Knowing how and when to raise
You're playing no-limit hold 'em, and you're going to raise. How much? Because raises are all about sending messages, gaining information and positioning to win.
Take last year's final table of the main event in the World Series of Poker. Mike McClain woke up with pocket aces and raised under the gun for $150,000, about 20 percent of his relatively short stack.
``Because he's getting relatively short-stacked, he could just have a decent hand,'' said Greg Raymer, owner of those goofy, green amusement-park eyeball glasses that stared down everybody. ``He could have a medium ace, a small pair, and he wants to steal the blinds.''
Action got around to Raymer, the chip leader with $8 million-plus. He drew pocket 10s.
``I decide he doesn't have to have a monster hand,'' said Raymer, known as ``Fossilman'' for using fossils as card protectors at the table. ``I decide I'm not going to fold this hand, and I won't just call because if any of the four overcards hits, I won't have a clue if he has one or not.''
Raymer looked at McClain's stack of about $800,000 but raised only $500,000, and here's why:
``Mike knows if I make it half his stack, he's committing his hand,'' said Raymer, a Connecticut patent attorney. ``Calling even half his stack is the same as calling all of his stack.''
But there's another reason.
``If he raises and I re-raise, and someone else makes the third raise, I'm going to have to throw away pocket 10s,'' Raymer said. ``I'm making it clear to Mike that I'm committing him if he wants to play, but I'm giving myself room if someone else comes in.''
Everyone else folded. The flop brought a 10, giving Raymer a set. No ace on the turn or river for McClain. His World Series of Poker was over. ``He didn't get lucky on me after I got lucky on him,'' Raymer said.
Yeah, every tournament winner gets lucky, big-time, but still, pick your raise carefully.
``I still had four guys behind me who still hadn't looked at their hand yet,'' Raymer said, ``and if one of them wakes up with jacks or better, they might throw away two jacks, but they're probably going to play, so why would I want to commit $800,000 in chips if I can commit $500,000 and get the same result against Mike?''
The guy knows what he's talking about. The guy won the main event, the $5 million and the gold bracelet.
By Steve Rosenbloom
Chicago Tribune
Previous Online Poker Betting Articles
