Reraise
The dictionary definition of a reraise
Verb
To raise after an opponent has already raised; to increase the required wager more than an opponent has already increased it.
EXAMPLE: "I bet out, my opponent raised, and another opponent reraised."
Common situations to reraise
1. When you believe you have the best hand and your opponent is likely to call or shove with worse hands.
In the above example you are making a reraise for value. In a heads up situation there
may sometimes be an argument not to reraise with a really strong hand. for example let's imagine you're playing a really aggressive opponent but one that is not too loose.
If you have been raising a lot pre flop then your opponent my start to reraise you as a bluff to try and fight back. Now if you have a really strong hand then in a heads up situation you likely have the best hand pre flop so reraising at this point may get him to fold all or his bluffs and force him to have a reasonable hand which wont happen often heads up (both have strong hands pre flop).
So in this specific example you may flat call his reraise pre flop and allow him to keep bluffing post flop at which point you can raise pots with a disguised hand strength which if your opponent has hit part of the flop may make it more likely that you get the stacks in lighter.
2. As a bluff
Let us assume that in a heads up situation that your opponent is playing in quite a tight aggressive way then he will be raising a lot in position but as he's also tight we know he has a fold button.
So against this kind of player we can reraise as a bluff to slow them down and take control of the flow of the game. The kind of hands I often like to reraise with are hands that both play well post flop but are not easily dominated when I do get called. So as a bluff I would rather be re raising with 79 off suit than I would A2.
Once you have reraised this kind of player as a bluff a few times then you need to be aware that he is normally observant enough to realize that you may be bluffing a fair amount so when you think you have pushed them around a bit then it's often a good idea to tighten back up.
3. A squeeze play
A common example of a squeeze play is from either a full ring or 6 max game. This play can be used for value (when you believe you have the best hand) or as a bluff.
For the sake of keeping it interesting I'll explain an example of a squeeze reraise as a bluff because we all like to pull off a cheeky bluff or two.
Let's assume that you are playing in a 6 max game (up to 6 people playing) and you have a fairly solid tight/ aggressive player raising pre flop in middle position. As you improve you poker skills you will learn that players raising pre flop in this situation are raising some strong hands and a whole bunch of weaker but playable hands too.
Now let's also imagine that a player flat calls the initial raise and then it's our turn. Let's take a second to work out the second players range in terms of strength of hand? When he flat calls he's not saying that he has a monster hand but more like a speculative holding such as a low to mid pocket pair, suited connectors, or broadway cards such as KJ, QT, JT etc.
So if we know the first raiser has a lot of weakish hands in their range (hands that may be playable but can not stand the heat of a reraise) and we also know the kind of hand the second player flat calls with based on his actions then this a situation where if you have a good table image (not too bluffy) then you can often reraise here as a bluff and win a lot of hands in this way.
Now take your game to the next level
There is so much information on Tagpoker to make you a winning poker player that some people are not sure where to start. If heads up poker is where you want to begin then you need to check out:
The beginners guide to beating heads up poker.
Tagpoker's free poker training videos
Brokerstar's full heads up sit and go poker course
6 Max Cash Training
Tagpoker students forum
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