I'm not sure I understand raising with a 2nd best hand

[stone_7]

I think that what would have been the most +ev on the turn and the river is raising. Any reasonable holding this guy has that is not worth a raise should fold to a raise. even TERRIBLE hold'em players know enough to fold their ace high when there are four to a straight on the board. If you are reraised at any time it is an easy fold. you do have the second best hand but being aggressive in this case will be the most profitable play. If this moron does have a monster hand or only an ace and simply calls don't worry too much because you will soon have most of his money. you may have lost this pot but you will have gained priceless information about this guy's willingness to call with losing and winning hands.

[chaz64]

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So just to make sure I understood that whole thread correctly, you should almost never raise with what you are sure is a second best hand in hold'em because of the community nature of the board, and the concept is more suited to stud games?

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Here is how I understand it:

If you KNOW you are behind a bigger pair raising is likely a mistake. You can know this in a stud game, but you can't know this in HE. If, say, you can make two to four villains face two bets cold by a raise, where their calling would be a mistake for them, or where they would likely fold, you should usually raise. Good examples would be you have overcards and a weak draw, or middle pair with an overcard. Someone with middle or bottom pair with an overcard would be correct to call one bet but would fold for two bets. His folding may mean the difference between you winning or losing the pot later.

[bennyk]

Obviously, my example is not very good.

The hands you want to fold on that board are gutshots, singleton overs, and hands like K9 or Q9. Though these hands individually don't represent a strong chance of winning, if the pot is large you must raise to knock them out since

a) you may have the best hand

b) even if you are certain you have the second best hand, it will improve your chances of winning a big pot, which is worth the investment.

Thanks, chaz for including the idea that we aren't SURE we have the second best hand most of the time. This means the raise has several purposes! It's complicated!

bk