Poker Articles

By gidders | Published Sep 09 2005, 01:38 AM
I really like the reraise.  I do it, a lot.  I learned a long time ago that you have to be aggressive to win at No Limit Hold 'Em.  And this means betting, raising, reraising, and going all in from time to time.  There are times to be a caller, but they aren't very often.
 
I really think it's funny that a lot of books talk about pot and implied odds as a big focus.  "You need the bet to be x amount of chips for you to call, otherwise it's not profitable etc."  Doesn't that all revolve around you being a caller?  Why would you wanna be a caller?  It makes so much more sense to be a bettor.  You gain the out of them folding, not to mention that extra luxury of deciding how the action is going to go down almost all of the time.  By raising lots, you will be fascinated at how often people check to you. 
 
We're going to play a little game here. Let's pretend that  I raise your BB from the button, and you hold...well I don't know, but I'll find out.  By just calling, you have told me that your hand isn't strong  enough to reraise me.  I like getting called when I have position.  It tells me that you aren't really that attached to the hand, you're willing to let it go because you've only just called preflop.  You're not really sure where you stand in the hand, but you're willing to look at a flop and go from there.
 
Let's pretend you have QK, and the flop comes A83.  Check/fold.  Pretty simple.  You have to give me credit for an ace.  Do you really wanna call a bet on the flop, and possibly more bets on the turn and river with two unders?  Not likely.  Oh  well, you lost minimal chips on the hand.  Move on.
 
I raise from UTG, and its folded to you in the SB and you have TT.  Now you aren't sure about your hand, so you just calland hope to hit your set, or check raise on a 9-high flop.  Flop comes QJ4.  You check and I bet the flop moderately.  You fold thinking I must have hit a Q or J.  No big deal.  Move on.
 
You limp in the SB with 89s.  I raise 3x more, and you decide to see a flop with your suited connectors.  Flop comes 8AK. You check, and I bet.  Once again, you fold.
 
Here's the twist of this game.  I had the exact same hand as you on all three spots.  I had QK, TT and than 89s.  By being more aggressive than you preflop, I was able to win all 3 hands without showdown - by raising preflop, and with continuation bets.  Now I know it's not often that people get dealt the same hand, but if you think about it, this theory makes sense.  If two people were to get the same exact cards every hand, the winner of the match would be determined by who  showed the most preflop strength - no question about it. 
 
Now lets play those hands back with you being more aggressive than you normally would.
 
QK in the BB, I raise you and you pump me back.  I either A) fold thinking I am dominated somehow.  B) Call and fold to your continuation bet on the flop.
 
TT in the SB, I raise you and you pop it up.  I either A) Move all in putting you to the test.  B) Call and basically reverse our spots in the first example.  C) Fold preflop (unlikely)/ fold on the flop (very likely)
 
89s in the SB, you raise me.  I call to hit/fold to your continuation bet on the scary board.  I have to at least think you have an ace or a king.  You showed me strength preflop, and followed it up with more strength.  I can't see your face, and from your bets all I can tell is that you like your hand.
 
Reraising is a very strong play.  For somebody to 3-Bet preflop, people assume (and must assume) that that person is very, very strong.  "Not only did he raise the blinds, but he reraised the person's raise!  I'm sure that if someone were to go  all in now, he would call because he MUST have a better hand then the original raiser!"
 
Of course, you must be careful not to use the reraise too much, or it will not be as believable that you have a monster.  It also helps if you are able to muck your reraise hand without showdown (assuming you don't have much of a hand).  Obviously, if you do have a big hand, you're going to want to show it and advertise that you are playing very textbook poker.  When in fact, the rest of the times when you don't show, you are playing very sneaky poker.  But how are your opponents going to know when you are playing textbook, or playing sneaky?  Pretty hard to read an online facial expression, doncha think?
 
Anyways, to tie all of this back into SNG play...you have to remember that to order to win a SNG (9-Handed) you have to collect 13,500 chips.  The only way you can gain chips, is to put your own chips in the middle to get other chips.  If you're not willing to put your chips at risk, than be prepared to get run over by players.  Reraising preflop is a very effective play during a SNG with the correct timing.  Try it out, sometime.  It will be scary to be 3-betting with a hand like 86h, but trust me...getting the advantage of having the lead in the hand is so advantageous that you'll forget how you ever played without reraising before.