Three More No-Limit Plays That Give Away Your Hand
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All poker players like to think they’re sneaky, but some aren’t quite as unpredictable as they think. Last issue I discussed three “giveaway” plays that will tell your opponents what kind of hand you have, at least if they’re paying attention. In this column I have three more giveaway plays for you to look for when you play.
The Fooling Around Raise
This play has been around forever. I saw it in limit hold’em games, and now I see it again in no-limit games. Only a few players do it, but those who do tend to do it again and again. I’ll call it the “fooling around” raise.
Here’s how it goes in no-limit. Some guy limps in. Or maybe he calls a regular-sized raise. Then another player behind him raises. There might be a call or two, and then our original caller decides to reraise. But it’s not a big reraise (that might imply a big hand). It’s a small raise, perhaps a min-raise. Yesterday in a $1-$2 game I saw this “fool around raiser” call for $2, and then when it was $12 back to him, he made it $22 to go. He had pocket threes.
Then I saw him, after a $10 raise and a call, make it $20 to go. He had J-9 that time.
Then he limped in for $2, and I made it $15 with pocket queens. A tight player called from the blind (very likely a small or medium pocket pair or A-K). The fooler around made it $30 to go. I reraised $60 more. The tight player whined about wanting to see a flop and folded. Then the fooler around grinned and folded.
I’ve seen these “fooling around” raises regularly as long as I’ve been playing. Again, only a small percentage of players do them, but those who do tend to do them regularly. They usually choose drawing hands such as connectors or small pocket pairs. Be on the lookout. They are very exploitable, so if you find a fooler around in your game, rejoice.
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Tags: card player, fooling-around-raise, giveaways, nervous raise, no-limit-holdem, poker, tells, the speech

Another good article, Ed.
Many Thanks.