As a beginner of Texas Holdem poker you are definitely aware that you should raise if you have strong cards. This is a very important aspect of the game. Every experienced Texas Holdem player knows this rule. But after playing for a while you will note that raise can be harmful for your stake. So, what should you do then, raise or not?

I will give you some ideas when you should not raise. Let’s make it clear, if you face at least two out of these three cases, do NOT raise! You should better call.

You have got strong cards, but

1) You think that raise will be a clear sign for your opponents. In this case they will fold their cards immediately. Therefore you won’t win many chips.

2) You believe that one of your opponents has better combination. Of course you analyzed cards on the table and behavior of your opponents to make this conclusion. And if you raise in this situation you can tie yourself to the pot and it will lead to extremely bad consequences up to losing all your chips.

3) You and your opponents are leaders at the tournament. You have got much more chips than the other players. And if you start to compete with your rival and lose, it will eliminate you from the tournament. Therefore you should try to avoid such a big risk.

I want to mention that there is a risk of not raising because you let your opponents check next card without adding money to the pot. But at the same time if you do not have strong cards it will balance your loses. So, you won’t have to pay for check of the next card either.

Factors number 1 and 2 are crucial. Remember about these factors when you think to raise or not. You should try to predict what kind of cards you can beat with your hand and who can call your raise. If there are more negative than positive factors you should better call. Slow play has got its own benefits. Besides you can build a strong image of skilled and accurate Texas Holdem player with slow play strategy. And such image is very useful if you want to steal blinds with bluff, for example.

Flat-call

Flat-call is a wise idea in some cases. For example, your flat-call can give a confidence to opponents and somebody might start to bluff with weak cards or raise with low pair. Of course, you can easily stop him by re-raise at the turn. Making traps for your opponents is a very sophisticated Texas Holdem approach. And you should definitely use this effective tool. I advice Texas Holdem players to combine accurate strategy (flat-calls) with aggressive one (raise). Such approach to Texas Holdem doesn’t let your opponents to check upcoming cards without paying for it. Therefore use your advantage, make your opponents pay and start winning!

Also recommended:

1. The Check-Raise Bluff in Texas Holdem
2. Short Stack Raise Sizing in Texas Holdem
3. Deep Stack Raise Sizing in Texas Holdem
4. The Check-Raise and The Check-Call
5. Five biggest mistakes of poker tournament players