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Calling a raise post flop

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Friday November, 13th 2009 by fullhouse

It can be very difficult to decide whether to call, fold, or re raise when a player makes a raise post flop. Your decision will ultimately decide how the rest of the hand plays out. Simply calling a raise post flop means that you are usually somewhat weak or unsure of your hand. Hands like flush draws or decent pairs will often elect to just make the call of a raise post flop. The reasoning is logical, a mediocre hand shouldn’t be played too hard, but there are flaws in this thinking. Poker is all about small edges that add up to one big gain in the long run, so it is vital that you make concrete decisions in every hand you play. Most of the time you will be better off folding to or re raising another player’s raise, but every once in awhile you will find a situation where calling is the best choice.

When to call a raise post flop

One of the ideal times to call a raise post flop is when you have some type of combo hand. When I say combo hand I mean a hand that has both showdown value as it is and a ton of potential value if the board improves. A flush draw with top pair is a great example of this. Maybe you lead out on the turn with your strong draw with the hopes of the other player calling you, but they then decide to make a raise. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to re raise as you will usually be committing your entire stack to the hand, but if you just call their raise you will be able to see a river card. If the river hits you will then be able to get some more money from the other player (most of the time) and if you miss the river you will be able to escape the hand with minimal damage. Maybe the other player will even check back when you check the river after you miss, this is just another added benefit to calling their raise on the turn. Players like to make bluff raises on the turn more often than pretty much any other time in the hand. This is one reason why the turn is the optimal time to call a raise post flop.

When calling a raise post flop is a bad idea

There are far more times that folding or re raising is a better idea than simply calling a raise post flop. Calling is one of the weakest plays in poker. Some players incorrectly think that folding is even weaker, but it is not. Calling is weak, but folding can be smart. There are some situations where calling is indeed the best play, as demonstrated above, but more often than not it is better to either get out of the hand or commit yourself to it. If you have a weak hand it should be an easy decision to fold to raise post flop. The same can be said for a mediocre hand without strong potential. If you have a strong hand you should be re raising. Shy away from calling a post flop raise when you are either very strong or very weak.