Raise or call - what is the better decision?

In NL tournaments, this a decision that players face all the time. Although most players wii tell you that if a hand is good enough to be played by calling, it should be good enough to raise, things are not always that easy. This article gives you some advice to make your decision a little easier.

Before deciding whether to raise or to call, you need to ask yourself what you want to achieve. If you want to steal the blinds, reduce the number of players that see the flop or want to fill the pot, you should raise. As to the size of the raise, you would normally raise three to four times the Big Blind. Generally, you should be prepared to bet the flop again, no matter whether you have hit or not. That way, a pot can escalate very quickly, which is why you should choose your pre-flop raising hands wisely.
A pre-flop raise, among others, serves one decisive purpose: to gather information about your opponents holdings. Let's assume, for example, that you raise with ATs from middle position and a solid player behind you reraises. That should tell you that he must be holding a rather good hand, like an ace with a good kicker or a pocket pair. You may still want to call his reraise, but get away from that hand unless you hit the flop. In this case, it is cheaper for you to find out that you may be behind early on, instead of finding that out at the showdown, and loose much more chips in that hand.
Another consideration is very important for your decision between raise and call: are you planning to bet the flop in any case? Take this example: again, you have ATs, this time on the Big Blind. Only the button calls, the SB folds. Raise or just call? I would recommend strongly to raise here, for two reasons. The button's call can mean two things: he is holding a monster hand and doesn't want to waste it by just stealing the blinds, and he tries to involve you in that hand, or he is having a rather weak speculative hand like suited connectorsand want to see a cheap flop. If you raise now, in the first scenario, you most likely will be reraised - that should tell you that you are obviously up against a very good hand. In the second scenario, a raise may win you the pot right away, and it will put you in a position where a first-in bet after the flop will most likely make your opponent fold. Due to the fact that you have raised in a situation where you could have simply checked to see the flop, your opponent will give you credit for a good hand So the pre-flop raise basically is a preparation for the second move, the post-flop bet. You do want to consider what type of player you are up against, though. Bad players may not even think about what you could have, that kind of strategy works better against thinking players obviously.

1. you are playing at an extremely loose table, and raises are not being respected by many players (you find that to be the case very often in low-buy-in or rebuy tournaments). Your intention of reducing the field by raising may not work here, so you should consider seeing the flop cheaply, and bet aggressively if you make a good hand. A pocket pair would be a typical hand to be played that way. If you hold pocket 7s, you raise and still find yourself up against three or four players after the flop, you would really need to hit your set (which happens only 10% of the time), so raising before the flop can consume lots of chips
2. you have a typical multi-way hand like JTs
3. you have a weak hand, but good position and good pot odds. For example, with a holding like T9o on the button and three or four callers, I would call in an unraised pot (actually, as long as the blinds are low, I would call in this situation with almost anything). Raising would of course not make any sense here.

Reasons to just call an opponents bet:
1. you have hit the flop perfectly with a monster hand, but you want to get more of your opponent's chips in the pot. But watch out for possible re-draws, slowplaying is something you need a real good hand for.
2. you have a good draw and good pot odds, but you do not want to run into a re-raise.
3. you have a very good hand and reason to believe that your opponent will bet the turn as well. By calling the flop and raising the turn, you may want to commit the opponent to the hand and fill the pot.
Arguments in favour of a raise after an opponent's bet
1. again, information gathering is important even at this stage. Raising an opponents bet here can help you get away from a hand relatively cheap if your opponent shows strength.
2. the classic free card raise: you have the button and a drawing hand. Your opponent bets, you raise. Many times, the opponent will then check the turn. If the turn has completed your draw, you can bet again, if not you can simply check behind and see the river for free.