Knowing exactly when you should call and when you should bet, and importantly when not to call/bet is an important step in becoming a better player. The mental side of poker requires you to think through certain scenarios, and take an honest look at how you and others are likely to behave in a given situation. People can be smarter than you might give them credit for, and when you attempt obvious manipulative tactics at the poker table, more often than not you’re going to get found out. It’s a much more subtle behaviour that is required – one that softly persuades over time a certain playing style that allows you to capitalize on the weaknesses you have perceived in your opponents.
Don’t ever call too quickly to keep the game going. Particularly in online poker where there is usually an auto-call function that will automatically call when it gets to your turn, you should also appear to deliberate to at least some extent as to what to do. Take a second to plan your move when it’s your turn to play, and then call. Calling up front gestures immediately that you don’t have a good hand. Of course, this can be turned on its head to let others think you have weak cards, but by doing so you run the risk of minimizing the overall pot, and you would probably be statistically better off gunning for a higher pot value and the win.
By the same token, you don’t want to call to late, unless you’re trying to create the impression you don’t know what you’re doing. It shows a lack of confidence and aggressiveness in your gameplay, and shows with almost certainty that you have a poor to average hand. You need to find a happy medium, somewhere nearer the prompt response angle but that doesn’t lead to the assumption that you’re necessarily holding a useless hand.
When you’re looking to bet you should also bear in mind the dynamics of the game and the strategies of other players around the table. When you’re going to bet, have the courage and confidence to get in there and raise the game. While obvious to the other players as an indicator of your perceived good hand, it is nevertheless a good tactic to be used sparingly throughout the game – if you seldom go out all guns blazing, and then do so on one particular hand (preferably against another bullish opponent), you have the potential not only to take the hand but also to win a substantial pot. Of course, if you appear too bullish, you run the risk of everyone else ducking out, which might be good if you’re in trouble but would have a disastrous impact on your potential earnings.
Knowing the best decision to take in a given situation has a lot to do with subtlety and an appreciation of human behaviour and psychology. These are things you don’t need a degree to take an interest in – think about how people behave and how you would react in different scenarios in the shoes of another. By doing so, you should quickly build a better understanding of how you can take better decisions, and become a better poker player.
