Posted by Dr Fro 10:32 AM
Underraising (home games)

I promised you a post on underraising, and here it is:

To underraise is to raise a previous bet by an amount less than the previous bet, with the exception of a raise that puts a player all-in*.  It is impossible to underraise in a standard limit poker, as there is no discretion on bet sizes.  In the Gulf Coast casinos that introduced big-bet-on-the-end games like 3-6-12, the concept of underraising lies in the rule that if a guy bets $12 on the river, you can’t come back for $18.  In Mississippi, where you can open pre-flop for $2 or $4, the same logic applies.  In spread limit, it is technically illegal to underraise, and they will stop you if you try in a cardroom.  However, most spread limit these days are on Thursday nights and your neighbor’s house over a case of beer, and nobody ever complains about a 25c raise on a $1.00 bet.

So, the concept of underraising is really only important to Pot-Limit and No-Limit poker.  There are several reasons for the rule, including:
-         An underraise wastes time
-         If there is a limit of 3 raises (not always the case), then this raise limits the total possible amount that could be raised in a round.  As a matter of fact, this is a common strategy in home games in 7-27, where the guy getting middled puts in a raise for the minimum of the spread, while the other 2 put in the max.  So, if it is 25c-$3.00 spread, the total for the round is $6.25, whereas it would be $9.00 if he did not underraise.  This is unfair to the guys with the nut hands
-         It is a Golden Fleece (no pun intended) to colluders.  If A and B are colluding, with C the victim, they would ordinarily need C to be seated between them in order to middle him.  However, if C acts last, A can bet $50, B bet $51, C call, and then A come in for a bigger bet.  With the rule in place, either B makes is $100 and scares off C or simply calls, which gives C the opportunity to call and play for only $50
-         Etc

So, if you find yourself in a game that is allowing underraising (as I did a week ago), you can either point it out and get it fixed, or adjust your game.  I would suggest the latter for two reasons.  First, by pointing it out, you are immediately clueing the table into the fact that you are more knowledgable about poker than they are, which is rarely a profitable table image.  Secondly, they may think you are an ass, and not invite you back.  Thus, let them play w/o the rule and adjust your play to take advantage.

How do you adjust your play?

1.  Use an underraise to build a pot.  Most of the time in poker, you should not try to “build a pot” but in rare instances such as having the nuts on the river, you can underraise to squeeze a little more out of a pot where players would fold to a real bet.
2.  Pay attention to other underraisers.  They are probably trying to build a pot.  If they are sufficiently unsophisticated that they don’t even know about the underraise rule, then it is safe to assume that they will not know to protect their hand with a big bet (pre-river).  Thus, an underraise is a good sign that he holds something very good.  You should probably still call, as you are getting pot odds, but now you know you probably need a straight or better to beat him.
3.  If there is a 3-bet max, and the stacks are big compared to the bets, an underraise by you can help to limit how much a round will cost you.  This is an excellent passive-aggressive move to help to draw out cheaply.

 

*  note that in Aberdeen Scotland, you can’t underraise, even to go all-in! Thus, the savvy player in early position that is nervous about his hand, should come out and bet 51% of the amount in his opponent’s stack, making it impossible for the opponent to come back at him.

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