Poker Betting Strategy
Checking, betting, calling, raising and folding
Check
A bet of zero dollars. By checking, a player retains the right to call any bet made by a player who acts after he does, or even to raise if a bet is made.
But if someone’s already bet when it’s your turn to act, you can no longer check, and must either fold out of the game, call the bet, or raise the bet.
Bet
A wager of a curtain amount of money by a player in a poker game. This term is normally used to describe the action made by the 1st player that makes a wager in a betting round.
Every table will have a set stake limit which will determine the increments in which bets and raises are made. i.e. on a $2/$4 table, bets are made in increments of $2 and $4 respectively.
To equalize the amount bet/wagered into the pot. This would be equivalent to the largest bet placed on a table by one player.
Raise
To increase the amount bet/wagered by your opponent
To decide not to bet, call or raise. By folding, a player relinquishes his interest in the pot
A token sum of money contributed by each player before the cards are dealt.
Antes are used in Seven-Card Stud, Seven-Stud/8 and many other games.
A forced bet by one or more players before the cards is dealt. This takes the place of an ante. The requirement to post a blind bet rotates around the table from hand to hand along with the dealer button, so that each player pays his fair share.
Blind bets are common in Hold’em and Ohmaha as apposed to Antes which are used in Stud games.
In most casino games, there are 2 blinds:
Small blind = half small stake amount
Big blind = small stake amount
i.e. on a $2 / $4 stake table, the small blind = $2/2 = $1 and the big blind = $2
These bets are called “blind” bets because they are posted before the player sees his pocket cards and they are also considered “live”, which means that players who post the blind still have an opportunity to raise when the action gets back around to them.
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