Expert review by Gemma Heathcote.
One of the decisions available to online poker players, along with check, fold, raise and all-in, is the Call decision. This is the response at the table to a bet made by a previous player.
This is what we are going to look at in this overview. We’ll look at the definition of the term, trying to figure out when to use it and when it’s best to avoid it. We’ll also find out what the game is all about with a call.
Once you’ve mastered the correct use of a Call, you’ll have the knowledge you need to be successful in any street of poker. Success will require a clear understanding of where to call and where to fold.
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Call – is the decision to call a bet placed by your opponent. The term can be thought of as a “response” to someone else’s raise in front of you.
For example – to enter the draw, participants have to bet (at least minimally), and someone may decide that their cards allow for a bit of a raise and they bet more than the others, the turn comes to you – you need to make a decision.
One solution might be to call the same amount or add the missing chips to the amount you already bet, so you get the same amount as the player who raises – that way you equalize the bet. This also applies to the other players.
Like any other online poker decision, a call can help you win or it can hurt your stack.. And there are, as always, additional factors that go into this. Let’s take a look at when it’s acceptable to call.
If you’re betting with cautious opponents and can’t afford to do anything aggressive so they don’t fold to your raise. These players call or raise with a very strong hand. By calling their moves, you can provoke them into a little more active play, thus adding to the pot of the game.
The call is used in the tactics of the game “Check-Call” during the fight against a fairly aggressive opponent who makes frequent raises. And if you have a strong hand, it is worth filling the pot by making a call, but at the same time not demonstrating your clear confidence in winning. The main thing is that your combination is stronger than his.
Another situation suitable for a call is that you have a good but not very strong hand on the preflop, with a large number of players in play. Calling back to call under these circumstances will let your opponents know that you intend to go all the way to the flop.
And in case of calling by other participants, without overpaying, look at three community cards on the next street and more accurately assess the strength of your existing combination. Well, if someone raises a lot behind you, you can fold.
Consider another point, let’s say you reached the turn and the fourth common card on the board strengthened your hand enough. When making decisions, you understand that an aggressive raise in your performance will let your opponents know that you have waited for the right out and some of them will decide to leave the game, which means they will stop increasing the pot, which could potentially become yours. So it’s better to call other people’s hangings to extract your own value. The main thing is that the other participant doesn’t use the same tactics with a stronger hand made on the street of the flop.
In online poker, as you can imagine, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and Call is no exception. There are some basic situations where calling is best avoided and it’s safer for your stack to decide to fold. Let’s get to the bottom of it.
In a pre-flop situation where you have both profitable late position and great hole cards, let’s say a pair of kings or two aces. The players in front of you made the usual bets, setting up the pot of the game. It’s more profitable for you to raise – thereby pushing some opponents to fold and others to call to your raise in order to get to the flop. It may be that everyone will fold – but in this situation you will still get the bank.
Let’s say the following – you do not have a very strong hand, and one of the previous participants in the table made a fairly large raise. Logically, it’s better not to call his raise and choose to fold, so you save your stack for later hands that might be better for you.
Don’t respond to a raise if you have bad cards and a bad position at the poker table – that is, a large number of players will be involved after you. After all, if one of them decides to raise, you will either call again or choose to fold – thereby losing the previously placed chips.
At the final stage of the game, just before the cards are opened, in the case when more than two participants compete for the pot and you make the last decision, calling will not be the best decision. If you are confident in the strength of your combination and are determined to win, then it is worth taking a risk and still making a raise. For some of the participants, and maybe for everyone, it will seem optimal to fold their cards. But it’s very important at such moments to understand who you are playing against – carefully monitor the manners of play and the behavior of opponents in all rounds of betting in order to know what and how they can react. Everyone has different styles of play – your opponents may include those who prefer to slowplay , or who like to bluff and take chances, no matter what their cards are.
Beginning players and poker fans, when faced with raises, most often make these mistakes: