LOL Newz

Author: J. Scott Miller

'Call, check or raise?'

As I sat there at the poker table in the Luxor in Las Vegas, the dealer repeated her question to me as I gazed into the abyss. 'Sir? Call, check or raise?' I waited for a moment, and then I snapped out of my trance. I folded my cards and tried my best to focus. I mean, I had flown in earlier in the day and had now been up for 16 hours.

When we play poker online, we have the luxury 'logging off,' and doing whatever else we choose to do in our lives. You could go back to bed if you want. I choose to work, and make money, so I can 'play' poker online and continue 'learning' the game.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had 'sub-standard' cards, and have been on the Big Blind, and get raised at the last moment before the flop. Damn, I really want to see that flop, but now I have to pay more to see it. Or do I? For the sake of argument, I have J-5 of spades. The guy ahead of me raises the pot by one dollar. But I say to myself, 'There could be a pair of fives under there! Or maybe there's a set of spades?'

Now let's screw our heads on correctly and look at this realistically, and more importantly, 'logically.' Logic is pretty much what this game is all about, right? If you can't reason within your own mind, and make sense out of what should be a correct decision, then you should be out mowing lawns for a living, not wasting money playing poker online.

If you are on the small or big blind, and someone raises you, and you call? That is like raising them in the first place. It is almost as if it is a reverse raise, if you look at it like that, which I choose to do. I have that fantastic J-5 of spades, and was raised. If I called the raise, then why didn't I just make the raise in the first place if I liked the hand so much? Fold, fold, fold that mediocre hand at once!

Let's talk about the raise for a moment. As I write this article, I am actually playing poker on Intertops.com right now! I actually do this a lot. Momentarily I will stop writing and play a hand. I am currently in a .10/.20 Euro room. Euros are worth about 25% more than the dollar right now, so there is a slight difference in wagering. I just played a hand where I was on the big blind and drew Q-5 of hearts. There were 4 players in the hand and the flop came K-K-4. The first 2 players checked, and then the player in front of me bet 1.20 euros. I waited a moment and then re-raised him. He folded quickly. You see, all I was doing was testing him. You can call it a bluff, but I prefer 'test.' Had he re-raised me times 5, I would have folded. You have to figure that half of the time people are simply trying to 'buy the pot.' A simple bet or raise with a pair on the flop will tell you right away where everyone is. In this case, it worked out for me. But who knows? Maybe next time that same person has a K-Q lurking underneath.

'Call, raise, or fold?' It's sort of like playing golf. You're at that point in a match where you either have to 'lay up,' or 'go for the green!' I've always said, 'If you aren't playing cards, and 'raising hell,' you aren't playing cards! See you at the tables.

About the Author:

Visit my Online Gambling and Casino Blog at Online-Gambling-Newz.Com