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mersenneary's picture
How and when to check/raise light

Another somewhat basic/fundamentals article that will eventually go up on the site, but I wanted to give you guys a quick look at it and a place to discuss it with me. When and how to check/raise the flop light by mersenneary   In the article discussing when to 3-bet light, we noted 4 main factors for that situation:  

  1. Your opponent's opening range.
  2. How loose/aggressive your opponent is preflop and postflop.
  3. The properties of the specific hand you've been dealt.
  4. Gameflow.

  It's important to recognize that our decision of whether to check/raise the flop is extremely similar in this respect. The wider your opponent opens preflop, the lower percentage of hands he can continue with for value, no matter what the flop. If your opponent calls check/raises loosely and loves to play back at you, that decreases the value in check/raise bluffing. If you check/raise with a hand that has some additional potential for equity with it, or provides a blocker to a possible hand your opponent might be able to continue with, that increases the expectation of the play. Fourthly, if you've been check-raising a bunch of flops, you better be prepared for your opponent to adjust his ranges and/or play back at you when you contest another dry board. In these respects, deciding whether to check/raise light is extremely similar to deciding whether to 3-bet light. Getting to the flop adds another layer of complexity, though, and there are two more factors to heavily consider:  

  1. Your opponent's c-betting range.
  2. The flop texture.

  The more often your opponent c-bets, the better check-raising light will be. Additionally, some opponents like to check behind with middle or bottom pair – this means that their c-betting range has an even higher percentage of hands that won't continue against aggression. Furthermore, pay special attention to opponents who like to make different c-bet sizings on different board types – bigger bets on drawy boards when they have a made hand, for example – as that can be another big help in deciding whether or not a c-betting range is weak enough to check/raise light. The flop texture is another important consideration with respect to that. On a JT9 board with a flush draw, not only do most opponents tend to c-bet less frequently with weak holdings, they also tend to have a piece of the flop more often than if it were a much dryer flop. Thus, check/raising a hand with no additional equity is going to be suicide against most opponents. The flop texture also determines what you can represent from out of position. In more advanced games around 12-18bb deep, check/raising dry jack-high and ten-high boards can be extremely profitable, because thinking opponents generally c-bet these flops with a wide range, and then when you check/raise, it's very easy for you to represent connected Jx/Tx type hands, which are prime flatting hands that short. In terms of sizing, against most opponents on most board textures, your check/raise size does not need to be particularly large. Check/raising light takes advantage of the fact that your opponent has a lot of garbage in his c-betting range, and a simple raise from t80 to t200, for example, generally does the trick just fine. Check/raising light gets a lot of beginning and intermediate players out of their comfort zone, because it produces a lot of tricky, novel situations on future streets once called. What do I do when I check/raise, then hit middle pair on the turn? When I still have air, which turn cards are good to keep bluffing on, and when should I just give up? Putting unnecessary chips into the pot out of position with no hand scares a lot of players. However, when the conditions are right, it's an essential play to have in your arsenal and employ to maximize your winnings.

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
mers can you expand on

mers can you expand on playing turn and river when c/r light a bit more? ty :)

mersenneary's picture
That's best done with some

That's best done with some example hands you post, but in general, be on level one, continue on cards that weaken your opponent's range or when his range was already too weak to withstand further aggression.

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
k wll play a lot today and

k wll play a lot today and find some hands to post in this thread and my threaddid u read ur pm on 2p2 mate?

mersenneary's picture
Yep, no worries about your

Yep, no worries about your volume, <3 youI just finished a marathon 20k base FTP session. Chasing losses, naturally, Gonna crash.

mrbambocha's picture
"The flop texture also

"The flop texture also determines what you can represent from out of position. In more advanced games around 12-18bb deep, check/raising dry jack-high and ten-high boards can be extremely profitable, because thinking opponents generally c-bet these flops with a wide range, and then when you check/raise, it's very easy for you to represent connected Jx/Tx type hands, which are prime flatting hands that short." Could you give some example on what hands you would cr with (how much EQ)?If the board is T54, would you cr with 98/Jx/Qx/Kx? How big cr-size would you do if we were 15bb deep, we call OOP, and villain CB 60? Cr to 120-135?  And if villain jams over our cr, are we commited to call? Is it a big difference in your descicion to call if we have K4 or K9 on that board?I know its all more complex but would like to get a grasp of your thought process.