[afk]

Bet the flop. You really have to bet the flop.

I've seen a lot of posts lately where people have tried check-raises just for the sake of check-raising. You need to factor in what kind of results you want your check-raise to have. Do you want people out by forcing them to call 2 cold when you have a good, but vulnerable hand? Or do you want them to call an extra bet when you've got a good hand that can stand some action?

The next most thing ignored is a)whether there will even be a bet and more importantly b) where that bet will come from.

If you want to knock people out, don't try to check-raise when the bet will come from your left. Bet out and hope to be raised on your left. If you want to collect extra bets, you want the bet to come from your left.

I think we all need to sit down and read the appropriate literature on check-raising (ie. TOP, HPFAP). We don't check-raise enough in the micro forum, but learning to do it incorrectly is worse.