Poker Betting Versus Calling
Play Online Poker
Poker Betting Versus Calling
In order to know when to bet or raise instead of just call a bet, you’ll need to learn how to read situations and players. It could be that a call just leaves you in the dark as to your opponents’ strength. And if you are fishing for that miracle card, understand that it won’t come often enough to make the play a profitable one.
First let’s look at betting versus calling in limit games.
You look down and see a king and a queen in your hand. You want to play the hand. You’ve had the pot raised one bet by the time it gets to you. Do you fold, call or raise? King-queen isn’t a great hand, but it can become one given a helpful flop.
If you fold, you’ve just decided to wait for a better hand to play. If you call, you’ve decided to see the flop. But, what if a player after your call re-raises. The somewhat tough decision before that re-raise is now going to cost you more. On the other hand, if you raise, you may stop others who might have wanted to raise before your re-raise. The player that raised the first time may re-raise.
But if you do get that kind of action you are gleaning important information. If you just call, you know that the player that raised liked his hand. You don’t know if that player was just trying to thin the field for a mediocre hand, or if he was holding a monster. By raising, you’ve asked that player, “just how good is your hand?”
You must also keep position in mind when you raise. A raise with a decent, not great, hand in early position becomes vulnerable to the real thing as the betting progresses.
At small stakes limit games, raises aren’t likely to get people to fold. Say the game is $2-$4 hold ‘em in a casino. At a table of ten you’re likely to have six or more players in the hand. If you raise after five others are in, it’ll just cost another $2 for them to call the bet. The higher the stakes, the more effective a raise can be to thin the field. Unless you’ve got the nuts, you’d rather not have to beat the whole table in any given hand.
As the hand progresses, if you haven’t already made a good hand, or one that has great potential after the flop, calling isn’t usually a good idea. If the board is 3-5-7 off suit and you’ve got that king and queen, fishing for the high pair is dangerous. In low limit hold ‘em, someone may well have that 4-6, or a set of three’s and have you beat. If someone has bet on that board, they may also have just what you have.
If you want to continue fishing for top pair, you may want to raise to get a read on what the bettor might be holding. If he just calls, he may be doing the same thing you are doing. Or he may have just hit a small pair. Since it is quite possible that he does have the best hand at this point, you’ll want to add in position and knowledge about the player to determine your course of action.
After the turn card is exposed, you’ll want to call for a couple of reasons. If you still haven’t hit the hand you were looking for but you’ve got multiple outs for hitting a big one, a call is fine. It also wouldn’t hurt to represent that you’ve made your hand with a raise. That could force out a player who is still fishing. If you’ve got a really good hand, you may choose to just call so that no one will leave the betting. At some time though, you’ll want to raise to get some extra cash into the pot.
There is a good chance that the size of the pot will dictate a call after the turn. You may then be forced to make a call on the river, but if the odds say do it, you should. Raising after the river card is exposed if you are bluffing is dangerous. It isn’t likely to cost enough to make someone fold if you’ve missed your hand.
In limit games, the amount of information you can glean from betting and raising isn’t quite as conclusive as it is in no-limit hold ‘em.
No-limit means just that. Any amount of chips can go into the pot at any time. Large bets give you information. Raises really do create pressure that some hands won’t stand up to. A raise could mean anything in no-limit.
A call can often be read as a weakness. Once again, just calling gives the caller very little information about how his cards stack up against the opposition. A raise or a re-raise puts the opponent on a decision. While his Ace-Queen may have looked pretty good and resulted in a raise, your raise to three times his raise has made his hand shrink up some.
Let’s say the above scenario is unfolding. You’ve looked down and seen Ace-King. Without knowing what your opponent has, you do know this. You’ve got a good starting hand. If he’s got you beat, he’s going to come back over the top. A significant raise may bring a fold of Ace-Queen. That would be more likely to happen if skilled players are at the table. Most beginners can’t fold good hands, even if better ones seem to be in play.
If you just called with the Ace-King and the flop came Queen-7-8, how do you proceed. You don’t know if your opponent had a queen for sure, but if he bets that possibility exists. And if you then call, you are just chasing. If the Ace hits you’re in trouble and you’ll think you’re in good shape.
The point of raising instead of calling is to gather information about the other hands that are in play. A call is also considered a sign of weakness. Let’s say you just call with a pair of tens. Two players to your left, someone raises four times the big blind. Do you call or raise with 10-10?
You may have to fold. You don’t know if he’s got a great hand or not. He may have just perceived you as having not much. If you raised with that hand, he would only come over the top of you if he had something that was playable. If he didn’t have anything, he would be folding to your raise.
In either form of the game, a call won’t get you as much information as a raise will. And it may illustrate weakness that your opponents will choose to exploit.
Play Online Poker
