Call

A call in poker means matching the current bet so you can stay in the hand. When you call, you put in the same amount of chips as your opponent’s bet (or raise), without increasing the bet yourself.

Calling is one of the most common actions in poker and is used when you want to continue playing the hand, either because you believe you have the best hand or because you want to try to improve your hand by seeing more cards.

A call is different from a raise because you are not increasing the size of the bet — you are simply paying the required amount to continue.

When do you call in poker?

Players usually call when:

• they have a strong hand and want to keep opponents in the pot
• they have a drawing hand (flush draw, straight draw)
• they think their opponent is bluffing
• they are getting good pot odds
• they want to control the pot size instead of raising

Call vs Check

A common beginner mistake is confusing call and check.

Call = you match a bet that already exists

Check = you bet nothing (only possible if no one has bet yet)

Example of a call:

You are playing Texas Hold’em. The pot is $60. Your opponent bets $20.

To stay in the hand, you must match the bet. If you put $20 into the pot, you are calling.

After your call, the pot becomes $100.