There is a new trend in online poker: to re-raise preflop without a big hand. If a player raises before the flop, he can have a range of hands. But if a player re-raises before the flop, you would expect the re-raiser to have a hand like pocket Q's, K's, Aces, or A-K. The result is that the original raiser will usually fold unless he has a top premium pair.
The new trend among some players in online poker is to make that re-raise without a top starting hand since they can take down a big pot by either forcing an opponent to fold or winning the hand with a continuation bet on the flop.
Let's review this play.
Let's say a player who has been making small pre-flop raises way too often does it again. You are on the button with nothing. Put in a big re-raise and you will probably force a fold and win a bigger sized pot.
But let's say a player who is incredibly tight makes a three times raise pre-flop in front of you. In this case the re-raise is more likely to run into a top starting hand, however, the aggressive tournament players still may force a fold with a re-raise. The best thing about this re-raise is that it allows you to win more chips pre-flop without having to see the flop. And you can use it against players who are too timid to risk their chips and always fear an opponent has the nuts.
What if you are up against this re-raising player? You have to take a stand and play back at him. For example, last night I was making frequent min-raises since my opponents were playing so tight. If I got a call and the texture of the flop looked good, I would make a continuation bet and take down the pot almost every time. If I got re-raised pre-flop I would fold.
This new aggressive player was added to my table and had a big chip stack. It was evident that he was using the re-raise pre-flop to win and build his stack. You don't get premium hands that often to justify his continued re-raising. In fact, his re-raises worked so well that he built a bigger chip stack which made his re-raises more threatening as he could knock players out.
I figured that I was either going to double up against him or get knocked out by him. On this one hand, I put in a min-raise with A-10 suited. Sure enough he re-raised me. I moved all-in. He insta-called with A-J. I got no help and I was out. Doh! That is another advantage of this playing style. Sometimes the re-raiser will get a hand and take out his opponent--especially since he has built his stack to where he won't get hurt that much and/or feels invincible.
Give this play a try as well, and see how comfortable you are in using it. Think about how you feel when you get re-raised pre-flop. Because when you re-raise an opponent that is likely how he is going to feel. It's a feeling that often leads to a fold.
Mitchell Cogert kindly offered me this excerpt from: Tournament Poker for Donkeys. Expert strategy guide for players who want to stop losing. His book is available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle too.
Marty's note: Mitchell thanks much for this, I have def noticed this in regards to certain players who tend to profile on the aggresive "gambler" side. Some of them are good and know when to back down, others are just playing wreckless and will call with hands like AJos or even weaker.
I like to look at the players WSD% as a guage to how likely it will be for me to get him off his hand, because you really don't want to go to the river all in with mediocre hands. You want the pot right then and there.
