It has come to my attention in recent weeks during live tournaments that the propensity for c betting has decreased markedly along with the pre flop raise. It would seem that many, especially younger players, are either limping or flatting with big holdings preflop and then employing the check raise.
Now whether this is actually more profitable in the long term or whether we lose equity by allowing weaker hands to get a flop cheaply and possibly get ahead I'm certainly not qualified to say. However, I have noticed that against many regs who would call my c bet this tactic tends to cause some consternation as they will often call the c x raise without really knowing where they are and therefore become exploitable on later streets. It also means that a click back tells me what I need to know and means I can get away from the hand.
I have also found that the check raise is better in situations where i would donk bet as certainly in the games I play it has a noticeable effect of negating the advantage of position. Donk bets are nearly always called in the tourneys I play and little attention is paid to bet sizing, player styles etc
Just wondered if any regular live (tourney) players have noticed similar trends and what your opinions are.
Yours in Poker
Mark.
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