Why I hate the Check-Raise

Well not exactly, but I think that it is overplayed. Now this could just be because I play on the micro-limits NL at Party Poker but I think most of the time people try and check raise there they lose money, in two different ways. The first is you get all kinds of people check-raising with weak hands, like TPTK that they really don't want every one sticking around to see. Often times it will get checked around, and they end up giving people free cards. Other times every one will end up sticking around for the two bets any way, which gives them excellent odds to try to draw out on the river. The other time people try it is when they actually have an excellent hand, for instance if they hit a set. They will let people put in a smallish bet and then come over the top for 10 BB or more, causing every one to fold. If they had bet out a medium sized bet they could have milked it for a lot more money, then if someone re-raised they would be able to go all in with a fairly assured call.

Check Raise as a bluff

This I do like and I use it myself semi-frequently. Especially if you are in the blinds and the flop comes junk. You can check, often it will get checked around to a late position player who will bet. If you have stats from something such as Poker Tracker that indicate he is an aggressive flop player you can usually raise and take it away from him. If he is a rock then obviously you fold.

The bottom line is that if you are playing low limit poker you really don't need to get tricky to win money. Most of the players you are playing against are not paying attention to how you play. If you have a great hand, go ahead and bet. Chances are you'll get people drawing slim or dead against your hands.