Raising a previous raise can be a tricky, but effective, strategy if the cards are right
Every single action during a poker hand requires a good response to stay on the game. When learning to play Texas Hold’em poker, one of the trickiest things to learn is the scenarios in which a reraise is a good idea. As usual, there is no one straight answer except for the fact that every action requires that the poker player pays close attention to how the opponents are playing. A reraise made blindly on every hand can lead to a significant loss that can reduce the player’s stack considerably.
There are two ways to reraise; it can be either polarized or linear. The first one typically includes a bet on the best possible hands and a couple of other hands that are not that strong to make a call during a preflop raise. This is a good strategy to use when there is a good feeling that opponents will either four-bet or fold. Among professional poker players, this is a common strategy to be applied from time to time. It is important for the player to understand that this strategy leaves the card on the flop behind, since most of the time, the hand will never pass that phase and get to the see the first cards.
On the other hand, reraising in a linear way is done only with the very best hands there are. Normally, this strategy can be used against opponents who will call regardless of your hand being slightly better. This is a good way to detect players with great cards and potential for good hands, only those with cards worth playing will four-bet you. Another question a player can ask himself before making a reraise move is, how will my opponent respond. There could be players four-betting with a lot of confidence, meaning they most likely have a winning hand.
