Punk Raised

[CardRG]

I think I’ve gotten a reputation—over the last week or so—of being a player willing to back down to intimidation. That’s a nice way of saying that I think I’ve been getting punked.

This tends to happen especially on the flop. If I’m first to act, I oftentimes will bet whether I have a strong hand or not, just to see what my foes have, test the waters.
If you’ve been winning a lot of hands, and have already put the fear of God in your opponents, lots of players will simply fold to you, winning you the pot right then and there.

At least that’s the way it was in the $1-2 games I recently moved up from.
I’m playing $2/4 now. Maybe my foes are a little more observant than my $1-2 opponents.

Rather than them calling or folding, like I expect, lately I’ve been getting raised.
Ouch!

There’s nothing like a raise to make you freeze in your tracks. You’ve been wondering what this foe has. With a raise, you’re really wondering what this foe has.

If you’ve yet to bet, and your holding is in the slightest bit marginal, you’re unlikely to call 2 cold.

Many times I fold in this case, refusing to call one bet, much less two--even if the pot is large enough to justify hanging around.

I’m beginning to feel that I’m being pushed around. Punked! Being too risk averse.
It’s a conspiracy. The other players all know that this will work against me. They’ve exchanged notes and instant messages: “Raise and this fool will wilt!”

The question: Do you raise on the flop—even when the flop didn’t necessarily do you any good? Do you look for players that will fall for this ploy?

I think this is a leak in my game. Now that I’m aware of it, I’ll start paying more attention to my opponents, specifically looking for this maneuver when I’m on the sidelines and they’re forced to showdown.

[biendover]

Your post is super vague. However let me get this right. So you're telling me that when you're first to act, you bet out regardless of you're holdings to "test" the waters.

Why test the waters by throwing away money.

Here is some ABC stuff. Check/Fold when you have nothing. If you're first to act and have numerous people behind you, check/fold middle pair. Bet your top pair, sets, two pairs etc. If there is one person behind you and you have marginal holdings then feel free to bet. If it's check around and you have middle pair, then bet.

However, I welcome you to "test" the waters when you're on my table [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

My advice may be kind of elementary, so I apologize if I did not give you anything insightful.

Bien

[WhtCougar]

It could be the players you're experiencing at 2/4 are being a little more tricky than the players at 1/2. I think a better way of looking at this would be to evaluate your situation after the flop.

1 Were you stealing with anything? Check/fold would be a good option. You could try a c-bet if the board is really ragged. If you get raised, it's time to let go, unless you happened to flop a monster draw with your rags.

2 Were you raising with good cards? C-bet is a good option, especially if you have overs. If you're raised, it's time to count outs against their probable TP?K.

That's what I would do, so we'll see what everyone else says.

[somapopper]

a little clarification:

Are these "continuation bets" of pre flop raises we're talking about, or are we mostly talking hands that weren't raised pre flop and you're first to act from the bb?

If it's the latter, please provide some specifics about the frequency you're doing this, how often you have a piece of the flop when you do do it, and the number of other players in the hand.

[Xhad]

-Be prudent with your cbets in large multiway pots. Don't bet AQ UI into four people.
-Sometimes flat-call these flop raises with made hands, intending to either just call down or c/r the turn depending on just how good your hand is. If you have a marginal overpair, let him think he can bluff you out rather than 3betting and telling him he should give up.
-If you have a strong draw and get raised by someone who keeps trying to push you around, reraise and bet the turn (if he flat calls). See if he backs down to a resteal. If not then maybe you should figure he just gives a lot of action and push harder with your made hands since he won't believe you anyway.

[WhtCougar]

A continuation bet is defined as a continuation of the last betting round, ie you raised pf and everyone else called, you are first to bet the next round.

In hands that aren't raised, I beleve that is a probing bet where you are "testing the waters" to see where you stand. I would want a piece of the flop to do this, depending on the size of the field. More players=better hand. I would try a probing bet on a field of 3-4 with TPTK, but I mostly play short handed lately.

[Xhad]

[ QUOTE ]
I would try a probing bet on a field of 3-4 with TPTK, but I mostly play short handed lately.

[/ QUOTE ]

Please tell me you're an NL player who accidentally clicked on the wrong forum.

[The DaveR]

There has to be some style rule violated by using "punked" and "foes" in the same post.