[chopchoi]

The raise or fold strategy makes it too difficult to get away from a loosing hand on subsequent streets. There are two reasons for this. First of all, once you show strength pre-flop, you will most likely want to show strength later in the hand, even when you have nothing. Whereas if you had limped, you would just check/fold. Secondly, because raising builds the pot, giving you odds to chase drwas that might not be any good, and to call down with hands you aren't confident about.

Here is an example:

You have Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in mid/late position. The pot is unopened. You decide to open with a raise. The cutoff, Button, and BB all know you always open-raise, so they don't give these raises any respect. They all call.

Flop is 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. You know you don't have the best hand, but you doubt this flop helped any of your opponents. Since none of them re-raised you, you're fairly certain you're not up against a big pocket pair. Since you showed strength pre-flop, you figure that the best course of action is to keep up the facade, and bet again. Your opponents all call.

The turn is 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Now you have a gut shot and two overcards. You give yourself 7 outs. What do you do now? You'd like to see the river, but you don't see the point in betting: 1) you know you're not going to win the pot uncontested, or by showdown unless you improve 2) you might get raised, and 3) if you check, your opponents might check as well and give you a free card. So you check, Cuttoff bets, button folds, BB calls.

River is J [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. BB bets. You're not going to fold top pair on the river to a single bet, are you? You call, and Cutoff raises. BB calls. Now you know you're beat, but the pot is laying you 14:1 odds, and your call will close the betting. Maybe fold here, maybe you make the crying call. Either way, you spent a lot of money that you would have saved had you limped in and check/folded the flop.