Keep an eye out for those players who don’t seem to care what comes on the flop when they bet–these are your prime targets.
Players already under-defend against check-raises even when c-betting a normal range, so if you check-raise someone who is betting 100% of their hands, you can expect that check-raise to almost always work. These players are ripe for exploiting, and check-raising is a great way to do that. The problem is that many players blindly c-bet every flop because they’ve heard that c-betting is what they’re “supposed” to do. Sounds pretty obvious in today’s poker world, but back then, it was nearly unheard of! Even today, the c-bet is a very effective tool as it’s hard to continue against it if you have absolutely nothing. People then discovered that if they started to bet more often, their opponents would fold. If they missed, they would just check and give up–even if they were the preflop raiser.
Back in the early 2000s, people would hardly ever bet unless they had a made hand or a strong draw.
