If you’re in the big blind and no one raises before the flop, then how to play in the big blind is one of the easiest decisions you’ll ever have to make in this game. Unless you have pocket aces or kings, all you have to do is check, see the flop, and decide how to play from there. It’s seldom that easy, though. There’s often a preflop raise, which gives you an opportunity to make a costly mistake if you don’t play the hand correctly.

Most beginning players play incorrectly in this area. They play too loose when they’re raised in the blinds, especially in the big blind. Their thinking usually goes something like this: “Well, I’m already in for one bet, I might as well call one more bet to see the flop.” This view is the wrong one to take in this situation for four reasons: casinos

1. In a way, the money that you already have in the pot did not come from you. Once money is put into the pot, for the purposes of making decisions, it doesn’t matter where it came from. It’s as if it came from nowhere. One of the statements that you’ll often hear from poker players is, “I’ve already invested X dollars in this hand, so I have to call again.” This is very erroneous thinking.

2. If you are in a $3-$6 hold ‘em game, then the blinds are $3 and $1, if you don’t call the other $2 in the small blind. This is a total of $4 per round. In a ten-handed game, this comes to 40<t per hand. Even if you must think of the money you’ve already invested-which, as I said, is the wrong way to play-you should think of it as only 40<t and not as the $3 you have in the big blind.

3. In taking the “money-I’ve-invested” perspective, you’ve missed the correct way to see the situation, which is mainly from a pot odds point of view. When you’re facing a raise when in one of the blinds, your decision whether to call should be based on how much it costs you to call versus how much money is in the pot, or how much you think will be in the pot after everyone else calls. It should not be based on how much you’ve already invested.

4. You must also take into account what you think the preflop raiser has. If you think he has a premium hand, you have to know what the odds are that your hand can beat his. You then have to compare those odds to the odds being offered by the pot when making your decisions to call or fold.

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4. You shouldn't semi-bluff in last position if you fear the possibility of a check-raise. Putting in two bets on the flop defeats the purpose of semi-bluffing. Worse, a bet from another player lets you know that you certainly don't have the best hand, and any draw you have may not win if you do hit it. If another player has flopped a set or top two pair and is betting for value, you'll win this hand only about 2.5% of the time if you play to the river, and about 1% otherwise.

In the example above, where you hold and the
flop is K*843^, you have a good semi-bluff opportunity. If, however, the flop were K*J43^ or K*843* with a lot of players, you couldn't semi-bluff. In those cases, if someone bets, you should fold. In the first flop, it's just too likely that someone has a straight draw, if not a pair of kings or even kings and jacks, and will certainly call. In the second flop, the two clubs on the board with a lot of players still in will certainly get you some callers if you bet.

Summary
When you go back and look at the five reasons to raise, you can see that they are interconnected. In other words, it's nearly impossible to raise chiefly for one reason without making it seem that you could be raising for another reason. If you raise to eliminate players, you might also get a free card, gain information, get value from your hand, and possibly make your opponent think that you are semi-bluffing.

If you raise to get a free card, you're probably also getting value from your hand, and you might eliminate someone. If you raise to gain information, you might also eliminate someone, get a free card, and get value from your hand. If you raise to semi-bluff, you might force someone to fold, get a free card, or get some information.

Raising at the right time—and knowing why you're raising-is one of the hallmarks of a great player. It's very important that you understand everything in this chapter. Using the tactic of raising correctly, along with correctly selecting your before-the-flop hand, will help you become the second-best type of hold 'em player there is: Tight/Aggressive (other types of hold 'em players include Tight/Passive, Loose/Aggressive and Loose/ Passive).

Tight/Aggressive means that you see the flop with relatively few hands. When you do decide to play a hand, you take charge of the hand and play aggressively. The best way to be aggressive is to be a raiser, and now you know five good reasons to raise.

Test Your Knowledge #4
If Tight/Aggressive is only the second best type of player, what do you think the best type of poker player is? Answer at the end of the chapter.

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To Semi-Bluff

Semi-bluffing is defined as betting with a hand that, if called, probably isn't the best hand at the moment, but has a chance to improve with more cards to come. It's a cross between betting as a bluff and betting for value, when you know there's not much value at the moment. Consider the following example:

You have The flop is K*843^, and a player
before you bets.

