5 Tips For Check-Raising The Flop (via Lucid Poker)
Check-raising is an essential skill to master.
In this article, I’ll share 5 key tips for check-raising on the flop to take your game to the next level!
We’ll focus on spots where you’ve defended the big blind against an open raise from an in-position opponent.
Let’s dive in!
We’ve also covered the topic of check-raising on our podcast here.
Tip #1 – Check-raise your sets
Sets are powerful hands that thrive on getting the money in before any draw completes. This makes check-raising a must on most boards — except those where a straight or flush is already present.
One of the key reasons for this is that with second and third sets, you unblock all of the in-position player’s top-pair range and a number of two-pair combos, increasing the likelihood for them to call down.
Take a look at the following screenshot from Lucid Poker. It’s a BB v BTN (big blind vs button) scenario, on a two-tone Qc9d4c flop. I’ve highlighted the sets:
Dark green = Call
Light green = Check-raise
We can see that the solver elects to mix check-raising and check-calling 50/50 with 9x9c with a club. I strongly advise against this, as this only applies when your opponent is:
- Aware of your strategy of always check-raising the sets
- Capable of exploiting it
These two factors are seldom found in real-world games, so start building the pot and maximizing value with a check-raise.
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Tip #2 – On very wet boards, you should check-raise less frequently with two-pairs
Two-pairs hands are also strong, but it’s sometimes better to just call versus a bet when there are so many scary turns. If the turn is a safe card (one that doesn’t complete draws, such as a 5h in this case), you should check-raise.
Here’s an example from the same Q94 two-tone flop:
We can see that Lucid is mixing Q9 roughly 50/50 for the suited version, and 66/33 for the offsuit version, while Q4s is almost always calling.
After check-raising and getting called, you’ll be unhappy on any A, K, J, T, 8, or club on the turn — roughly half the deck. On these wet boards, it’s often best to avoid check-raising your top and bottom two-pairs altogether.
Tip #3 – Flush draws make for good check-raises
Flush draws benefit from making the opponent fold their low-equity air-balls, and when they get called they still have a good chance of hitting a flush on the turn or the river.
They make for perfect check-raise bluff candidates. Take a look at the following screenshot from the same Q94 two-tone board:
On the right-hand side, you can see that the dark green dominates the light green. This means that while check-raising is used, check-calling is still preferred.
This isn’t always the case, but on such a highly connected board — where we naturally check-raise less with our two-pairs — we are mathematically limited in how many semi-bluffs we can include.
Tip #4 – Open-enders should check-raise often (even more so with a backdoor flush draw)
Similar to flush draws, open-enders also benefit from check-raising by obtaining some fold equity and still retaining a good amount of equity to hit the nuts (with 8 outs, they have a 32% chance of hitting the straight on the turn or the river).
A backdoor flush draw makes a check-raise even more appealing. It increases your chances of hitting a strong hand while also slightly boosting your fold equity due to blocking their flush draws.
Take a look at the following situation. Note the bottom right side, where you can see the difference between having a club and not having one for J9o:
The solver prefers raising with the club versions twice as frequently! The same is also true for having a double backdoor flush draw. Take a look at how 7d6d plays compared to 7h6h:
Tip #5 – Low pairs should also check-raise on certain boards
On disconnected boards with a high, medium, and low card composition (such as A95, K84, Q73, etc.), the initial raiser has a significant range advantage, leading to a high c-bet frequency.
As a result, their weaker c-betting range contains a lot of air and middle-strength hands. Against such a range, bottom pairs with low kickers are incentivized to check-raise for both protection and thin value.
A small check-raise on these boards ensures that 2 overcard-type hands that are too weak to call a raise will have their equity denied (protection), while some of the stronger overcard-type hands will have enough equity to continue (value).
Here’s an example of this happening on a Kh8d5c flop:
Colored with yellow and light green, you can see that fractions of 52s-75s and some A5s are going for the check-raise line for the reason described above.
Final Thoughts
Armed with these 5 tips, you are ready to head into battle and put your opponents in tough spots with a more balanced, deceptive strategy.
Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any questions about the tips? Let me know in the comment section down below!
Read this next strategy article to boost your EV: How To Play Underpairs In Cash Games.
Til next time, good luck, grinders!
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