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Check (Poker)
A player will be said to 'check' when he wants to remain in the pot and offers no raise to the pot with no bet made before action gets to him/her. The action is often signified by a tap on the table or simply by saying 'check'.
To win a pot you will either need to bluff players out of the pot or win with the best hand, assuming the action goes all the way. At times, you will want to see what your opponents do, either trying to trap or in hope that you can see a cheap flop or see the next card cheaply. There are no rules that indicate that a player has to bet and where no player has made a bet at the pot, players have the option to check - which signifies that they do not want to make a bet. If a player makes a bet at the pot, a player behind him would need to either call the bet or re-raise, depending on the circumstances at hand. A player can only check where no bet has been made.
For example, you hold pocket 5's and you are playing a short handed game. You are second to act and after the flop, player one checks. As you have missed hitting a 5 on the flop and you have 3 over cards, prospects look bleak for this hand. You really don't want to commit too much to the pot, if anything as there are still 4 players to play behind you. You would therefore want to pass the action to the next player without making a bet. By saying 'check' to the dealer, or by tapping (or double tapping) the table, you will indicate that you wish to do this.
Checking is a sign of weakness but holds great power in disguising a quality poker hand. In poker, players will frequently hit a good hand and check in the hope that another player will see weakness and try to steal the pot. This usually increases what they would have won if they had bet out.
In contrast, lets assume that you play your pocket 5's again and this time you hit the flop. There are 2 over cards, which means one of the other players might have caught a piece of the action. Let's assume you are still second to act. You raise, and everyone else folds. Now it depends on how aggressive the players at the table are. If you had checked, would another player have bet out? If you have an aggressive player at the table, you might want to put in a small raise, and assuming you get callers, check the turn to look like you were trying to steal. When a bet is made you raise the pot up. A player with top pair will find it very difficult to lay down the hand. This is known as the check-raise.
It is important to remember that even if you have a really bad hand and no prospect of improving, you should not fold as you may get to see a free card by checking the hand.
Reasons you might want to Check
When you do not have a strong enough hand to post a bet.
To trap. When you want to look weak by disguising your hand.
To see what your opponents 'behind you' are going to do.
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