In no-limit hold’em games, you can raise up to the size of your stack. So, if the other player bet $50, you must raise to at least $100. If you declare a raise, you must place a bet that is at least twice the size of your opponent’s initial bet. Once your hand is declared dead, you cannot win the pot under any circumstances. All verbal actions at the poker table are binding. If you announce “fold,” your hand is immediately dead. In that case, your options left are to call or fold, as you can’t raise with chips you don’t have.
The only exception to that rule is if your opponent put you all-in. Call, fold, or raise?Īfter another player bets, you have three options - call, fold, or raise. Once your chips are in the pot, you’ve made a call and cannot take it back. You can also make a call just by putting chips into the pot, without verbally announcing your decision. Once you verbally announce “call,” you are committed to that decision. So, if your opponent bets $50 and you say, “call,” you must put exactly $50 into the pot. In poker, a call means to put chips into the pot that match the bet of another player. For this article, we’re focusing on the latter. There are three actions a player must ponder - bet, raise, fold, or call. What does call mean in poker? We can assure you it has nothing to do with picking up a telephone to communicate with friends, although it is a way to communicate at the poker table.