Re-raising for info...

[Poker_Vendetta]

Ok, re-raising is something I really do not try often...I just want to know your opinion on such an act. NOTE: This isn't a real hand but let's just think about it.

YOU: JJ
Opponent: XX

You are on the button and raise it to 1200 on so, and the guy calls out of the BB 600 or so.

If the flop comes Q, 10, 5 rainbow and the guy fires out 1500 or so...It is certainly possible he just called b/c he was in the big blind with a QJ or something, or he could call with K10. There is really no way you can know! Is there? Assuming the guy is tight-aggressive generally and is a great player who can mix it up. He can bet with low-mid-top pair or whatever. You really have no way of knowing...in this situation obviously you either fold, call, or reraise. Would it be incorrect to re-raise in a situation like this? Then you would realize what kind of hand he has depending on whether he smooth calls, folds, or goes all-in. Re-raising for information...is it a good concept? A concept to add to your game?

[JimiHWannaBe]

if he is tight aggressive called your raise and is betting out of position i would most likely throw the hand away but dont do this imediatly sit around for awhile contemplating it looking at him seeing if you can get a tell think it over for awhile make him nervous if you get a tell of weakness then fire back at him otherwise just throw the hand away

[Guy N.]

I would raise once to get a little more info.
If he shoots back then fold. He may be trying to buy a card or is validating your preflop raise.
You could fold his next bet.

[sceadu]

It's a good concept and one you should add to your game. It's always nice to have plenty of tools at your disposal. To someone with only a hammer, every problem will start to look like a nail.

It depends on a lot of things: how valuable you think the information you're getting by re-raising is? How bad do you want to know? What will the information be on? How reliable is it? You already know what kind of player he is, and you probably won't discern too much about his cards judging from his being able to mix it up, so the only thing, in this situation, I'd raise to gain information about would be to see what he thinks of you, and possibly what he thinks you're holding.. and how bad do you want to know that? If you think it could win you a big pot later, then go ahead and pay now and get more back on your investment when the time comes.

But uhh, I think the information can get pretty costly and it may not even be that valuable. In general, the more you've re-raised, the more.. uhh, extreme the information: if he's on the fence, back and forth, between folding and raising, this could put him over the edge one way or another. If he's already leaning towards folding, then this will merely put him over the edge to that one side. The opposite is also true.

A lot of it really depends on what kind of mood he's currently in. Can you tell if he's desperate? What's he been playing? How's he been betting? How about his stack? For me, there are too many "what-if's".. and I think a re-raise would be better-suited for trying to validate information rather than trying to gain information.

That's my two cents, anyway, and I'm just a newbie..

[feverpa]

re-raising on the flop does several things for you... both short and long term...

it's similar to the free card theory in that you're adding a small bet now to save a big bet later...

it will sometimes drive out a hand that is better than yours, but they fold because they're holding second pair (so do you) and they're afraid of top pair... they might fold top pair, weak kicker because they fear a better kicker.... they may have been betting the flop simply with high cards that missed... but they were betting to "protect" their pre-flop raise... in any of these situations you might win the hand right there with a re-raise.

in the above situations, sometimes the player will simply call to see what you do on fourth street, and in these cases... a bet there will often bring a fold from your opponent.

if you ARE facing a good hand, but not a great one, you can stop betting on the river, and most likely your opponent will also check, fearing a monster, and you can save the last bet... before the show-down... if he does bet, you are likely beat and can give it up...

but what ALL these things do is change your table image... playing aggressively with re-raises on the flop with either good or marginal hands causes people to WANT to pick you off... if you are a TIGHT aggressive player... you'll most likely be in hands with GOOD hands, and you'll win bigger pots from people who stop believing you.... then other times, they'll get frustrated, and just give up to your re-raise...

in a sense... you can quickly put the rest of the table a little on tilt with this kind of aggressive play...

be careful though... don't use the re-raise as a total bluff... because you can get trapped into thinking that if you just play it out... it will work...

you better have something like second pair, best kicker or better to try the re-raise strategy... you want a hand that if it gets called down to the end, could win unimproved sometimes.

[Goldbond00]

You also have to look at how much he bet pre-flop. If he had bet big then assume he has top pair, middle pair, or two high cards. Knowing this.... he could have pulled trips or could have AA KK or QQ by now. Also you have to be know who your playing so if he is someone who raises pre-flop then tries to steal it. Know your oppenent well and be able to read him...