Raise the turn?

This is a generic question.


mostly this applies to situations when you're last to act. On the turn when you are bet into and you have a calling hand (a descent hand, but not great - top pair with medium kicker - say QTs and the board is Qc7s6h2h). Is it always better to raise, if you're already planning to call the river. It would seem that the effect of this aggression many times would be to have other players check to you on the river. At that time you can decide whether to bet or check. If you get re-raised after your raise on the turn, you can lay it down. If you get bet into on the river after you raise the turn you can lay it down. Sometimes you'll win outright on the turn after your raise. The point is that the cost is the same, but the play is FAR more aggressive.


And if you routinely do this, as I'm beginning to, how do you change up your play to keep the observant players guessing? An observant player will re-raise you after watching you make this play and fold. What do you do?


Thanks,


-Michael

I am a MAJOR ENEMY of the notion of "giving away the strength of your hand" so you can fold when someone keeps asserting themselves. If YOU saw someone often betting or raising then folding, wouldn't YOU take a shot at them once or twice a night? Well, so would plenty of other people.


If the opponent is going to show his hand, then the little you gain with this raise is erased the times he 3-bets you, or calls and bets the river. However, the more he folds to your raise the better this play is. Certainly if he may fold a hand a little better than yours you gain tremendously, but you also gain when he folds hands worse, since surely these hands are drawing to beat you.


- Louie