Texas Hold'em: Call and Cold Calling

Calling is normally defined in any poker variant as putting in an amount of money or chips to match the previous bet. In Texas Hold'em, the blinds that are put in at the start of every round are usually either the minimum or the live bets that are required by people to meet in order to participate in the current round. One of the biggest reasons that beginners in Texas Hold'em or any poker variant lose quickly is because they call too much and eventually end up playing far too many hands than is healthy, even when they don't have the winning cards. One of the most important skills in Texas Hold'em and one that many poker tips focus on is starting hand or hole card selection. There are plenty of things to consider when thinking if a hand is playable or not. The strength of it alone is of course a major concern, along with the action that had occurred before you even took your turn.

Texas Hold'em, as many poker tips would inform you, is a game about positioning or when you get to make your move. When you move first or when you're in an early position, you need a particularly powerful or strong hand to run with. Limping in is a common expression that refers to when a player walks into a round simply by calling the blinds. For low limit games, many players would prefer to call a raise rather than folding the moment they're in a pot. A good measure of your confidence in your hand is to question whether you would call or raise depending on the action before you. Given a weak hand and an early position, it may be smarter to simply throw in the cards and wait for a better opportunity.

Cold calling is a move wherein the players simply call whatever action's already occurred instead of folding or putting in more pressure. Should the pot have been re-raised before you even get into the game, you will actually have to cold call thrice to get into the game. A strong hand is generally more required to call that it is to raise. Calling a re-raise generally tells other players that your hand strength is above average, as it reveals your confidence.

These are only a few aspects of calling in Texas Hold'em and for other poker variants as well. Knowing what it means to call exactly is the one of the best ways to sharpen your game.