You might now raise as a semi-bluff. This play is a good one because three different factors are working for you all at the same time:
1. You might actually have the best hand at this point, and everyone will fold. Another player could be holding another 8 with a bad kicker. He might fold, not knowing he has you beat.

2. Your raise could induce the other players to check to you on the next round, thereby giving you a free card and an opportunity to check again. You now get to see both the turn and the river cards for free, if all goes well.

3. You can improve your hand. If you hit an ace or another 3, you will probably win the hand.

A fairly advanced tactic paid off for you in this instance, and you can see why it's useful. If you're going to try raising as a semi-bluff on the flop, there are four important things you should know:

1. Your real goal is to win the pot right then. If there's any chance that you will get a caller or two, however reluctant they are, you should generally not raise to semi-bluff. The exception to that rule is if you know your raise on the flop will induce your opponent to check to you on the next round, even when he has a very good hand.

Semi-bluff opportunities arise very frequently during the course of a hold 'em game. It's very important that you understand and truly believe that your real goal in semi-bluffing is to win the pot right then. If you misplay your hand in these situations, you'll have a big leak in your game, because situations like this arise so frequently. I'm therefore going to restate the above rule to make it very clear how to play:

If you're in a semi-bluff situation and you feel that your raise will not win the pot for you right then, you should usually fold rather than raise (or call).

2. Semi-bluffing does not work well when you are facing a lot of players, regardless of what the flop is. If there are a lot of players to see the flop, someone will usually think he has the right odds to see the next card, whether there was a raise on the flop or not. Semi-bluffing also doesn't work against players who habitually play every hand and call every bet.

3. Semi-bluffing does not work well when the flop is ofob vious help to anyone who should be holding high cards, like players in early position or players who raised before the flop. In other words, if you can tell by a player's position and the cards on the flop that he'll be calling any bets, you should not bet as a semi-bluff.

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The problem, though, is that your flush is only 9-high. Anyone with a higher &#9830; will beat you if another comes on the turn or river. Your hand is good at the moment but very vulnerable. Using the table from Chapter 7, you can see that anyone holding a higher &#9830; has only a 27.8% chance of getting the flush to beat you.

Since you know you are going to win this hand almost three out of four times, you should raise to give him the worst possible odds to draw to the hand (and a chance to fold). Sometimes your opponent will be holding something like J48* and fold, not wanting to risk being beat himself when another &#9830; comes. On your good days, a player holding a higher &#9830; will fold when you raise, another &#9830; will come on the turn or river, and you will look soooo good when you drag the pot. Congratulations on being smart enough to know how to play the hand.
You hold 2V2*. The flop is A4A*2±.

Just like you can't afford to slowplay bottom set, you can't afford to slowplay bottom full house. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security just because you have a full house and it is high on the scale of poker hands. Anyone holding a pocket pair could hit it on the turn or river to make a higher full house, and anyone holding an ace and a 3 or above could hit his kicker to make a higher full house also. There's also the very real possibility of the dealer's running off a pair on the turn and river. Sure, you're still a favorite against these draws happening, but still, you'd rather they fold and let you win the pot right there. It's better to win a small pot than to lose a big one, and that's what a raise to eliminate players will help you do.

Your poker hand in hold 'em is always relative, because its strength depends largely on what cards are on the board. For example, what if I told you that you'd make four-of-a-kind on your next hand? You'd be pretty excited. But what if I added that the board would be A4A*AVA42*, and you'd hold 343V against three other players? How do you feel about your four-of-a-kind now?

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AK isn't the only hand you must have to consider raising to eliminate players after the flop. Let's look at a few others:

You hold Q*l0*. The flop is 10*8*4*.
Raise. You do not want anyone holding AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, QJ, or a pocket pair below 10s to call. Your biggest fear is an overcard to the 10. An ace or a king will beat your pair of 10s, and a jack could complete the straight draw. Anyone holding 99, 77, 66, and 55 will often call to see the turn card if the pot is big enough and the price is right. If you flop top pair with a good kicker and you just call, you are inviting disaster.
You hold A*9*. The flop is 9*5*2*.

