what is the purpose of a re-raise?

the reraise is great for a number of reasons... You find out where your at and take down a decent pot with no opposition...... thanks zab...

being bold and reraising, finds out the other guys strenght, keeps someone from getting another card on a draw,,, sets a steal later. Just my thoughts.

you would only check reraise to maxiumize ur pot size if you say have pp kk and the flop is 2 6 j and buddy ahead of you raises to your check u reasie him to let him know u have a hand and in order to continue playing the rest of the board he is going to have to pay for it and you rerasied in hos he folds in order for him not to hit on the turn or river

Usually, it proves your aggressiveness and may shed some light as to what hand you have.

a reraise can be used to take people off of draws. however if you think the other person has a strong hand like top pair but you have the best kicker you could raise them to see how much chips you can get out of them