Poker Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
button players
button players to fold, thus giving the raiser last position in subsequent betting rounds. buy the pot Making a bet when no one else is betting so as to force the other players to fold, thus winning the pot uncontested. A specialized version of this is "buying the blinds" by making a large raise in the first round forcing all other players out of the hand. call To match a bet or raise. See main article: call. call the clock A method of discouraging players from taking an excessively long time to act. When someone calls the clock, the player has a set amount of time in which to make up his mind; if he fails to do so, his hand is immediately declared dead. In tournament play, a common rule is that if a player takes too long and no one calls the clock, the dealer or floor personnel will automatically do so. calling station A player who frequently calls bets, but rarely raises them. A calling station is usually a loose passive player. See main article: calling station.
cap
cap A limit on the number of raises allowed in a betting round. Typically three or four (in addition to the opening bet). In most casinos, the cap is removed if there are only two players remaining either (1) at the beginning of the betting round, or (2) at the time that what would have otherwise been the last raise is made. Also, term for the chip, token, or object placed atop one's cards to show continued involvement with a hand. cap game Similar to "cap" above, but refers to a no-limit or pot limit game with a cap on the amount that a player can bet during the course of a hand. Once the cap is reached, all players remaining in the hand are considered all-in. For example, a no limit game could have a betting cap of 30 times the big blind.