Poker Dictionary (106) > Call

To Call a Bet in Poker

The term 'call' is used to describe an action taken by a player, in which a bet made by an opponent is matched. In any one hand, the opener (first to act) can either fold his hand, call (match the big blind) or raise. A player is said to 'call' when he decides to match the biggest bet already made. If a player is the first to play, the biggest bet is made through the posting of the big blind, and so that must be matched as a minimum, should the player wish to remain in the hand.

If the player is not first to act he will either need to match the big blind (assuming no other player has raised) or match the largest raise made by a player. Assuming a player wants to stay in the hand, he will need to either call (match the highest bet), raise (bet more than the highest last bet) or could re-raise (raise the highest last raise). The action 'to call' is not recognized as a move of strength. It is seen as an action that indicates that a player hasn't yet made a hand and wants to see the next card. As such, it can be used in a very deceptive manner to indicate weakness, when in fact the player has a very strong hand.

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