Cold call

Also: cold-call, flat call

Calling a raise (or a re-raise) without having put any money into the pot yet in that round. Cold-calling a 3-bet is rare; cold-calling an open from the button is common.

Example. Under the gun raises, the hijack calls — that is a cold call.

The term distinguishes a call from the blinds or from a player who has already limped or raised. Cold-calling with a strong hand can trap, but it caps your range and invites squeezes, so most players cold-call with hands that play well post-flop and are not strong enough to 3-bet for value.

Related terms

Full glossary

Three-bet (3-bet)

The third bet in a betting round — in pre-flop terms, a re-raise of the opening raise (the big blind counts as…

Squeeze

A re-raise made after an open and one or more callers, exploiting the fact that the callers have shown weaknes…

Capped range

A range that, based on previous actions, cannot contain the strongest possible hands. A player who just called…

Action

Any bet, raise, call, check or fold a player makes; also used for a game with lots of betting ("a great action…

All-in

Betting every chip you have in front of you. You can't be forced out of the hand after that, but you can only …

Check

Passing the action to the next player without betting, which is only allowed if nobody has bet yet on that rou…

Cold 4-bet

A 4-bet made by a player who has not yet put money in the pot — someone behind both the opener and the 3-betto…

Fold

Giving up your hand and any claim to the pot. Folded cards go face down to the dealer; you cannot get them bac…