????‍???? Which hand would you check raise more often with?

Tournament 8-max (antes 12.5%)

BTN (30BB) opens to 2.2BB
SB (31BB) folds
Hero BB (30BB) calls 2.2BB

Flop (pot 6.13BB): 8♣7♦4♠
BTN bets 2.2BB (33%)
Hero is your turn to act.

which hand would you check-raise more often with? ????

a) JT
b) 96
c) T9

We must remember that poker is clearly an exploitative game, and we must adjust our strategy to the leaks we detect in our opponents. Your opponent’s c-bet size and frequency greatly impact what your check-raise range should look like.

If your opponent c-bets relatively infrequently, respond by check-raising conservatively. If your opponent c-bets often or uses a small c-bet size, check-raise with a wider-than-usual range.

The bet size matters a lot too. Small c-bet sizes are often indicative of a relatively wide and merged range, which allows the Big Blind to check-raise more often. Large c-bet sizes usually coincide with a more polarized range, which is best countered with either a call or fold– not a raise.

In this case, let’s take a look at what solvers say, assuming we input the correct ranges and frequencies this gives us this result:

we should check-raise more often with JT

As we can see the 3 combos are perfectly valid for a check-raise, but JT it’s clearly better to use more often than the others. let’s think a little more deeply about why is this:

  • it blocks hands such as TT, JJ
  • 2 over cards that find outs vs hands like 8x, 6x, 99, TT
  • it blocks hands such as JT, QJ, KJ, KT that continues barreling.
  • it has Gutshot straight draw to the nuts

Important of having a balanced Check-Raising Strategy

It’s important to have a well-balanced check-raising strategy–the correct ratio of value bets to bluffs in order to remain unexploitable–especially against tough competition.

Consider an extreme example: a player in the Big Blind that check-raises with strong value hands and nothing else. This player opens themselves up to exploitation in multiple ways:

  • The in position player can confidently make hero folds whenever he gets check-raised, continuing with only his strongest hands
  • When the Big Blind check-calls, the in position player can barrel the turn and river at a high frequency

To avoid getting exploited like this, you need to focus on balancing your check-raise range with both value bets and bluffs.

Players that don’t check-raise are easy to beat.

Full article by upswingpoker.com

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