Check, Call, Raise or Fold? Every Move in Poker, Explained

Most arguments at a home poker game aren't about who had the best hand. They're about whether somebody called or raised. One big chip tossed in without a word, a number set out loud, a hand that reaches back for more chips. So, by the end of this video, you'll know the five moves you can make on your turn, exactly how to raise so nobody can argue with you, and three simple sizes so you never freeze when it's your turn. Plus one move a lot of home games call a dirty trick and it's completely allowed. On your turn, you can do one of five things: check, bet, call, raise, or fold. And which one you're allowed comes down to one question: Has anybody put chips in yet this round? If nobody has, you can check, which means you pass without putting anything in, or you can bet. But once somebody bets, checking is off the table, so now you fold, call, or raise. The action always moves to the left one player at a time. And keep your chips in front of you until the round is over instead of throwing them into the middle so everyone can see what you put in. A round ends when everyone who's still in has put in the same amount or everyone else has folded. Then the next cards come out and a brand new round starts with nobody's chips in yet. So, every new round, you're back to that first question: Has anybody bet? Before the flop, there's a twist because the big blind already counts as a bet. So, if the blinds are one chip and two chips, everyone who wants to play has to put in at least two. And if everybody just calls the two, the big blind isn't done yet. They get what's called the option so they can check and see the flop or they can raise. A lot of first-time dealers skip right past them, so give the big blind a look before you flip the flop. Checking is the easiest move and it still has its own argument. You can say check or you can tap the table and under the official rules that tap counts. So, if you knock on the felt, the next player bets, and you say, "Wait, I wasn't done yet." it's too late because you already checked. And never fold when you could check. If nobody's put chips in, staying in the hand costs you nothing. If nobody's bet yet, you can open the betting. The smallest bet you're allowed to make is the size of the big blind. So, with blinds of one and two, every bet is at least two chips. And in a no-limit game, the biggest bet is every chip in front of you. Only the chips in front of you, though. The official rulebook calls it table stakes, so you can't go grab more chips in the middle of a hand. If you want more, you add them between hands. Calling means you match the biggest bet in front of you and the chips you already put in this round count toward it. So, if you're the big blind with two chips in and someone raises to six, you only add four more to call. And if you say call on your turn, you've called the full amount even if you reach out and count the chips wrong. Now, raising, which is where the real arguments start. In no limit, a raise has to be at least as big as the last bet or raise in that round. So, if someone bets four, you can't raise to five. The smallest raise is eight, which is four to call plus four more. And if someone else then raises from four to 10, that's a raise of six. So, the next raise has to go to at least 16. And in no limit, there's no cap, so people can keep re-raising each other for as long as they have chips. So, how do you raise without starting a fight? There are two ways. Say raise and the amount before your chips move or push the whole amount out in one motion. What you can't do is put in a call, look around the table, and then reach back for more. That's a string bet and most tables hold you to just the call. And when someone says raise eight, that means eight total, not eight more. So, the argument about what he meant is already settled. And what if you silently push out more than a call, but not a full raise? The official books use the half rule. So, the bet is four, and if you push out at least half a bet extra, that's six chips or more, you've raised and you have to make it a full raise to eight. But if it's less than that, like five chips, it's just a call and you get the extra chip back. And saying just the number works the same way. So, if you face a bet of four and say five without saying raise first, that's a call, too. Then the big chip, the argument that comes up at almost every home game. The bet is four and you toss in a single chip worth 25 without saying a word. Did you call or raise? Under both official rule books, it's a call and you get your change. If you want that big chip to be a raise, you have to say raise before it lands on the felt. But if nobody's bet yet, that same silent chip is a bet of the whole chip. And then there's all in when somebody pushes every chip they have into the pot. If an all in is smaller than a full raise, it doesn't reopen the raising. So, say you bet 10 and the next player goes all in for 14. That's only four more, which is less than a full raise. So, when it comes back to you, you can call or fold, but you can't raise again. And if somebody with more chips calls an all-in, they only have to match with the all-in player has, and anything extra goes into a side pot, which gets its own video. And words beat chips. If it's your turn and you say call, then you've called even if your hand pushes out a different amount, because the words came first. It's different when you act before it's your turn. If nobody in between bets or raises, what you did still stands. But if someone in between does better raise, you get to change your mind. >> [music] >> The one exception is folding, because a fold out of turn is still a fold. Now, the move I promised, the one people call a dirty trick. You check, somebody bets, and then you raise them. That's called a check-raise, and some home games try to ban it. But Robert's Rules of Poker allows it in every game except a few forms of lowball. Checking just means you didn't bet first, not that you promised to stay quiet. So, if your group wants to ban it, that's a house rule, and you say so before the first hand, not in the middle of one. So, how much should you actually bet? You don't need any math to start, just three sizes. Before the flop, if nobody's raised yet, raise to about three times the big blind, so with blinds of one and two, make it six. Add one more big blind for every player who already called. After the flop, bet somewhere between half the pot and the whole pot. And whatever size you pick, use the same size with your good hands and your bluffs, because if your bet size changes with your cards, your friends will figure that out by the second hour. And when the night's over, the last argument is usually who owes who. That's why I built HG Poker. It keeps track of every buy-in and rebuy, and shows who owes who at the end, and it takes no bets, holds no money, and moves no money. So, next time somebody tosses in one big chip and swears it was a raise, you'll know the ruling before anyone starts yelling. Tell me in the comments, at your table, does one big chip count as a call or a raise? And if you're the one dealing next game, watch how to deal poker next. >> [music]