Are You For or Against Check-Raising?

Hi. Come on in. I picked up a pound of fried shrimp and a pound of fries. Dig in while we talk some poker. I'll get to check-raising in a moment (that's called a "teaser"), but first …

Poker played "correctly" can often be quite boring. Once you've established for yourself the values required to start a hand but the dealer doesn't seem willing to meet those requirements at your little segment of the table, the fun part of the game diminishes. You aren't so much a poker player as you are a poker watcher.

Beginning players should be taught the value of waiting. Wait for good starting value. Wait for opportunities to maximize the value of your hands. Wait, wait, wait. We could go buggy with all of the waiting.

It's quite likely that we had to wait until we finished some other task before we could head for the poker room. Then, the probability was high that we had to wait for an open seat after we arrived. And now, we have to wait for good starting values before we can play a hand? Horsefeathers! Let's jump into the pot with the next hand we pick up that has any promise whatsoever. We can't sit here all day waiting for "value." Let's gamble!

Consider now the plight of the low- or medium-limit player who is at the table to augment his salary or meager pension. He has twice the wait. He not only waits for value, but also waits for the recreational player to get tired of waiting and start gambling. That's how the semipro makes his living – waiting for you to stop waiting.

Do you see the lesson here? Do I have to draw you a picture? I thought not. Wait!

So, now you wait. But what do you do to keep from getting bored while you're waiting. You can write a fan letter to Oprah. You can make plans for disinfecting your doorbell button. Or, if you really get desperate, you can observe your opponents. What a brilliant, novel idea! I wonder why no one ever thought of it before – to actually watch your opponents play in order to acquire knowledge of how to play against them most profitably.

The best time to observe your opponents is when you're not involved in a hand. Your mind isn't busy figuring out your own possibilities and the most profitable course of action. You're free to observe and mentally record your observations. This is beginning to sound fun – and profitable! This could revolutionize the game of poker.

Why don't three or four of you try it and let me know the results – that is, if you're still willing to talk to me after you've won all of that money.

We've learned two extremely valuable lessons so far in one day – wait, and observe – and we can do both at the same time. (It's no wonder I'm paid the big bucks to bring you this stuff.)

And now, on to check-raising. Occasionally, I'll get a letter from someone inquiring about the ethics of allowing check-raising in poker. The tone of the letter usually tells me that the writer considers anyone who check-raises to be the slimiest form of life, fit to inhabit only the darkest part of a snake- and mosquito-invested swamp.

Check-raising is considered by many to be deceptive and fraudulent. Of course! That's the whole idea of poker, is it not? Otherwise, we would play with all of our cards exposed, and there would be no strategy to the game.

Suppose that the quarterback in football wasn't allowed to throw a pass once he started running, or vice versa. What about the baseball pitcher who picks off a runner from first base? Deception is the only way he can accomplish that move. What about the fake in basketball? How about the feint in boxing? Without deception, there is loss of strategy.

If you object to a check-raise, you also must disallow bluffing, for what is a bluff but a downright, out-and-out lie. Are you going to allow a blatant lie but not strategic deception? Saints, preserve us.

Now I tire and require repose. Put the rest of the shrimp and fries in your pocket and kill the light on your way out.

Editor's note: Roy West, author of the best-seller 7 Card Stud, the Complete Course in Winning (available from Card Player), continues to give his successful poker lessons in Las Vegas to both tourists and locals. Ladies are welcome. Get his toll-free 800 number from his ad on page 78.