The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

A passively played game of poker is one where luck predominates the outcome. If everyone is flat calling the big blind, no one folds, and everyone showers the pot with minimal bets or just checks it down to the river card, the element of skill is lacking. The person with the most chips is likely not the best player, just the one with Lady Luck on his or her side that night.

When you raise a hand with your two cards, the element of skill enters the game. All of a sudden, you are forcing the other players to make a decision about their hand and whether or not to continue. When you raise, you are either value betting a strong hand like pocket aces, or attempting a bluff with your rags.

If your raise is called, you then have to evaluate the strength of your hand based on the three cards on the flop, or decide if you are able to continue your bluff if you were trying to take a pot away with trash. If you have aces and there are three low cards on the board, you can decide to bet out to try to get paid off or check to see if you can trap. If there are flush or straight possibilities, you have to decide if you're up against a player who likes to play those types of drawing hands and determine a course of action with another bet or check.

If you were trying to bluff, a flop with all low cards might be a good opportunity to steal. If there are three high cards or a board with the same suit, you may decide it's unlikely you can try to take away the pot, or you can represent a strong hand and force the actual best hand to fold with a strong bet or raise. This is a lot easier than it sounds, as you also have to look at the type of opponent you're up against. Is the player capable of folding a strong hand? Are you up against a calling station? Does your opponent play loose or tight? You have to assimilate this information fairly quickly and try to come up with the best strategy.

The skill in poker comes in several forms, and the act of raising brings that skill out in full force. The next skill I'll talk about is the art of the fold, which will be discussed in my next poker-related blog.