Betting in the Dark
If you bet without looking at your cards, you are said to be betting in the dark. You can also bet the flop before the flop is put out and you are also betting in the dark. “In the dark” refers to any action you take at the poker table where you have less than the full information available to you. Now you ask, why would someone bet in the dark?
Betting without looking at your cards is just a way to create action or perhaps to challenge very tight opponents to get into the game. What you will see more often is a player “checking in the dark” after they call a pre-flop bet. They are first to act after the flop and without seeing those cards, they check. This is a more interesting move, as it can conceal a very strong hand or simply be stating the obvious, that the player has no hand or only the type of hand that would call a bet but not bet themselves.
All in all, “in the dark” moves are more showmanship and less skill and beginner’s should avoid them at their chips peril.
-this is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #196
