Check the chip stack following an unexpected raise

POKER TIP OF THE DAY:
How to spot and act on a "bluff raise"

Let’s say you are holding the basis of a reasonable but not premium hand. An opponent hits you with a raise when it’s unexpected. Take a quick look at his chip stack before considering whether or not to fold under the pressure of his heavy bet. If the player is short stacked (low on chips) the odds are he’s trying a “bluff raise” in desperation. This would not be a time to fold. It’s a time to be aggressive.

Working the tip a little harder. A raise is a sentence, and a stack is the accent it is spoken in: the same bet means different things from a player who has plenty behind it and a player who has almost nothing. The short stack described above is raising because folding in a round or two is the alternative, so the raise has to come now whether the hand deserves it or not. That is why it is a poor moment to give up a reasonable holding.

The reverse case is worth learning at the same time, because it is the more expensive one. When the unexpected raise comes from a deep stack, nothing is forcing it. A player with chips to spare can afford to be patient, and a patient player who suddenly is not usually has a reason. Against that raise, a reasonable but not premium hand is exactly what you should be willing to let go.

Two habits make the read reliable rather than lucky. Look at the stacks before the action reaches you, not after, because by then you are interpreting a number while deciding what to do about it. And watch what the player did with a short stack the last time he had one — most players have a single speed for it, and they show it to you for free.