Cold call a raise question

[Joe B.]

i am so confused on cold calling a raise.


is cold calling a raise the same thing as a raise in front?

if so should i follow what it says to do if there a raise in front?

[SheridanCat]

[ QUOTE ]
i am so confused on cold calling a raise.

is cold calling a raise the same thing as a raise in front?


[/ QUOTE ]

A cold call is, by definition, calling more than a single bet.

Scenario 1:
Preflop, you're in late position. A player limps, next player raises, everyone folds to you. It's now two bets to you and if you call those two bets, that's a cold call. There is almost no situation where you should cold call here - either raise or fold.

Scenario 2:
Preflop, you're in late position. A player limps, folds around to you and you limp. Next player behind you raises. It comes back to you but you only have to call a single bet. This is not a cold call, and you should almost always make the call.

Does that make it more clear?

Regards,

T

[playersare]

don't worry - we all started as beginners at one point.

here's how it works. a guy in front of you raises preflop, making it double the big blind. so if you are play $1/2 limit hold em, a preflop raise is $2 (since the big blind is $1).

so now you have to bet at least $2 in order to see the flop, or fold. "cold-calling" the raise means you just call the minimum $2. the reason this is discouraged is because it still encourages players with weaker hands to stay in as well for the minimum raise, and get decent pot odds to out draw both you and the raiser with crap speculative hands like any two suited cards, a low pocket pair, or any two unsuited high cards ten or better. It also keeps the initial raiser on the offensive and he will bet into you after the flop and you will not be able to put a read on what he actually has.

however, you also have to option to RE-RAISE (aka 3-bet), which is to increase the betting to $3. this accomplishes two things: a) it puts the initial raiser on defensive and forces him into a weaker early position for the rest of the hand, and b) it discourages soft players to the left of you to come in with aforementioned weaker drawing hands. Ideally you want to have a situation where you are heads-up with the initial raiser, and also get to act last on each street.

so basically the strategy for when to play with "a raise in front" is to only play hands that can potentially beat the initial raiser. otherwise, folding is probably the best idea if you're still new to the game. as you gain more experience, you will find certain situations when you can stay in with lesser hands justified by pot odds, and be more speculative when you have a mathematical advantage.