I've read and listened to many professionals talk about avoiding FSP (Fancy Play Syndrome). Straight foward play will usually net you the most profit, especially in low limit games. There are, however, a few circumstances when a check-raise is the best play. In the following hand, my check-raise on the flop was used to build a pot with the best hand.

Texas Hold'em $1-$2 (real money), hand #1,380,490,722
Table Braunschweig, 20 Oct 2005 12:53 AM ET

Seat 1: sololin
Seat 3: Timmy Br
Seat 4: PayMeDaMoney [6h]]
Seat 5: olivert
Seat 6: gsamsa
Seat 7: jaksfull
Seat 8: sexy59
Seat 9: tjp5252
Seat 10: ImaBear
ANTES/BLINDS
gsamsa posts blind ($0.50), jaksfull posts blind ($1).

PRE-FLOP
sexy59 folds, tjp5252 calls $1, ImaBear calls $1, sololin folds, Timmy Br folds, PayMeDaMoney calls $1, olivert bets $2, gsamsa folds, jaksfull calls $1, tjp5252 calls $1, ImaBear folds, PayMeDaMoney calls $1.

FLOP [Jc][Ks]
jaksfull checks, tjp5252 checks, PayMeDaMoney checks, olivert bets $1, jaksfull calls $1, tjp5252 calls $1, PayMeDaMoney bets $2, olivert bets $2, jaksfull folds, tjp5252 folds, PayMeDaMoney bets $2, olivert calls $1.

TURN
PayMeDaMoney bets $2, olivert calls $2.

RIVER
PayMeDaMoney bets $2, olivert calls $2.

SHOWDOWN
PayMeDaMoney shows [6h]
olivert mucks cards
PayMeDaMoney wins $26.50.

SUMMARY
Dealer: olivert
Pot: $27.50 | Rake: $1
sololin loses $0
Timmy Br loses $0
PayMeDaMoney bets $10, collects $26.50, net $16.50
olivert loses $10
gsamsa loses $0.50
jaksfull loses $3
sexy59 loses $0
tjp5252 loses $3
ImaBear loses $1


Straight out of SSHE. The raiser is on my immediate right and is last to act. If I bet here, he may very well raise and knock the other 2 players out. When it is checked to him, it is almost certain the the preflop raiser will bet and both players call which is perfect for me. I raise and now he even does me a favor by re-raising here to knock out the straight draws. Meanwhile I've gained 2 extra small bets from the callers. Doesn't look like much, but the small profits you make over the course of a session add up.

Exactly.

For some additional info, some based on SSHE and HEPAP, go to my blog:



You played the hand flawlessly, though that Q on the turn would've given me a fit.

NIHAN SIR!

Wow I cannot believe two people folded to the C/R on the flop after initially investing a bet already. Yes, you played it perfectly.

In Theory of Poker it mentions certain criteria for check-raising:
1) He will only call if you lead out with a bet.
2) He will bet if you check.
3) There's a good chance he'll call the raise.