When you pass on the option of betting only to raise an opponent who bets out when the action comes back round to you, then you have set one of the most common betting traps in poker by check raising.
The ethics of check-raising used to be questionable but these days in poker it is extremely prevalent and necessary. If you're known as a habitual checkraiser it is a weakness because then no-one will bet out for you. Instead you might find that you have inadvertantly given your opponents a free card, and that could easily come back to haunt you.
The strategy behind the check-raise is to try and build a pot that you feel you are going to win because you have the strongest hand at that moment. The failing of the strategy is that you might not get any action, but it is a very forceful play and announces the strength of your hand in no uncertain terms. That leads naturally to the check raise bluff, an advanced play not for the faint of heart!
If you check raise bluff you have nothing but want to give the impression that your hand is unbeatable. Medium strength hands tend to pay off to check-raises, especially if they're held by weak players, so use this bluff sparingly and only against decent players who respect the check raise to start with...
