How much to raise in no-limit Holdem poker
When you make a raise in online poker, you must know how much to raise. This aspect of the game should not be taken lightly if you want to play poker well, and make good money at it.
Raising variable amounts is the main difference between limit and no-limit Texas Holdem poker. But if you do not know the optimal raise amounts you should make, your opponents will, and they will fleece you.
Do not always use a fixed amount like 3 BB or do not raise a random amount either. Finding the correct amount is part of your poker skills. So in order to work on this, let's first ask ourselves what is the reason for raising? There are mostly three reasons:
- getting information about the other players' cards,
- using aggression which puts pressure on your opponents,
- narrowing the field down.
If none of the above is achieved, there is no point in raising before the flop and limping would be as good. As it is hard to win a hand in a multi-way pot unless you hit the board, by raising you force the weak hands to fold. And if they do not fold, then you have narrowed their range, hence you got information.
As was said earlier, the convenient standard raise is three times the big blind. Betting less such as two times is called a min-raise and is usually not recommended, because it makes it cheap for people to call with their draws. The other choice below 3 is two and a half. And you can bet any amount above 3, such as 4, 5, 6, ..., all the way to shoving.
The key here to understand is that you want to raise as little as possible while reaching the three goals. This way, by investing less in the pot you improve your ROI. But sometimes you have to bet more than 3 in some games where players like to make big calls preflop. And sometimes you can bet less, like in a tournament when the blinds are large.
Making big raises is not a smart move if you can achieve the same result with less. Each table and game is different, so part of observing your opponents should be to determine what kind of raise is appropriate. Watch what works at your table. If three BB raises get lots of caller but 4BB do not, you have to bet more.
On the other hand, the players who bet more than necessary do not know how to adjust well to their table. This will cost them in the long run. Do not use a preset number, watch out what is going on and raise accordingly.
Remember that. Your results will get an incremental boost if you pay attention to raising the correct size. Here we are talking about pre-flop raises, but the same principles apply at the flop and after the flop.
The two gorgeous women pictured on the right are Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle, respectively the last woman standing at the WSOP main event in 2007 and 2008. Both poker pros, they play at the WSOP every year, and they know how to raise.
Good luck! And remember that everything matters when you play NLHE. This includes that you should think of the best number of chips to use when you make a raise.
