In poker, one of the main aims and motivations for betting or raising is to protect your hand, which means to reduce the number of opponents in the hand. You may think, Why? Well that is simple, the more players drawing another card offer more opportunities for them to improve on their hand and ultimately beat yours. Pocket Aces rarely hold up if 10 players are still in the hand after the flop but with only 1 or 2 opponents the odds increase dramatically.. A player generally protects made hands that could be seen as vulnerable to an opponents drawing hand. ie you have to take the value out a bet if you someone is hoping to complete a flush and there are already 2 suited cards on the board. It is roughly 4/1 to complete the flush so you make sure you bet aggressively to take the value out of the draw. A protection play differs slightly from a bluff in that the bluff can win only when the opponent folds, while protection bet is made with a hand that is likely to win a showdown, but is seen as too dangerous to slow play.
The importance of protection increases when there are several opponents at the table. For example, if a hand is presently the best, but 5 players each have a 12% chance of winning by drawing their out, you may still be considered favorite for the hand but with all their outs combined they are favorite to overhaul your hand. Remember this can be a bit of a winner takes all game so if you have a better hand than 4 of them, but 1 of them hits their 12% out, thats no concillation.By using a protection bet, some or all of your opponents may fold, leaving you fewer opponents and an increase in the likelyhood that you will win the hand. Some novices see a pair of Aces pre-flop and decide to slaow play them and drag everyone into the pot. beleive me. its just asking for trouble.
The term protection is also often heard in the context of an all-in player. For example, the short stacked player is all-in when he pays his big blind. One of the players in the early position lands pocket K's but wants to reduce the number of opponents by the flop. this is known as a protection play that is also protecting himself & the all-in player. To deliberately make such a bet solely to protect another players hand is known as collusion and if picked up on both players will be thrown out of the game..
We all know of remarkable Bad Beat stories. They seem to flow off some people's tongues like it's something to be proud off. Bad beats can be sickening so we must learn to avoid them as much as possible.
By raising to protect your hand you will reduce the amount of Bad Beats. Leave that to the suckers. You know how to scare off opponents, now this is a time when it is advisable to use the scare tactics. You do not want to give someone with a draw a cheap chance to outdraw you. Depending on your position you can either raise or check raise when you flop a big hand. Understanding position is also vital here. If you think a bet will come after you it may be best to check raise to drive out the other players between you and the bettor. If you are in late position then raising directly is frequently the best play when you flop a big hand. You may want to deter river chasers the opportunity to catch a straight or flush on the draw. This can be very costly.
Ok. you are sitting on a pair of 8's from an early position. You get the chance to limp in to see the flop. The flop shows, 3 & 6 of Clubs, and 8 of Hearts. Now there are 6 people still in the pot. You have trip 8's. There may be players waiting to hit the flush or the straight. How much would they risk for the next 2 community cards? You want these people out the reckoning, so you must make a raise bigger than the size of the pot to keep the odds in your favor. You will chase out the smart players. Those who are chasing the river are playing into your hands. They might catch the flush or straight and give you the dreaded Bad Beat, but in the long haul you will be playing with the odds in your favor, recover your losses and then some.
