Champion of Poker

Lots of poker literature discusses strategy about being first into the pot and making your standard raises to take control of the hand. You are taught how to control the pot with clever bet sizing and you are taught about what to do if you are re-raised and how to use the continuation bet effectively. Much of the discussion in poker is where you show the aggression. But in a poker tournament or cash game situation there will be times where you want to play the hand you hold yet you are facing a pre flop raiser. What do you do?

This article relates to both poker tournament situations and cash game spots. By acting after the preflop raiser we are assuming that you are not in the blinds but in position in relation to the raising player. Because you still have players to act behind you the normal move against a pre-flop raiser is to three bet, or re-raise to isolate this player. You are best playing this pot with one opponent, the initial raiser so flat calling is ill advised as it offers future players in the blinds better odds to see the flop also. If another player comes along for the ride then this complicates matters.

Consider what the raise means against anything else you know about the player. Is he likely to be raising just because he is first in? Or perhaps this will not matter to the player they have to have better than, for example, pocket nines before they would consider this bet. If you regularly play this player you can probably narrow the range down quite accurately. Note that players usually play within reasonable parameters so anything you think you know about the player will probably not be far wrong. If you know nothing about the player’s style then only three bet with a very strong hand.

If you three bet and the player simply completes and the flop is dealt you can put the player on a strong starting hand or suited connector. They may have made a move and are hoping to hit the hand but if checked to you then the raiser is showing the re-raise respect and a continuation bet is correct here, providing the board is not too scary.

If the raiser shoves all in then depending on your starting hole cards you may or may not wish to call. Consider what your opponent may know about your tendencies when faced with a large all-in bet. Should I be aware that I have folded three times to all-in shoves, (this could be simply badly timed moves in previous hands that I have let go) then I may be inclined to call if I believe the player is capable of noting this and shoving light into me in this spot hoping to get me to make another lay down.

Your deception here is that a re-raising hand suggests only AA or KK in most cash games. Your opponent is instantly aware that they are out of position and facing aggression. They act after you on every street and have much more uncertainty in the hand than you do at this point. You can assume here that they will commit more chips into the pot only if they have something. Unless you have seen them make crazy plays with nothing then you need to fold unless you hold a strong hand in relation to the flop if you are still facing action after the deal.

In online poker tournaments three betting is very common. In a loose tournament you will see three bets immediately causing an all-in re-raise from opponents who have marginal hands. In live tournaments I have seen that three betting gets far more respect. Bare this in hand when you are thinking of making these plays.

To recap, when facing a raise preflop you need to consider what type of opponent you are facing. Can they fold to a re-raise or do they defend the chips they placed into the pot with vigour? A three bet steal is a great way of getting extra chips as well as the blinds but it must be done against a player who has the skill level to respect the re-raise and lay down a decent hand. Remember that initial raisers are still usually holding something in the top 20% of potential starting hands. This is why it is normal for re-raisers pre flop to be holding something very strong because they are saying to the raiser “You are strong but I am stronger”.

By Malcolm Clarke