Raising for information

[Fiery Jack]

What is 'raising for information'?

What is the difference between :

a) 'raising for information' and
b) 'throwing in extra chips because you think you might be behind [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]'?

(please provide an example, thanks!)

[NUReedy]

Raising for info is designed to gauge the strength of an opponents hand. You can get a better feel (ie info) by the way they respond both in terms of their physical response and their actual betting response.
Possible resposnes could include:
-fold (info is that they don't havea hand)
- they bet on flop with two suited cards, you raise (doesn't matter what yoiu have) and they flat call then check the turn when a card of another suit falls gives you a pretty good idea that they are ona flush draw
- they reraise you prolly means they got a pretty strong hand

A specific example doesn't really make sense when thinking about this, but the flush draw example is a good one.

Keep in mind, one should not do this (often) on a complete bluff. Sometimes you can do this witha marginal/strong hand to get an idea of what you will need to improve or what they need to improve.

[PotatoStew]

It's also worth noting that you usually wouldn't raise for the sole purpose of gaining information. There are usually multiple reasons behind making a raise. You might raise to get more money in the pot, or drive people out AND to guage the strength of your hand.

[James Boston]

A good example would be raising top pair with a decent to weak kicker. Your top pair might be good, and is therefore worth a raise. Still, if your way outkicked you'll probably face a re-raise.

[m2smith2]

This goes a little farther, but someone already answered your basic question. This is from an excellent article called "A Few Errors" http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_maga...es/?a_id=14121

Error No. 3: Betting for information, when the information you're going to get is likely to be unreliable.

Many good players like to show strength by betting and raising early in the hand to test their opponents' strength, and if they run into lots of resistance, they might surrender (unless, of course, their hand is strong enough to beat some legitimate raising hands of the opposition). They use the cheap streets to gauge their opponents' strength, to be able to make the proper decisions later, when the real money is at stake. I would say that in general, this is a good strategy, and the proper way to play poker. But, some players take this concept too far and use it indiscriminately, or against the wrong players. I will illustrate this with two examples:

•A good player (John) has called a late-position raise by James when holding king-small suited in the big blind. The flop comes K-Q-7 with two of a suit that John doesn't have. He check-raises James, all others fold, and James three-bets. John calls, knowing that he might be drawing dead to his kicker, but realizing that James might just as well be semibluffing here, with a flush or straight draw, for example. So, when a blank comes on the turn, John fires again, only to see his opponent raise him once more. Now, John reasons: "Gee, after so many signs of strength by me, James still raises. So, he must have a better hand than my mere top pair-no kicker. I'll fold." Now, don't be surprised to see his opponent turn over hands like J-10 or A-10 suited. If James is a savvy player who knows he can make his opponent lay down a hand like top pair, especially on the turn, John will have taken his otherwise good strategy too far, or to be more precise, he has used the wrong strategy for this type of player.

• In limit Omaha high, this same player (John) holds a small diamond flush, bets on the flop, and gets called. Once again, his opponent is James, a tricky and highly knowledgeable player. Not knowing whether he is up against a higher flush or a set, John bets again when a blank comes on the turn, only to see his opponent raise him. John folds his 8-high flush, and James flashes me his hand: top two pair plus the bare Au. Once again, he has gotten his opponent to lay down the best hand, using John's tendencies of betting and then folding to a raise against him.

[LetsRock]

The examples already cited here are good examples of when to do it and what it does.

To me, there is a certain "dialog" at a poker table that is expressed in bets, not words. Sometimes you need to ask "questions" like "how strong is you hand?" If you don't bet into a player or raise him, you have no dialog. In my book, the worst thing you can do with a vulnerable hand (like TP weak kicker) is to just call down a player in the "cheap" rounds. An opening bet is the hardest bet to inerpret. Is he strong? Is he weak acting strong? Is he on a draw? Is he trying to buy it? I like to try to guage his strength as soon as possible (bet into him or raise) to try to get a feel for his hand.

HE can't answer any "questions" if you don't "ask" them.