Check raising the turn and river

The check raise is a very powerful move in poker. It signals to your opponents that you have a very strong hand and they would be well advised to fold theirs. Not surprisingly, it is also a move favored by bluffers.If one were able to accurately distinguish between the two- strong hand vs. bluff- when confronted with a check raise, that’s money at the poker table. Recently I was confronted with two check raise situations, in both of which I ended up making the wrong decision. Here are some lessons learned:

Check raise on the turn = the nuts or pure bluff

Decent players never check raise a strong but vulnerable hand on the turn. It is way too risky to let someone draw to a straight, flush, or whatever for free- one should always bet the turn to defend their hand. Unless you have the nuts of course, and don’t need to worry about anyone catching up. Therefore, the only hand that legitimately check raises on the turn is the absolute nuts.Now, if you had the nuts and decided to check raise the turn, how much would you raise? Since you have the nuts, you want your opponent to call, not fold. Most likely you would double, at most triple their bet. Any raise larger than that makes no sense.

A giant check raise on the turn is most likely a bluff. If confronted with a small check raise, you are facing a monster.

Check raise on the river = monster

There is virtually no reason to check raise on the river. A strong hand would bet out for value. A medium strength hand would check call. A weak hand folds. A bluffer would bet out first, representing a strong hand, rather than check raise. The only time anyone check raises the river is if they are certain that 1) you are going to bet, and 2) they have you beat.