Humor me for a minute here while I go over some of the more basic poker betting terms. (I was at a friend’s place last night and a poker game broke out and it SCARED me to learn that only two of the six players seated at the table knew the first thing about “calling”.) Clearly, there are still a LOT of people out there who need to get back to the basics…

To call is to match a bet or a raise. A betting round ends when all active players have bet an equal amount or no opponents call a player’s bet or raise. If no opponents call a player’s bet or raise, the player wins the pot.

If no one has yet opened the betting round, a player may check, which is equivalent to calling the current bet of zero. When checking, a player declines making a bet; indicating that he does not choose to open, but that he wishes to keep his cards and retain the right to call or raise later in the same round if an opponent opens. In games played with blinds, players may not check on the opening round because they must either match (or raise) the big blind or fold.

To raise is to increase the size of the bet required to stay in the pot, forcing all subsequent players to call the new amount. If the current bet amount is nothing, this action is considered the opening bet. A player making the second (not counting the open) or subsequent raise of a betting round is said to re-raise.

To fold is to discard one’s hand and forfeit interest in the current pot. Folding may be indicated verbally or by discarding one’s hand face down into the pile of other discards called the muck.

An ante is a forced bet in which each player places an equal amount of money or chips into the pot before the deal begins.

A blind or blind bet is a forced bet placed into the pot by one or more players before the deal begins, in a way that simulates bets made during play. (All poker betting terms courtesy Wikipedia.org)