Do You Know How To Bluff In Poker? Learn The Check Raise Bluff Today!

Filed Under Poker |

If you like to gamble, I mean gamble, not play cards, then the check raise bluff might be your favorite kind of play. It’s considered the most risky play in poker because if the other player chooses to call you, chances are you’re pretty much already dead in the water. It just depends on when you decide to use it. Let’s set up a scenario.

You get dealt J 10 off-suit. It’s a decent hand but nothing spectacular. The flop comes 4 3 K. There’s two to a flush. Four people are in the hand, you’re the little blind. You check. So does everyone else. You’re thinking okay, I’m good with a check again if I don’t pair up. The turn card’s an 8, no flush possibility on the board. You check. This time one person bets. One person folds, the other calls.

Now you might be thinking that no one else has anything either. If someone had a K they probably would have bet the flop, right? Maybe they have a 3 or 4 or possibly even an 8. But you have one more chance to get a J or 10 so you call. The river comes, it’s a 6 of diamonds, there are now three diamonds on the board. Sure, someone could have a flush possibility but the chances aren’t that great of it, right? So maybe you think about betting, but then you think again and decide not to so you check. Someone behind you bets, but only a blind’s worth. It’s nothing to you. You figure they’re just trying to buy the pot. So you decide to try to buy it yourself, you raise. You’ve just done a check raise bluff. You have absolutely nothing. No flush, no straight, not even a pair. You’re playing K high. So now the people behind you have to make a decision, do they call you or not.

What’s good about your move - you took control and are making them question whether you have a flush or not.

What’s not so good - it’s a late move. Anyone who has a 3 and calls will beat you. But will they call you is the question.

Let’s assume no one calls you. You got lucky. Honestly you did. You won’t always get that lucky. If you really want to do a check raise bluff you have to realize that timing is everything. When would have been the right time to do a check raise in this situation? You really should have raised on the turn if you were ever going to raise at all. By doing that you would be protecting against the possible flush as well as finding out whether someone else has a K or not. If they have a K they’ll call for sure. If not, who knows? But, you’ll at least know.

The check raise bluff is tricky and quite dangerous so you really should only use it if you feel you can outplay the other person. Sometimes it will pay off and leave the others wondering how you could possibly be getting so many good hands. Other times you will be beat by a better hand that no matter what you did was meant to win.