Checking in the dark?

Ive seen the pros do this alot!!
I have never done it myself and was wondering,

When is it the right time to do this?
What is the point of doing this?
What advantages do you get from doing this?

Thanks!!

I have done this before when I want to show no indication of the strength of my hand. Sometimes it is helpful if you think the others at the table are getting a good read on you and you want to throw them back in the dark.

I think it is basically a way to gain position (to some degree) in the hand. You now get to act last/second heads up. That's not exactly what happens, because the person in late position is still acting last before the next card comes out.

Sometimes you see people do it when they have a hand that the flop will very clearly define, like a small pair (they spike the set or not).

There are lots of reasons NOT to do this-- you may want to bet the flop for any number of reasons. David Williams, the year he got 2nd in the Main Event) was checking in the dark for no reason, just to look cool in front of his hero Marcel Luske, but made the mistake of giving a free card to hurt himself.

To me, checking in the dark seems like more of a posturing move than anything else. I can't recall a situation in which I have used it.

A couple of people at Seneca were doing that. One guy ended up getting stacked because of it. Both flopped trips, had a worse kicker. (ouch) Doesn't seem like a good thing to do ever in my opinion.

I do this every now and then in our home game, especially after calling a raise out of the blind with a small pair or suited connectors..Basically i'm looking to spike a set or a good draw for which i'm almost always going to check to the raiser anyhow and then either raise their continuation bet or smooth call.. I don't look at it as gaining position on my opponent per se but it allows me to not worry about the flop as it comes out and just watch my opponents reaction to it instead.. It can be very profitable if you hit a monster because your opponent may be a little thrown by your dark check and possibly think they are being trapped with a big hand like Aces or Kings.. That's the beauty of it..People just will pay you off big time if you hit your draw or a Set.. I'm not saying to utilize this move often because people will catch on quickly but it's just another possible weapon to add to your game..

I would say he got stacked because it was set over set. It probably had nothing to do w the check in the dark.

Still, see Norm Chad's comments on Williams' bone headed use at the WSOP.

The whole reason the second guy called preflop was because he said he was going to check in the dark after the flop.

you are acting without information. doesnt make sense to me.

I never check in the dark because on a dangerous flop I may have just given out a free draw. There's also the possibility that I lost a chance to gain extra bets when I flop a monster.

I think that it is a table image thing. IT seems crazy, but with some hands you know you will check anyway(small pairs) because you will check-call/raise if you hit a set and check if you don't... The only problem is many people know this and will assume you have a small pair/suited connector if you check in the dark.
And it looks cool. That's why people overuse it... like alcohol...

i only do it when lets say I am at the casino and there was a raise to $7 in a 1/2 game and 4 people call. It gets to me and I look down at suited connectors. I have the odds to call and I will check in the dark just hoping I flop the nuts. I only use this every once in a while but it definitely pays sometimes.

I did this once at MGM and had pocket 4's against 3 people, and the flop came out 4 4 K. One guy bet, and another guy reraised, so I just popped all in for about 3 times the guys reraise. Auto call from both of them thinking i am playing garbage, and when they were done with their side pot I showed the nuts.

I never do this either, because it gives people free cards. I think it's a lot better to just bet with the best hand than let people suckout on your for free!

If you have like AQ suited, that's when I have personally done it. Also, I don't raise pre-flop to kind of hide the fact that I have AQ. That way my opponents won't put me on it. Then I have the flush draw, and at least a pair with a high kicker.