Check raising loose players is one of the easiest ways to get max value from any strong hand. Loose players will call off very lightly, and sometimes even more lightly than usual when they are faced with a check raise. Another characteristic of a loose player is their general unwillingness to let go of a hand once they have invested money. This, of course, is to our benefit. The tougher time that they have folding a hand, the easier time we will have making money with ours. It should be noted that because of their loose nature a check raise should be made only for value against loose players. They will not fold to lead bets just as they won’t fold to check raises. Calling stations may frustrate players at times, but they are also one of the biggest reasons that any player remains profitable. I also wrote an article on checking raising tight players, be sure to read it afterthis one so you'll have your bases covered.
|
Texas Hold'em Articles:
|
|---|
When to use a check raise against a loose player
The prerequisite to a check raise against a loose player is having solid hand. You do not need to have an extremely strong hand like you would against a tighter player, just a hand that has enough strength that it will get called by worse. That is key; the hand simply needs to beat his range. You can even adjust for each loose player. Loose players are fundamentally different from tight players, but there are also subtle differences between loose players. The most obvious would be the varying degrees of looseness. If you are fortunate enough to be at a table with a very loose player you can widen your check raising range. Since they will inevitably be calling you with relatively weak hands all you need to do is make sure that yours is just a notch better. There will be times where you are wrong, that is for sure, but it is all about being right more than you are wrong.
When to avoid the check raise against a loose player
As mentioned earlier you should never check raise with a weak hand. The only time where a check raise with a weak hand is effective is when the other player is capable of folding, and this is certainly not the case with loose players.
Bet sizing
There are two variables that should be considered when deciding how big your check raise should be. The first variable is your hand strength. While you can make check raises with a much wider range against loose players than you can tight players, it is important to remember that you could always be beat. Loose players won’t have a weak hand every time they call. If you have an extremely strong hand you should be betting it as such.
The second variable is how loose the other player is. If they are going to call a $60 check raise there is no point in only betting $50. Conversely, if they are only going to call $50 there is no point in betting $60. Cater to each and every player’s tendencies. If they like to call overbets you might as well make one, however fundamentally incorrect it may be. Loose players are an odd bunch, they clearly don’t care about their money too much, but it can sometimes be difficult to determine who wants to give away theirs the quickest.