Like Lowball and wild cards, sandbagging is one of those things that comes up every now and again as a subject of dispute between home players. While it is accepted by most, some tables have adopted the convention of banning it from their game for the sake of keeping things friendly.
poker is a game of keeping one’s cards a secret. The fundamentals of decision-making in most poker games is applied in the betting rounds. Except for the draws in Draw Poker, the betting round is where all decisions are made. Considering it in this way, every play in a betting round has a legitimate signal and a deceptive signal.
When a player bets or raises, the legitimate signal is that the player is holding a strong hand. The deceptive signal is that the player is bluffing a weak hand. When a player calls, the legitimate signal is that the player is holding a weak or mediocre hand. The deceptive signal is that the player is slowplaying a strong hand.
This balance of signals between legitimate and deceptive is key to the playing of poker. If a bet only meant a strong hand, then it would be a simple decision whether or not to stay in. Because of the dual signals, a bet no longer means a player with a weak hand should necessarily fold. If every move in a betting round had only one signal, then poker would be a very dull game, more of a crapshoot, you might say.
When a player checks, the legitimate signal is that the player is holding a weak or mediocre hand. The deceptive signal is that the player may be slow playing, but more likely, that the player may be check-raising. To ban check-raising from your game means to ban a deceptive signal that balances a legitimate one. When a player checks where check-raising is banned, that player is not just representing a weak hand, that player is likely saying goodbye to the betting round. Even if it does come back at him, he cannot raise
Check it out:
Check-raising is banned: The player to the right checks. The options are simple. If your hand is strong, bet. One player has already indicated weakness, and even if that player is slow playing, he won’t be able to raise your bet. You’re safe to make a bet with a strong hand.
Check-raising allowed: The player to the right checks. As should be the case in all games of strategy, you must now forecast this player’s next move. If you bet now, you take the risk of the player check-raising, at which point you would be taking on his or her raise as extra money in the pot.
Again, it comes down to signal-counter signal. Every move that a player makes in the betting round should allow for at least two possibilties: one legitimate, the other deceptive. A check can still mean slow playing, but poker is about having money in the pot. A slow play is a waste of a play when check-raising is not allowed. Disrupting that balance is sure to remove the element of skill from the game.
