When you think that you have the best hand in Texas Hold’em,
you should usually bet. Aggressive play pays off in Texas Hold'em.
Whenever you make a bet or a raise with the best hand, you are making
money in the long run. One of the most common mistakes that new
players make is not betting frequently enough. They wrongly think
that since their opponents are going to call anyway, they saved
themselves some money if someone catches a flush on the river or
something to beat them. This is the wrong way to think. If you probably
have the best hand, you want people to have to pay for the chance
to beat you.
In addition to this advice, the following are some different types
of "fancy" betting:
Buying the button:
Since being last to act is such an advantage (see
our strategy section on Position), it is sometimes useful to
make a pre-flop raise in mid-to-late position with a mediocre hand,
just to encourage the players between you and the button to fold.
This is called "buying the button", though care should
be exercised in using this technique. Any players behind you that
do call you will most likely have a much better hand than yours,
and unless the flop helps you a lot, you should probably fold at
any sign of strength from them.
The check-raise:
The check-raise is one of the most powerful moves in Texas Hold'em.
The most useful time to use it is when you are in early position,
and want to limit the number of players that see the turn or river.
Say you hold:
 
And the flop comes
  
The player on the button raised pre-flop, and 4 people saw the
flop. Most likely, on the flop every one will check to the button
who will bet the flop (this happens all the time-- players check
to the pre-flop raiser, and the pre-flop raiser will be regardless
of whether the flop helped his hand or not). You check the flop,
and raise after the player on the button bets.
There are a number of reasons why this is an good move. First,
you have a very good chance of having the best hand right now--
top pair, top kicker. Secondly, you have a better chance of winning
the pot if there are less players that see the turn and river. You
want to "limit the field". Players that act after you
are going to have to call TWO bets in order to see the turn. And
lastly, you don't know what the player on the button raised with.
You would like to know if you are ahead (does he reraise you? Could
he have AA or KK?), and you also want to make him reconsider drawing
to a king--in case he has KJ or something like that.
On the turn this move works well if you called on the flop and
suddenly improved your hand-- say you made trips, but if the river
card is a diamond, someone could make a flush to beat you. The same
reasoning applies-- you have a better chance of winning the pot
if less people stay in.
The steal-raise:
Many times when you are in late position, the flop will appear
to have missed everybody, and a bet by you will be enough to either
win it right there, or at least make many of the other players fold.
Say you hold:
 
And the flop comes:
  
Everyone checks to you, and you bet. Since everyone checked, they
appear to have missed their hands. Many people will fold. Be careful
of any check-raisers or callers however. If you get check-raised,
you may call the bet, but fold the turn. If one of the blinds check-raises
you, they may have made two-pair, or at least top pair, and maybe
a straight draw. If an overcard comes on the turn and they check,
then it's possible they only had top-pair.
The steal-raise is not always the most profitable move. If you
overuse it and become predictable, you'll find that people will
set a check-raise trap for you.
Stealing the Blinds:
Stealing the blinds is raising pre-flop in late position after
everyone has folded to you, with the hope that the blinds fold their
hands and you win the small blind and big blind. In low-limit games,
stealing the blinds doesn't usually work very well. Many players
in the BB will never fold to a pre-flop raise, no matter what cards
they hold. In order to steal the blinds successfully, you must have
a "read" on the players in the small and big blinds--are
they tight are loose? Are they likely to fold? A lot of times though
when you raise in late position, with the intention of stealing
the blinds, and you get called, the pre-flop aggression pays off
anyway.
Say you hold:
 
and the flop comes:
  
The big blind checks to you and you bet. If the big blind doesn't
have an ace, he will probably fold, assuming that you made your
hand.
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