Poker Game Betting Actions
All poker games share betting rules. It is frequently said that what makes poker games unique are the poker betting rules. This is because in any poker variant, other than the initial forced bets, all of the bets made are voluntary and based on the idea that the player puts money into the pot not because of some penalty, but because they believe that their bet has a positive expected value. Players take certain betting actions, such as opening, checking, calling, raising, and folding.
To open is to make the first bet in a betting round. The first bet of the first betting round in a poker game is called "opening the pot," and this is usually either an ante or a blind bet. If a player does not want to make the opening bet, they can pass the bet on to the next player. This is called checking. A check essentially means that the current bet is called on zero, and the player can keep their cards and call or raise a bet if another player decides to open.
After opening, any bet made is called a call. Calling a bet is when a player places a bet that is equal to or more than the bet that the previous player had made. Any bet that is made after an initial call that does not raise or remains at a particular amount is called an overcall. If a player calls a raise before they have put any money into the pot for that round is called cold calling. If none of the active players in a betting round do not call a certain bet, then the player who had made the bet wins the pot.
Raising a bet is when a player decides that they wish to put more money into the pot than the previous bettor. Raising essentially means that the size or amount of money that a person needs to put into the pot to bet and stay in the game has been increased. All other players must then call this bet, essentially lengthening or restarting a particular betting round. If the previous amount being betted is zero -as with checking- then this betting action is not called a raise, but rather, it is opening. If, in a single betting round, a player raises a bet that had already been raised, this is called re-raising. Some poker games have restrictions to the amount being raised, as well the frequency of raising.
Folding, on the other hand, is when a player opts not to place any more bets after the round has already been opened. When a player folds, they forfeit their chances at the pot for that hand, but also no longer have to put money into the pot. |
