Many people play Stud Poker along with or instead of playing No Limit Hold'em. There are many tips one can give out for playing Stud but probably one that can be used in many poker games is the Check, Raise play. Here are a few ways Check raising is a valuable tool for stud players. Let's see exactly what it is and when and how to use it.

A simple definition of Check raising is: A two step action that begins with a check, expecting a bet from an opponent, so that you can then raise him. There are, usually, three reasons to do this.

The first reason to do this is to get more money into the pot than one would get with a just a straight forward bet. Let's say, for example, you have a split pair of three's with an Ace kicker on the deal and get dealt another Ace on

Fourth Street

. Your opponent raised the bring-in on Third and you called. Now it's

Fourth Street

and you are high, after your opponent caught a seemingly useless 7. The straightforward play is certainly to bet with your Aces over 3s. The King, if he is anything but the tightest of players, would almost surely call. Assuming you won the hand, you'd win one small bet from that round. On the other hand, with exactly the same deal, if you checked your Aces Up on

Fourth Street

and your opponent bet with his pair of Kings, and you raised and he called your raise, you'd insure that two small bets from your opponent went into the pot.

The second reason to initiate a check raise is to limit the number of opponents you face. Imagine the same hand for you and your opponent, but imagine that there are two other players after you and that your opponent with the King is to your right.

Going clockwise you see 9h 3d, Qd Jd, Ks 7c, and you have (3c As)3d Ah. You are still high and check to set up the check raise, you hope. Sure enough the first two players, seemingly on flush draws or straight draws, also check. The King, as you hoped, bets. You raise, not because you want to get a double bet from each of the drawing hands but, rather, to knock them out with a double sized bet that you hope they won't call. Had you just lead out with a bet on your Aces up, the other players might well have called, as would the King. You'd have four players seeing

Fifth Street

. And though you wouldn't be terribly sad about the extra competition with your Aces Up, you'd have a diminished shot at winning the hand.

The third reason is as a bluff. Imagine that you have the following hand. (Ks 3s) 3d. You were the bring in and were called by two players in a tight game. On

Fourth Street

you hit an Ace. Your opponents didn't seem to improve. You now see:

(xx) 7c-9s
(xx) Jd-Qc
(Ks 3s) 3d-As

You have three options. You could try to bluff by betting and hoping everyone would fold. You could check and fold or call depending on whether you believed that the bettor actually could beat a pair of 3s. Or you could go with a check raise.  If you check-raised you'd start by checking, hoping that one of the other players would initiate a bet. You'd then raise. Signifying that you had started with an Ace and now had a pair of Aces. If your image was tight and you were against tight players it might well work.

Well that defines a check raise move and it can be used in all games in the poker family.