RiverRider
01-21-2005, 02:26 AM
First let me explain my situation. I almost only play NLHE heads-up cash games where the blinds are relatively small compare to my stack. My stack is usually around 100BB. So the strategy I’ll describe below apply to this type of games… I’m doing pretty well but I think there’s a big leak in my game. The problem is that I almost never checkraise the flop and I think this gives too much sign of weakness when I check the flop. But :
- I don’t like checkraising with a draw as a semi-bluff because if I get called and I don’t catch it I’m out of position with a drawing hand, in a pot that is bigger than it would normally be if I had only called with proprer implied odds. Also, if I catch my draw, my opponent will not put me on a bluff if I bet again because I check/raised the flop and betted the turn representing a really strong hand. So I won’t be able to get a lot of money when I catch it.
- I don’t like checkraising a monster because I think this represents too much strength. I prefer leading the flop or checkcalling the flop.
So, I almost only checkraise the flop on a bluff when I’m pretty sure that my opponent is trying to steal it with a weak hand.
It’s obvious that I change my strategy depending of the type of opponent I’m against, but this is my basic checkraising standards on the flop. I also vary my play when I play a long session against the same opponent but usually, at the limit I play, there’s a lot of different players so I don’t play against the same opponent really often.
So, as I said, this is my basic standard for checkraising on the flop in a NLHE heads-up cash game. I’m sure there’s leaks in this strategy and that I’m probably missing some things so please feel free to comment.
- I don’t like checkraising with a draw as a semi-bluff because if I get called and I don’t catch it I’m out of position with a drawing hand, in a pot that is bigger than it would normally be if I had only called with proprer implied odds. Also, if I catch my draw, my opponent will not put me on a bluff if I bet again because I check/raised the flop and betted the turn representing a really strong hand. So I won’t be able to get a lot of money when I catch it.
- I don’t like checkraising a monster because I think this represents too much strength. I prefer leading the flop or checkcalling the flop.
So, I almost only checkraise the flop on a bluff when I’m pretty sure that my opponent is trying to steal it with a weak hand.
It’s obvious that I change my strategy depending of the type of opponent I’m against, but this is my basic checkraising standards on the flop. I also vary my play when I play a long session against the same opponent but usually, at the limit I play, there’s a lot of different players so I don’t play against the same opponent really often.
So, as I said, this is my basic standard for checkraising on the flop in a NLHE heads-up cash game. I’m sure there’s leaks in this strategy and that I’m probably missing some things so please feel free to comment.