Check in the Dark
There are many plays in poker that are designed for diverting the pressure and weight of a position onto an opponent in the name of putting them to a decision instead of you. One of these, known as ‘checking in the dark,’ refers to when a player is meant to be first to act after the flop, meaning they are out of pokerpositioninstead, then, of waiting to let the flop come down and act before your opponent, giving them a wealth of information about your hand, players will sometimes ‘check in the dark,’ thereby forgoing the option to act before their opponent.
This act serves the dual purpose of not letting your poker opponent see how you would have reacted if you had bet before the flop (thus disguising your hand), and also giving you the opportunity, if the case presents itself, to check-raise when you hit your hand and your opponent bets, or see a free card when they do not.
Checking in the dark is often most popular, then, with hands largely made or broken by the flop, such as small pairs, which are often considered nearly worthless when they don’t evolve into a set, or suited connectors, which may or may not flop a hand or a draw.
