Again, a polarized range is one that is a ‘nuts or bluff’ type range. Say we steal from the button, just the BB calls, and we see a heads up flop of K54r. The BB checks and it is our action. Let’s say we have five possible hands: AK, K9, JJ, 98, 55. Let’s categorize each hand:
Bluffs: 98
Value Hands: AK/K9/55
Semi-Bluffs: SDV Hands: JJ
If we were polarizing our CB range we would CB the 98 (the bluff) and the AK/K9/55 (the very valuable). We would check the JJ behind in an effort to get to showdown and not get check-raised off our hand. But if we ask ourselves the question we always should ask when betting the AK/K9/55 part of our range, “what does our bet accomplish?” we get an interesting answer.
As it turns out, not too much. Of course, there is a tremendous difference between 55 and AK/K9 here. We should bet 55 in order to make the biggest pot possible when our opponent has the KJ or sticky pair part of his range. (We could check if our opponent is for sure going to make a ton more (and bigger) mistakes if we check as opposed to if we bet) But why should we bet AK/K9? Do any worse hands continue? Sometimes we get called by 66+/KT/KJ/KQ/76, but that is pretty much it8. Let’s start by assigning a
range for BB and then get to working out this problem.
Let’s assume the BB is a fishy 24/6 player. We see from his stats that he calls a lot preflop, and raises very rarely. For all intents and purposes, let’s say he has something like 22+/ AT-AQ/KT-KQ/QJ/QT/JT/SC. We see this range hits the flop about 40% of the time he continues with 66+/OESD/TP/sets. This means if we bet, we should expect a fold about 60%9 of the time.
8 It should be noted that if our opponent is calling with lots of second best hands, a CB with K9
is still good. Checking becomes more valid when our opponent starts to play closer to perfect against a bet.
While we do get some value by betting, we should always ask ourselves if checking could possibly show a better profit. If we look back at where the density of this player’s range is on the flop, we see he has ‘nothing’ and ‘ace high’ a very large percentage of the time. We also want to take conceivable actions into consideration as well. Do we get bluff check-raised a lot if we bet here? Do we want to face a check-raise here? Do enough worse hands continue if we bet? Do other hands make more mistakes if we check as opposed to bet here?
Let’s explore some reasons why checking could be a good play:
Minimize loss •
There is always the chance we could be behind, unless of course we have the nuts. If we take economic principle into consideration, we know that minimizing loss is the same thing as maximizing value. We should always try to keep our loss in any hand to a minimum.
Pot control •
Whenever we bet we increase the size of the pot. This is of course great when we have a hand that we want to make the pot bigger with. However, when we have mediocre strength hands, and even strong hands can have mediocre relative strength, we want to control how big the pot becomes to ensure we aren’t getting involved in too big of a pot with too weak of a hand.
Induce bluffs •
Lots of players will assume a check signifies weakness. Because of this, a check is often times a great play to induce a bluff. When we check the flop in position, we give our opponent the chance to stab either the turn or river. If we can get our opponent to bluff a hand he would have folded to a bet on previous streets, we are allowing ourselves to make more profit from that part of his range.
Induce comfortability •
In signifying weakness, a check can also induce some lighter calls later in the hand. Many players wouldn’t feel comfortable floating 55 on a K32 board, but might call a later street if the flop gets checked through. This correlates nicely with bet theory. Players feel more comfortable facing smaller bets, and less comfortable facing bigger bets. While this is true with bets, this is also true with bigger and smaller pot sizes. Players tend to make many more ‘loose’ calls in small pots than bigger pots. And again, the check creates a smaller pot size, one where these loose calls/bluffs can happen more liberally.
Way ahead, way behind (WAWB) with minimal possible over •
cards
Many times when we catch top pair we are in a ‘way ahead, way behind’
situation. Either we are drawing to a handful of outs, or our opponent is. In these situations, where few over cards can come on later streets, checking can be very beneficial. A check with KT on a K94 board is going to be better than with Q8 on 842. While both have top pair, there are many more over cards that can come on the 842 board, creating incredibly difficult spots later in the hand if we were to check the flop.
Unsure of the raise •
We should always have some sort of plan in the event we are raised. Of course, this is easy with nut hands, but can be very difficult with marginal ones. If we are unsure what we are going to do when raised, especially check-raised, it makes checking a more viable option when we have a marginal hand. When we bluff CB, we know we are just going to fold to a raise (or possibly run a bluff 3-bet/float occasionally), but with a marginal hand we can become very exploitable if we make mistakes. Why should we get involved in a bigger pot with less of an idea how to proceed if we could create a smaller pot where we have more control? Usually in this example we’ll want to induce while keeping the pot smaller, and thus creating a more ‘mistake-rich’ environment. While all the factors are important and can lean us closer or further away from checking, we can only process so much information so quickly. In the example with the K54 flop, we might consider checking behind with JJ/AK/K9, and just CBing the 55 and 98. If our opponent would make many more bluff/calling mistakes later in the hand, and put us in a tough spot if we faced a CR on the flop, a check can be a very valid option.
Polarizing our CB range is great against mistake-prone opponents. Opponents that amplify their mistakes, either by calling or bluffing, in smaller pots are perfect for this kind of check. This is also much better in position, as we can close action on future streets. While checking out of position is also an option, it is often times done with a different plan in mind. Say we raise QQ from EP, the button calls, and we see a heads up flop of A76. We check, he bets, and we call. We know a CB would just turn our hand into a bluff10, and thus we check to induce bluffs or crying calls later in the hand, while 10 We can still CB here for balancing purposes from time to time and to get outright value from hands like 99-JJ/98/87/etc. that peel us. We never want to ALWAYS take the same action and become exploitable against players that are paying attention.
keeping the pot size smaller. We also call usually with the intention of folding to a double barrel, assuming that most players wouldn’t bet the turn without having us beat. We also need to be careful with polarizing our CB range. Doing so against solid hand readers will turn our hand face up and allow them to play very close to perfect. Tough opponents understand that our CB range is nuts and bluffs, and our check is just a SDV hand. Thus polarizing our CB range is best done against players that are dumb, and again, mistake-prone. Good players will make more mistakes when we CB, and bad players will make more mistakes if we check and allow them to bluff/call poorly later in the hand. Of course, if our opponent will call with many second best hands, we don't want to miss a bet with a strong enough holding. We always want to ensure that our actions exploit our opponent's mistake-propensities whenever possible.
One final note on polarizing the CB range is the parlay the play takes. By checking behind with KQ on a Q64 board we give hands like 33 a chance to catch a 3 on the turn. Or hands like JT to catch a 9 on the turn and 8 on the river to beat us. By checking we are giving our opponent free chances to improve against us. Checking can still be good if our opponents will make more mistakes for more money than what we will lose on the times they improve. Remember, that just because we lose the pot (and we will a non- zero percentage of the time), doesn’t mean we made a mistake. When we take the best line possible against our opponent and their perceived actions, everything will work out for us in the long run.