When to Raise and When to Hold in Poker

So first up it would be a good idea to explain what the terms ‘raise’ and ‘call’ mean?

Raise – To raise, is to increase the size of the bet required to stay in the game. All following players wishing to remain in the game must bet at least equal (call) to the raise. It is standard that all raises must increase in size. For example if in one round of betting the raise is $3 then in the next round the raise must be equal to or more than $3.

Call – To ‘call’ is to match a bet or a raise. A round of betting will end when all players have bet an equal amount. If no subsequent player meets a players bet or raise then that player wins the pot.

So what are the reasons to raise?

Firstly raising may cause your opponents to reassess their hand and fold, which is obviously good for you. If you feel you have the best hand then raising will add money to the pot which you will potentially win.

If you have a hand that you feel does not need improving then raising may drive out players with equal hands who may potentially improve their hands with subsequent cards.

Raising is where bluffing comes into play. You may wish to raise your bet in order to make people with better hands think that you are holding better cards than you really do, thus increasing the chances that they will fold.

Raising will always potentially drive out weaker hands, thus preventing them from improving with subsequent cards.

So what are the reasons to call?

Calling will enable you to see more cards and therefore potentially improve your hand – however there is obviously the chance that it might also improve the hands of your opponents, because of this you should always keep track of the cards on the table and who has what.

Calling (and not raising) will also deny the first betting player from re-raising.

Calling can also be used to bluff. If you have a strong hand then by calling in an early round and not raising then you won’t give away the strength of this hand. More money will be added to the pot in the later betting rounds, which you can then cash in on with your strong hand.

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