Cold call
A cold call is a call of a raise by a player who has not yet put any money in the pot this round, so the whole amount is paid in one go.
It is the most expensive way to enter a pot without taking the lead. You pay the full raise, you give the players behind you the chance to raise again, and you cannot win the pot before the flop.
That is why a cold calling range should be narrower than a raising range from the same seat, and why hands that play well in position, such as pairs and suited connectors, make up more of it than the big offsuit cards.
an example
your cards
An early player raises to 3 big blinds and you hold two queens on the button. Calling gives the blinds a cheap look and lets an ace or a king arrive without you having found out anything. Raising asks the question now, while you are almost certainly ahead.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find cold call in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Three-bet
A three-bet is the second raise in a betting round, counted by treating the big blind as the first bet, the opening rais ...
Squeeze
A squeeze is a reraise made after one player has raised and at least one other has called, which puts the callers betwee ...
Open raise
An open raise is the first voluntary raise of a hand, made when everyone before you has folded and nobody has yet put mo ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
Forty hands against a bot, no account, and your own hand history at the end.