Are you new to the game of poker? If so, it’s crucial to understand the fundamentals of the poker actions in the game. Throughout a poker hand, players are involved in a range of actions: Fold, Call, Check, Bet, and Raise. These actions impact the game’s flow and how betting proceeds.
The comprehensive guide will show you the most crucial actions in poker and give you tips and methods to improve your skills.
Check
When playing poker, a check is a passive move. It’s the same as putting up a bet of $0. No money is added to the pot when you check. Instead, the betting action moves on to the next person.
Please keep in mind that a check can only be made at the beginning of the betting round or if all the players have also checked before. It is impossible to check after a bet has been made for the rest of that round. Checks can still be used to start the next betting round.
It is common for players to say “check” during live games to indicate this action. However, hitting the table is a quiet way to check for many.
Checking Tactics
Sometimes, the usual checking strategy might not apply. However, it’s often best to check in these scenarios.
- Check to the raiser. The raiser is a player who made the last raise in the previous betting round. The raiser usually has a stronger hand and a better chance of having the best hand on most boards. So if you called a raise pre-flop, it’s usually preferable to continue a passive line on the flop too, regardless of your hole cards. Especially out of position.
- Multi-way pots. The more players there are, the more it is advisable to check with all your hands except the super-strong holdings that you need to start betting immediately hoping to build a big pot.
When you check, it’s always possible, and rather likely, that another player will place a wager. Therefore, you must determine in advance which actions you will take after checking:
- 🏳️ Check-Fold: When you check-fold, you eliminate your garbage hands and weaker hands that have little value or opportunity to improve.
- ☑️ Check-Call: Perform this action with your medium-strength hands and occasionally with some strong hands (to slowplay for deception and balance). This category may also include some of your draws. However, ensure you have the appropriate pot odds or implied odds to proceed.
- ⚔️ Check-Raise: Use your strongest hands to check-raise, mainly if they are likely to be outdrawn by the Turn or River. To balance this part of your range, you may also check-raise with some of your draws, like straight-draw or flash-draw. Check-raising can be a strong element of your bluffing tactics.
Check Example
For instance, you’re in a $1/$2 No-Limit Texas Hold’em cash game. You are dealt K♥ Q♦ in the Big blind. The player on the Under The Gun position makes an open raise, and everyone else folds before you. The board comes A♠ T♠ 3♦. You decide to check to the raiser with your gutshot straight draw. You hope to see the turn for free or decide based on what the other player does.
Fold
When you fold your cards, we don’t mean you bend them in half. It means you’re giving up your hand and a chance to win the current pot. In the live game, fold is performed by throwing your hand into the middle of the table, usually toward the dealer.
When you fold, make sure to discard your cards face-down. If someone accidentally flips up or shows a card, it could change the trajectory of the hand for everyone else.
Folding in Poker Strategy
Players should think about folding when facing the below scenarios:
- Fold your weakest hand in your range when facing a bet.
- Fold your weakest-made hands, probably the second-best hands that can’t withstand pressure.
- An important thing to remember is to use a smart poker fold plan. In starting rounds, folding a bad hand is an excellent way to avoid losing your chips, particularly in tournaments.
👉 Fold can be a defensive move in poker to keep your losses as low as possible. When you fold early, you keep your bankroll safe and don’t waste more chips on a bad hand. Instead, you use it to play better hands.
When managing your bankroll well, folding hands with little promise and focusing on maximizing your better hands is the optimal play. Many people think that folding shows weakness. In reality, folding is an integral part of poker that takes self-control and discipline, especially when losing or missing out on chances.
Fold Example
You are in a middle position and are dealt 9♣ 6♣. The player on your right raises big, indicating they have a strong hand. You decide to fold because your hand is weak and has little chance of winning. When you fold, you avoid losing money in a scenario where your hand won’t improve. It lets you save your chips for better opportunities.
