The Fish Call, The Sharks Raise
In Limit and even No-Limit games, you'll see a lot of "Raise,
Call, Call, and Call" going on. Occasionally you'll want to limp in
on hands, but don't make a habit of it because:
- Calling shows weakness
- The raiser controls the hand
If you have a good hand you need to be in there raising.
Otherwise, when you call and hit a draw it will be very easy to
spot. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule: You wouldn't
raise a pot with jacks if there have already been two pre-flop
raisers, and you wouldn't want to bet your draws with more than a
couple people in the pot.
Calling Shows Weakness
Any good player knows that, in No-Limit, anyone who calls
constantly is a fish saying "Hit me with your best shot." Calling
hands will just get you in trouble most of the time. If the hand
isn't good enough to raise, it's not good enough to play in the
first place.
Another hazard of calling is that most good players will bet you
out of pots you should have won simply because you called pre-flop.
When you raise pre-flop you show strength and most players will fold
to your bets if they missed the flop.
The Raiser Controls the Hand
When you raise a hand you show dominance by revealing your
serious intentions to your opponents. If they miss the flop, you'll
take no prisoners. This is true for any type of poker game, but more
so for No-Limit. In Limit it's harder to bet people out of pots
since the big bet is always small and constant. If there's a
short-stacked player in a Limit game, you may be able to bluff him
out of some pots after you raise.
After raising any hand, I almost always bet the flop as long as
there are less than three people in the pot. I've already showed
strength pre-flop so even if they hit the flop they must play very
carefully. Most of the time your opponent won't hit strongly enough
to call your raise on the flop.
Here's a good example of why sharks raise pre-flop:
Two people limp in pre-flop and you raise with Ace-King. You
totally miss the flop and a player who limped and then called your
raise has 8-8. The flop comes J-Q-5 and you bet out. He immediately
folds even though he had the winning hand.
Be the raiser, not the caller. |