Again, you have top pair with top kicker and probably have the best hand. The problem is that there are so many gaps between the ace and the 9. Look at how many hands can beat you if you get a card in the gap on the turn: AK, AQ, AJ, A10, KQ, KJ, K10, K9, QJ, Q10, Q9, J10, J9. You also have to worry about the backdoor flush draw and the two wheel cards on the flop. An ace, 3,4, or 6 could complete the baby straight draw. Your hand is so vulnerable that it's easier to count the cards that help you rather than the cards that hurt you. This is a hand you need to protect, so raise now to scare away other players.
You hold 5*5*. The flop is K*9454.

Never slowplay a bottom set, especially if you can raise and knock someone out. A player holding a higher pocket pair, KJ, KIO, QJ, QIO, JIO, or a three-flush could easily beat you on the turn or river. You have the best hand. Make them pay to beat you.
You hold 9*8*. The flop is 10*7*64.

You flopped the nut straight, but there are still so many cards that can beat you. A 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or jack could make someone else a higher straight or a full house. You have to eliminate players so your hand will stand up at the end.
I'm including this example because it recently happened to me. I held the 7464 when this exact flop hit the board. The player who held the 9*8* in front of me had just called, thinking he would wait for the turn, when the bets double, to raise. The turn card was the 74, making me a full house and winning the hand for me. If the other player had raised on the flop, when he had the best hand, I would not have had the correct odds to call, so I would gladly have folded bottom two pair.
You hold 9424. The flop is 3454104.

You just completed a flush (but if you saw the flop with this hand, I hope you're in the big blind).

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On the Flop
There are two types of flops that you should routinely raise with when you hold AK:
1. When you flop another ace or king.
2. When you flop 10JQ, to make an ace-high straight.

Let's look at some specific examples:
You hold A4K>. The flop is A49V5*.
If there's a bet ahead of you, you should raise to eliminate players who might draw out on you. Anyone holding four cards to a straight or a pocket pair is an underdog to your hand, and you don't want him to draw cheaply or for free.

You hold A*K4. The flop is K*JV8V.
You just flopped top pair with top kicker. You'll normally have the best hand at this point, and you'll win it most of the time. You have to protect this hand, though. You do that by raising. Always raise when you flop top pair with top kicker. Just calling lets the other players in to try to beat you for the minimum bet.
You hold A4K>. The flop is Q*JV10t.

You just flopped the nut straight. This type of flop poses a great danger for your hand because it's all high cards. Look at all of these hands that could possibly be out against you: QQ, JJ, 1010, QJ, QlO, and JIO. These are all very reasonable hands that your opponents could be playing.

In addition, anyone whose hole cards are suited could see the flop, trying to pick up a four-flush to beat you on the river. Anyone holding an ace or a king could eventually hit his gutshot draw and cause you to split the pot. You have to raise to give all of these hands the worst possible odds to draw out on you.

You hold A4K4. The flop is A*K*8*.
You have top two pair, but anyone holding a QJ, Ql 0, or J10 has a gutshot straight draw, and anyone with two clubs has a flush draw. Raise and make them pay to beat you.

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Before the Flop

If you have AA or KK, you have the best chance of winning the hand if you play it against fewer players. It's unusual to make a straight or a flush with any pocket pair, because you'd be using only one of your cards to make the hand. Most of the times you win with a big pocket pair will be instances when you made two pair or did not improve your hand at all. In those cases, you'd rather be facing just two players than everybody at the table. A raise before the flop will help ensure that you're facing fewer players at the river.

If you have AK, you have an even more vulnerable hand than you do with pocket aces or kings. Although a preflop raise will usually reduce the field, there's another factor to consider: with Big Slick you're going to miss the flop most of the time anyway. Generally, I think it's best if you do not raise before the flop with Big Slick. There are three instances, however, in which it's okay to do so:

1. If you're in late position and no one else has called. Your raise will knock out players behind you, so you'll have to play this hand against only a few players, which gives you a better chance to win it.

2. If you think you can steal the blinds. If you raise and happen to get called, perhaps by the big blind, you still figure to have the best hand before the flop most of the time.
3. If another player has raised, and a reraise from you will force a player between you to call two or more bets cold. Your reraise will usually force the player between you to fold, which increases the chances that you'll win the hand. If that player calls two bets cold, you'll have accomplished one of the other reasons for rais-ing-to gain information.

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