Understanding the Meaning of "Check" in Poker: A Guide for Poker Gamers

Whether you’re playing competitively or casually online, understanding the different moves that you are able to make during a poker game is key to developing your strategy. After all, this is because it provides you with the opportunity to harness your skills, as you’ll feel more confident in the decisions you make moving forward.

During the betting phase of a standard game of poker, you’ll have four options: Fold (Forfeit), Raise (Increase the bid), Call (match the bid), or check.

In this article, we’ll talk more about what it means to check in poker, the restrictions associated with this move, and the best time to deploy it during gameplay.

What is Check in Poker?

Though it is often confused with calling, checking is an entirely different move with different outcomes. Checking during a poker game essentially means passing on your opportunity to place a bet. However, there are limitations on when you can check. For example, you can only check if it's your turn and no other players have placed a bet or if the player placed a bet before you checked, too.

Understanding Calling in Poker

Calling refers to matching the bet of the player (or players) before you. This means that you may be matching the original bet placed for the round or the raised bet instigated by a previous player.

Explaining Poker Check and Call

When to Call or Check in Poker

Generally speaking, you should call in poker when:

• You feel confident that you can build a strong hand based on your hole cards (the cards given to you by the dealer) and the currently revealed community cards
• You can afford to ‘lose’ the chips in play without being taken out of the game
• You are bluffing and trying to increase the pot as much as possible

You should check when:

• When you have a weak hand but don't want to count yourself out entirely by folding
• When you’re at risk of busting (running out of chips) but don’t want to fold
• You’re looking to figure out more about your opponent's hand
• The player before you has also checked

Check vs. Call in Poker Strategy

Poker is a game of both chance and skill. After all, whether you’re playing online or in person, you have no control over the cards you’re dealt. However, you do have control over how you bet or the steps you can take to increase the pot, even when you’ve been dealt a rough hand. This means that there are certain strategies you can deploy to increase your chances of success.

Check Poker Strategy.

As there are certain limitations in place when it comes to checking, this is a strategy that can only be utilized at a specific point in the gameplay. However, this does not mean that it cannot form an essential part of your strategy. For example, it’s a great move to play if your cards are ‘weak,’ but you feel your opponents are in a similar situation. This way, you don’t have to fold or part ways with any more chips.

Call Poker Strategy.

You have the opportunity during every betting stage of a poker game, provided you have the chips to back it up. After all, calling simply means matching the bet of the player before you. However, while this may seem like nothing more than a method to keep yourself in play or preserve chips, calling can also be part of a bluffing strategy. For example, you can use this to steadily increase the value of the pot by forcing the following player to follow suit. This way, you’re increasing your winnings when you have a strong hand without making this too obvious to those around you by raising the bet.

This could also be a tactic when it comes to getting your opponents to put more of their chips on the table even if you don’t have the best hand, which can lower the chances of success moving forward.

Tips for Knowing When to Check

As mentioned above, there are a few different scenarios that you may want to consider checking. For example, you should check if you’ve been dealt a rough hand but don’t want to fold too early. This will give you the chance to observe other players and their actions and determine whether or not you should keep playing or fold. After all, they may have been dealt a worse hand than you!

However, before checking (or attempting to check), you should always make sure that you are actually able to do so. You can only check if you are the first player to place a bet in that round or the player before you have checked. Otherwise, you’ll need to utilize a different strategy.

Mastering the Art of Calling in Poker

Mastering the art of calling (i.e., knowing when to call and when to use other methods) is one of the easiest ways to take your poker skills to the next level. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can set about achieving this goal.

For example, you should start by perfecting your poker face. This means maintaining a neutral expression (and body language) so that your opponents cannot gauge the quality of your hand. This is especially important if you are playing with people you know, who may be more accustomed to your tells and quirks.

You should also be mindful of the fact that calling should not only be used when you have a good hand but to add to the pot, increasing your potential winnings.

Generally speaking, you cannot enter any game of poker with a plan in mind of what to do. This is because there’s no way of knowing which cards will come up. However, the more you play, the easier you’ll be able to make decisions between checking and calling!

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.