Betting is an integral part of the game of poker. You cannot play without placing a bet, and much of the excitement in the game comes not from the hands you have, but how you play them and how high the bets can become. However, it is very important to know exactly when to bet and when not to. If you make bets that are unwise, you might find yourself on the losing side of the game within mere minutes. Remember, all it takes is one misplaced bet for a player to lose all his chips. This is what makes poker such a great game. It is also what makes several people lose millions of dollars within a fortnight. First, though, you have to understand what it means to bet.

 

In poker, betting means that you will be risking your money in an attempt to gain the upper hand against your fellow players. Usually, it is done in the belief that you either have the best hand among all the other players or that the other players have bad hands and that they will fold when pressed to increase their bets. But if this was really the case and everyone followed these guidelines, then poker would not be such a great game. It would not be a strategy game, but a game of luck. In fact, what makes poker great is that, with the right bluffing skills, a person with a mere pair can beat one with a strong hand, like a flush or even a full house. Of course, bluffing entails a great risk, and you could lose your whole bet if your opponent does not take the bait – and suffer a great embarrassment, at that. It is, therefore, important that you never go overboard with your bets. Aggressive play may work at times – it has, in fact, put several pros into where they are today – but it is very hard to pull off. 

 

Furthermore, there are many other reasons in which a person may choose to bet, some of them with different objectives.

 

 

1.  Blind Stealing – as you probably know, table positions in poker rotate in order to give everyone equal opportunities. If the position of being dealer happens to fall upon you when nobody but the blinds are left, you can decide to place a bet and raise. If you had called, then the blinds would have simply checked and the game would have gone on. But since you raised, they might not risk their money on cards they haven’t seen yet and will therefore fold. You will then get their initial bets. It will be a very meager and insignificant win. In fact, most people just do it in order to finish a short-handed game immediately and move on to one with more players. 

 

2.   Steal Raise – This is when everybody else has checked and you’re the last to reveal your move. If you bet and raise at this moment, it is more likely that the number of players vying for the pot will lessen and more will fold. Take care, though, not to overuse this, especially if your hand is bad, because other players might take up on your challenge.

 

3.   Check Raise – If you want to lull a player into a false sense of security in order to make the pot larger, then you can check-raise them. Once they commit one bet into the pot, they will be more inclined to push through and bet some more