Chapter 2: The Checkraise

[checkymcfold 0]

i don't know why writing about razz makes me sound like i'm angry, but it does. here we go again, then: people don't know how to ****ing checkraise properly in this game.people always try to checkraise in the silliest spots, like when it's obvious that the villain has total air, and they're just trying to let them make their J10 draw for free. that's stupid. don't do it. all that's going to accomplish is losing value--either when the villain is either bad enough to call you down anyway, or when you're not developing a nice, aggressive image that's going to get you paid when you want to be paid. both of those things are bad.there are really only two and a half (!) general situations in which a checkraise is prudent:1. (the more obvious one) you and your opponent have similar boards, but you're pretty sure you're ahead most of the time, and the villain is aggressive enough to bet for you if you check nearly every time. the nearly every time part is important, since you're going to represent an extremely strong holding by checkraising. it's thus not as simple as "if it works 50% of the time, we break even," since you're really giving away the strength of your hand, and even some of the times it works, you won't make as much money as you would have by simply betting down because s/he'll fold. so use this one sparingly, and primarily against showdown happy, LAG players. against most others, keep this trick in the bag.2. a lot of razz players brag about knowing spots like these, but the fact of the matter is that they just don't show up very often: spots in which your villain has a made hand, but your draw is more likely to win. these are the times when your villain has something like 23/89JK, and you have 23/46Q, etc. in these situations, a checkraise works almost every time, but it's odd that these kids who profess to know OMG SO MUCH about razz don't maximize value by checkraising and instead lead out. stupid (and probably ugly, or at least poorly dressed). in these spots, i PROMISE it will work almost every time (and if your opponent is playing at all reasonably, it should--and this should work on you, as well, since you can rarely tell if you're on the bad end of one of these situations, and you like to play aggressively, right?), so go ahead and give it a whirl every time you find a spot like this.2a. it's rare that you'll see this one, too, and it's similar enough to #2 that it doesn't deserve its own number: your boards set up in such a way that you have the lead, but your opponent is obviously ahead, or made already, or whatever, and you have the opportunity to c/r 7th if you make your hand. now, it's important to note that this one needs to be used significantly more sparingly than #2, since lots of players will be content with just checking behind and not valuebetting. against these most pedestrian of razz players, limit your c/rs to the times that you're pretty sure they have sevens or better, as they'll rarely valuebet 8s or worse. however, some types of players will make good, thin valuebets (as they should, most of the time), and you'll need this as a form of counterattack against them. and this also leads you to get to 2nd and 3rd level stuff, like if they respond by folding to your c/rs on the end, then you get to bluff them with the same move in future hands, etc. this will make you feel smarter and also give you better self-esteem. two birds, one stone, etc.that's chapter two. it's a short one cuz i'm lazy. next time i'll talk about bluffing, i think. after that comes being a showdown monkey.

[gfdsa146 0]

i'm loving all of your razzrants thus far. it almost makes me want to go out and play razz......but I wont.

[Chiefclint 0]

thanks for chapter 2

[Cappy37 0]

Thanks checky. Good read, as always.

[Frez 0]

Well done checky. I've been back playing more Razz on PS lately. You play there? 1/2 - 3/6?

[checkymcfold 0]

Well done checky. I've been back playing more Razz on PS lately. You play there? 1/2 - 3/6?

i've been playing mostly horse cash games on ftp lately, ranging from 3/6-15/30 depending on what's running, with some nlo8 mixed in, despite the fact that i think the latter is a stupid game, lol. i went thru a phase where i played a lot of HU razz on ftp, but my action dried up so i had to quit. the ftp razz games are really soft, though, from what i remember. i'd actually advise playing a little tighter than i'd normally suggest when the tables are so soft.

[Frez 0]

Well I do have an FTP account, but haven't been using it since the software is so demanding and I have a high lag internet connection. Fortunately I should have a new ISP within a few weeks. I do love the HORSE games.