Bet
When a player wants to initiate action in a hand by increasing the amount in the pot, they place a “bet.” To do this, the player must add more chips to the pot.
You have to follow the minimum bet rules, which means you can’t make a bet that is less than the required minimum. The required minimum bet amount is regulated by the poker rules for a specific game. In Texas Holdem, it’s the same size as the big blind. Additionally, the size of your bet can’t be bigger than your current stack.
As soon as one player bets, the other players can call (match the bet), raise (raise the bet), or fold (discard their hand).
Betting is an aggressive move that may suggest strength. Your bet sizes should depend on how big the pot is, not just how strong your hand is.
👉 Typical bet amounts range from 25% to 75% of the current pot size. Rarely, bets larger than the pot are also used. For example, 125 or 150% of the pot. These are called overbets. They are usually used either with very strong or, conversely, very weak hands. To either earn a very large pot with the nuts, or to force the opponent to fold with an overly confident bet.
In multi-way pots, smaller bets can work early on, but it’s better to change your bet size based on the board and the number of players you’re up against. For example, betting big is the best way to get the most value and protection if you have the nuts on a dry board in a multi-way pot.
In a heads-up pot with a very dry board, on the other hand, betting big might not be profitable and could scare off your opponent. Better results come from changing the size of your bet based on the situation.
Betting Strategy
There are two general types of bets:
- Value bet. You have a good hand. You bet hoping your opponent will call you with a worse hand.
- Bluff bet. You have a weak hand. You bet hoping your opponent will fold.
👉 Keep your value bets and bluffs the same size, otherwise your opponents can easily read you based on your bet sizing.
If you bet as a bluff, your bet size determines the frequency at which your opponent should fold (and for you to succeed). A bigger bet needs your opponent to fold more often for your bluff to be profitable, while a smaller bet needs your opponent to fold less often to get the same result.
Bet Example
The Flop shows K♦ 9♠ 3♥, and you have A♦ K♠. You got the top pair with the best kicker possible. You decide not to check and give away a free card. Instead, you make a value bet – 70% of the pot. When you bet on someone who might be on a draw, this size is just right. It’s not too big that weaker hands will fold. You protect your hand and build the pot when you bet.
Call
What exactly does it mean to “Call” in Poker? There is no connection between this and calling people on the phone, but there is a way to converse at the poker table. When you make a call in poker, you put chips into the pot equal to the opposing player’s bet. If someone bets $100 and you say “call,” you have to put the same amount of money into the pot.
Too many inexperienced and new players call way too many times. They all want to see what type of combination they can make with all the community cards, which may result in significant losses.
Types of Calls
Cold Call
If you call and this action is your first investment in the pot on this betting round, you are making a cold call. For example, you’re on the Button with T♦ 9♦. A player in the middle position makes an open raise and you decide to call with your hand. You just made a cold call.
Overcall
Overcall is when you call after the raise and a call(s) made before you. You are overcalling if, say, the Hijack raises, the Button calls, and you call in the big blind as well. There must be other callers before you. A call against a single raiser is just a call.
Smooth Call
When someone makes a “smooth call” in poker, they don’t raise when they should; instead, they choose to call to conceal how strong their hand is. For example, you are on the button and holding A♠ A♣. The person in the under-the-gun position raises. You opt not to re-raise but call with your pocket Aces. You are making a “smooth call” to hide your strong hand. Sometimes this action can bring increased profits, but for beginners, it is recommended to play your strong hands aggressively.
Crying Call
In poker, a “crying call” is an anxious call made by a player who thinks they will lose the hand but feels like they have to call since they are pot-committed. A “crying call” can be a strategy move to make notes on your opponent. It usually means the player must make a tough or uncomfortable choice. A crying call can also be made in a state of tilt.
Call Example
You’re on the Big blind with 9♥ 8♥. The Button open raises, and Small blind calls. You also make a call (it’s an “overcall”, as we already know). You hand is not strong enough to make a raise against two players, and to good to fold. So you decide to make a balanced move and see the Flop with two other players.
