Part II of my series on big bluffs in No-Limit cash games. In this one I cover check-raise bluffing in detail, but I mostly focus on river check-raise bluffs because I feel its a very powerful but under-used weapon in today's games. Check-raise bluffing has many benefits. For example, it can often generate more fold equity than a bet can, and you'll win an extra bet from your opponent as well. It also helps balance your check-raising range, so you are not just check-raising with made hands.
The video begins with a few powerpoint slides on the types of check-raise bluffs, why check-raise bluffing can be so profitable, what types of opponents to use it against, and how to use late street check-raise bluffs to make your opponent fold hands he may otherwise call a bet with.
Following that, I use several hand examples to illustrate some good river check-raise bluffing opportunities.
I also discuss what parts of your range work well for check-raise bluffing, and show some spots where its a good idea to turn a made hand into a bluff. The hand examples often show an opponent that has shown us that he's got a weak range, so the question then becomes how to take the pot away from him. In many of these cases I think the check-raise bluff is the best option because it allows us to abuse thin value-bettors and also still win the pot when our hand is not strong enough to call his bet.
Two Plus Two
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