of where they might try to attack your preflop weaknesses. So, in this hand, I prefer calling with a wide range because I have a good read on which boards connect for my opponent, and which ones I can attack. Postflop, my main consideration for check/raising (although check/calling is an option), is with regards to: a) Runouts: how many runouts are good for my check/calling range, and for my opponent? In this case, against his high-card heavy range, there are few runouts where he can comfortably call me down. I could certainly have a variety of merged value hands and semi-bluffs in my check/raising range, so calling makes him vulnerable on any straight completing, nonbroadway runout. 15

16 b) Semi-bluff: Regardless of what he holds, his and certainly has equity against us, so forcing him to fold is good for us. c) Barreling Tendencies: I m not aware of his barreling tendencies, but if he bets the flop and doesn t barrel many turns, we will make it easy for him to get to showdown with his hand. Facing a barrel-happy opponent and holding a stronger hand (sets or 2pr+) I may take a c/c flop c/r turn. But we don t know that here, so I d prefer to just check/raise the flop 16