Raise
In poker, raising refers to increasing the current betting amount. The least amount you can raise when you decide to do so is usually the same as the last bet or raise. The maximum raise size depends on the type of game. In No-limit poker variants, your raise can be any amount, including your whole stack of chips (“All-In”). In Pot-Limit games, you can’t raise more than the current pot size.
After the raise is made, to stay in the game, players would have to call the raise amount. Whenever a player has placed a bet before you, while it’s your turn to act, you can raise, increasing the amount of chips in the current bet.
Raising in Poker Strategy
In poker, there are numerous occasions when you can raise. Similar to bets, you raise either for value, or as a bluff. If you have a premium hand, like pocket aces pre-flop, you can raise to make the pot grow and extract maximum value from your opponents. By raising, you force your opponents to either match your bet (call) or fold their hands. For the beginner players, the good idea would be to only raise with your best hands and maybe a few draws, to balance your strategy.
Raising is a better poker move when you are in a late position, like the Button or the Cutoff. It gives you more time to think about what your opponents will do before making your move. When you’re in position and want to raise, your general raise sizes may be smaller than when you’re not. As a result of your positional advantage, you will be the last person to act in future betting rounds.
Raise Example
In a cash game, you are in the Button position and hold 7♦ 7♠. On the pre-flop, a player in an early position makes a raise, Cutoff calls and you also call. Three players go to the Flop. The board comes A♦ 8♣️ 7♣️. The original raiser makes a bet, and the cutoff calls again. Now your turn to act. You have a set and you decide to make a raise, to increase the pot with your monster hand and protect your hand against possible flush and straight draws.
Re-raise
A re-raise is essentially another raise after a raise has already been made. This phrase is used in all types of poker, like Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Seven-Card Stud. It can be used in both cash games and tournaments.
A re-raise is also often called a 3-bet. But what if after a re-raise there is another re-re-raise? That would be a 4-bet. Then a 5-bet is possible, and so on. So the sequence of raises in a poker hand looks like this:
Bet → Raise → 3Bet → 4Bet → 5Bet → 6Bet → …
Re-raising Strategy
Consider several factors before you decide to Re-Raise, such as your hand strength, your position at the table, previous action, information about the other players, and so on. Players often re-raise when they have a good hand, but some players also do it as a bluff to steal the pot.
Preflop 3bet is the most common re-raise situation in poker. When in position, use a polarized 3-bet strategy, which involves re-raising premium hands and weak playable hands. Bluffing hands may include suited connectors, some suited one-gappers, off-suited Broadway, and small suited Aces (A2s–A5s).
When out of position, using linear 3bet ranges is advised. The linear range consists of the top hands. What % of top hands to 3bet depends on positions and game situation.
Postflop re-raises are much less common. 3bet isn’t always the “best” way to bet on most boards when playing after the flop. Take the case of having K♣ K♦️ on K♠ 2♦ 7♣ and your opponent check-raises. It is not profitable to 3bet, especially if you’re in position. You’d rather call hoping your opponent would bet on the next street too.
Re-Raise Example
For instance, you are in the Small blind with Q♠ Q♣ in a $5/$10 No-Limit Hold’em game. The Hijack player raises to $30, and the Cutoff player calls. You decide to re-raise (3-bet) to $120, which puts a lot of pressure on the initial raiser and the caller. Likely, your strong pocket pair is ahead, and you want to build the pot while making it expensive for weaker hands to keep going.
Summary
For beginners, it’s essential to know basic poker actions in poker. Checking, folding, calling, betting, raising, and re-raising are all possible actions players can perform in a hand. Every action is part of the game’s strategy and affects how the hand goes and what happens. You can improve your poker skills by learning when and how to do these actions correctly. It will help you make intelligent choices and increase your chances of winning.
As you are now familiar with all the poker actions, you can continue exploring poker terminology.