Learn Texas Holdem

No-limit Texas hold'em is exciting, but can be somewhat daunting to new players. One issue where new players sometimes make mistakes is in deciding whether to call or raise. This decision will depend on a variety of factors.

Raising or Calling Pre-Flop

If you're going to play your hand before the flop and you are the first to act, it's often a good idea to come in raising. If your hand is good enough to enter the pot with, it should be good enough to raise with. This serves a number of purposes. It will make you more selective about the hands you enter a pot with, it will give you the opportunity to win the pot uncontested and it will give you power in the hand later on when opponents will be concerned that you are strong.

If someone has limped in before you, whether or not you will raise should depend on the strength of your hand and the tendencies of your opponents. A second raise is likely to reduce the field significantly, so if you have a hand that plays well against multiple opponents, you may not want to re-raise. In addition, you risk having the initial raiser come over the top all in, so you need to consider what you will do in this circumstance and whether or not it is worth the risk.

Betting/Raising or Checking/Calling After the Flop

If you raised before the flop and were flat called, it is often a good idea to bet the flop. This is called a continuation bet and the idea is that since most flops miss most people, your flop bet will represent a continuation of the strength that you represented before the flop, often resulting in your opponents conceding the pot to you. If you limped pre-flop, if someone bets the flop before it gets to you or if the board is particularly scary, you may choose to check and see what opponents will do.

The key point to remember is that if you aren't sure what to do, raising or folding are usually preferable to calling. When you call, you give the power to your opponents. It's usually better to fold and wait for a clearer situation than to put chips in the pot when you don't know where you stand. If you raise, you put the decision to your opponents and leave them wondering what you have, rather than the other way around.