The Deaded Min-Check Raise

I posted this thread after reading this article in my FullTilt e-mail. I didn't see an option to respond or comment there, so I thought I'd put it out there for you guys to discuss.

Perhaps some of you more experienced players can verify that Aaron's raises are a good play. I just don't see it. It looks to me like a situation where two players are trying to outbluff each other. If Aaron is willing to commit his entire stack any time an opponent check raises on the flop then checks on the turn, I just don't see how he's going to keep his stack long. Sure, he won this hand, but does that make it a god play?

After Aaron missed the flop, he bet over half the pot. The opponent check-raised. While only the minimum raise, a half-the-pot raise is not tiny. But he can afford to call and do what - draw to his King?

But then, after a blank on the turn, he pushes in half his stack and signifies he's pot committed. Though I really doubt he'd call another re-raise, why risk half your stack on another bluff? Sure, Aaron raised pre-flop, bet out on the flop and called a re-raise. But the opponent is right there with him on all the action, too. Not exactly weak responses.

I do understand Aaron's reasoning that the opponent is likely on a draw and therefore likely to fold to this big raise. But what if he doesn't? With my luck, he's holding an 8 or an ace. Aaron doesn't think the other guy is doing a fancy play, but he's throwing out a super fancy play himself. I can see the value of this occasionally, but to make the assumptions he makes and put out over half your stack on a pure bluff with any regularity just doesn't make sense. Even if it works most of the time, the times it doesn't work will be very expensive.

And if he's going to do it now, why not do it every time in a similar situation? Eventually he's going to get busted.

There are a lot of things that go into a decision like this, including knowledge of this particular opponent. But to put this out there as a good play when the risk is so high - I don't think so.

Gary