Taking the Lead away
June 17th, 2010A lot of the time, the poker player who takes the lead in a hand is the player that will win the pot. As many poker hands do not pan out as draws or become more exposed as more cards come onto the table and do not build them up, the player with the most pressure and aggression at their use to attempt to knock the opponent down will pick up by that pressure and aggression alone.
Taking the lead signifies that you say you have the best hand at the online poker table. By betting out, you represent a range of hands that are strong or potentially strong, and gain value by the fact that your opponent has to include big hands in that range.
When an opponent raises a player who has taken the lead, they are saying something even strong. They are saying, I see that you have said you have a good hand, and I have a better one than that. It takes more to raise than it does to simply bet. By taking the lead away early on in a hand, even if you don’t have the better hand, you can scare your opponent into slowing down (if they are vulnerable) and either giving up the pot, or giving you free cards when they check on the next street after you raise. The reraise then buys you time and gives you a stronger image that can be used profitably, as long as you don’t get caught when you actually don’t have the hand.