In poker, a call is when a player puts in their chips to match the amount of the bet placed by an opponent. Calling is only possible during a betting round, and players may not pass or check (which is the same as calling). A player who calls a raise before they have invested money in the pot for that round is said to be cold calling. In no-limit and pot-limit games, a player may also go all in by betting their entire remaining stake. This is done by announcing “all in” and then placing the remainder of their stake into the pot.
If a player’s hand is considered to be weak, they can choose not to call any bets during a betting round. This is a hero call. If a player suspects that an opponent is bluffing during the final betting round and calls a bet, this is called a crying call. The act of calling a bet after a player has already raised once is known as a re-raise.
A raise must always be higher than the previous bet in order to open action, except when a player is all-in. In this case a player may only raise the amount of their all-in bet, and they may not raise by more than that amount again.
Some poker games use a kill rule that increases the minimum bet for a kill hand by a specified amount. This is generally either 1.5 times (a half kill) or double the amount of the big blind. The killing player must also post a kill blind equal to the full amount of the big blind.
In many poker games, the first voluntary bet in a betting round is called opening the action. This is usually the responsibility of the player to the left of the dealer. If a player is the first to open the action, they must place their chips into the pot before any other players can act.
The game rules of a particular poker variant may stipulate that the player who opens the action must put a fixed number of chips into the pot in order to win the hand. This is often the case in limit and no-limit poker.
Most games of poker are played using what is known as table stakes rules. These rules state that each player must bring a specific amount of money to the table for each deal and that this amount is their total stake for the entire hand. It is not legal to remove this money from the table during the course of the hand, unless a player decides to leave the game entirely and removes their entire stake from play. In addition to the table stakes rules, there are various other special rules that must be followed in each poker variation.
