The call, by contrast, gets very little attention.  We disrespect the call, and even have a disparaging name for someone who calls too much.  We label them "calling stations" and others nod their heads in appreciation for how bad they must be.

But calls are powerful tools.  They are especially useful in helping us decide how and whether to enter a pot.  Let me explore a few different situations where calls indicate what we should do and then give some examples of how they affect our play.

You can divide the calls of your opponents into three broad categories: calls that invite, calls that deter, and calls that invite a raise.  Within each there are many subcategories that I also find useful to consider. Let's take them in order.

1. Calls that invite

Generally speaking, calls which invite are those calls that are made in front of you when you are in for a partial bet and are on a drawing hand.  So, for example, if you are the small blind in holdem with Ad 4d, a hand you might play under the right circumstances, if three people call the bring-in they are calls inviting you to play.  They are giving you better pot odds than if they either folded or raised, making calling the better option.

Imagine the game is a $5/$10 blind no limit game.  You’re in for $5 and have to decide whether to enter the pot when the bet comes around !-- STARTad|bannerTruePoker250a| --> to you.  The big blind posts $10 and three people call.  The pot is $45.  You have Ad 4d.  For $5 more you can see the flop.  It’s an easy call.  The pot is laying you 9:1 odds and, with four opponents, huge implied odds.

Consider the situation if everyone folded to you.  It would still cost you at least $5 to enter the pot -- more if you raise.  You’re only getting $15 for your call – 3:1 pot odds. Your implied odds are awful for two reasons. First of all, it would be heads up – meaning the eventual pot you win will be relatively small.  Second, if an Ace hits, your opponent checks, and you bet, it’s unlikely your opponent will call -- fearing that you have an Ace and are far ahead.  How much different from a multiway pot that is checked to you.  Your pair of Aces is likely to get at least one caller with four other players in the field.

Here’s another call that invites.  You are the Big Blind with 3d 3h.  You get raised in mid position.  And then three players, including the small blind, call the raise.  This is an invitation for you to call.  Once again, you are getting good pot odds to draw to your trips.  It’s also less likely that the raiser will attempt to bluff the field after the flop hits.  If you check and he bets it will mean that he has a legitimate hand and you can easily get away cheaply.  On the other hand, if he were to raise and everyone else were to fold to you, you would probably have to fold your low pair, being either a very slight favorite or a very big dog heads up.

Finally, calls that invite you to call are those in early position when you are in late position with a drawing hand and haven’t yet entered the pot.  This is obvious, no?  Their calls increase the size of the pot without increasing the amount it costs you to enter, giving you more favorable pot odds for playing (as well as bigger implied odds because the chances are better that the entire hand will have more than just two players).  You can play your medium and low suited connectors and nonsuited connectors and even otherwise trash hands like King suited and Queen suited if enough players call in front of you.  You can’t do this of course if the hand will be played out heads up, or even three-way with the small blind calling after you.  But if five or more people call the big blind and you’re in late position (thus lessening the chances that you’ll be raised) you can take a stab at the flop for just one bet.

Sometimes a call that invites you to play has to do with who is doing the calling and not where he's sitting.  There are some players who will generally be in the hand until the River if they are in on the flop.  They may have been selective up front, but after the flop they turn into calling stations.  I played in a game the other night with someone like this.  Hook him on the flop and he doesn’t give up.  It’s a bad habit to have, but it’s great in other players.

With guys like this, you often want to play if they’re in and you have a good but not great hand.  Especially if it is likely to be just you two together until the River.  Of course the best course of action may be to raise --but I'll deal with that later under "Calls you should raise."  I will say here, however, that the reason you

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Here’s an example of that.  You’re in a generally tight $20/$40 Holdem game.  You are the cutoff person: one before the dealer.  The guy to your immediate right is one of those selective players pre-flop who then hangs around forever once the flop hits.  He calls the big blind.  You have Ah Th: a borderline hand.  His call means a lot to you, though, because it’s likely that he’ll be around no matter what hits.  The tight dealer is unlikely to call.  Your opponent’s call invites you to call -- since you know that if you hit a very strong hand you’ll get him to pay you off.  So you can call here.  If he had folded you should probably fold as well (or raise -- but that’s another story).~~