Upswing Poker -- Ryan Fee On Check-Raising

Want to get better at poker? Tired of losing in your local home game or looking to go pro playing no-limit hold’em?

Who better to learn from then World Series of Poker bracelet winner and high-stakes cash game regular Ryan Fee, who has more than $3 million in lifetime live tournament earnings? Fee has teemed up with friend and fellow bracelet winner Doug Polk to bring you the Upswing Poker Lab

The Upswing Poker Lab is a poker training course taught by Fee and Polk that is updated regularly with in-depth learning modules, theory videos, and a wealth of information to make you a better poker player.

Upswing Poker has teamed up with Card Player to bring you some exclusive poker strategy content. In this video Fee discusses check-raising in no-limit hold’em, focusing specifically on the flop.

Fee starts out by discussing a theoretical hand where the player in the hijack raised, the big blind called and the flop brought the K52.

“On this rainbow board, assuming that we are in the big blind and are going to check 100 percent of the time, which is standard, if we face a polarized continuation bet range there is very little incentive to check-raise,” says Fee. He continues on, saying that if your opponent has a value betting hand, then there is a good chance they will just keep betting. On the other hand, he notes, their bluffs will also likely continue to bet because of how dry the board is.

Fee then goes on to say that there is very little reason to check-raise, because if you do you are essentially representing a set or two pair. Assuming that your opponent’s value and bluff hands are betting on the turn and river frequently, it’s better to not check raise this flop.

“What you should be doing instead is check-raising the ‘inflection street.’ The street after the inflection street is the one where your opponent is much less likely to bet, especially with their value bets. So, given this really polarized range on the flop, it is very unlikely that your opponent is going to shut down on the turn or river with any of their value bets. By just calling with a hand like pocket fives, you are maxing out on value for all the times your opponent still has bluffs in their range and decides to keep bluffing. You are still going to be getting value from their hands that are value bets, anyway.”

Fee then goes on to discuss how check-raising considerations are different on a more dynamic flop of 864. Check out the full video at the top of the story to learn what he has to say about check-raising that type of flop texture.

Sign up for the Upswing Poker Lab today for step by step instructions and examples to master both the fundamental theories and situational exploits to greatly increase your skill and earnings.

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