Responding to a Raise | Online Poker Strategy

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In the situation where you are involved in a pot and someone raises behind you it is never an easy answer on what you should do. It depends a lot on the size of the raise and the situation at the table.

So there are no hard and fast rules on whether you should call a raise but there is a thought process that you can work through in order to make your decision:

Your Hand – did you come into the pot with a solid hand or did you enter with a marginal hand?
How many players were in the pot when the raise came in – a raise against one player shows less strength than a raise against multiple players.
How many players yet to act – a raise from the dealer button or blinds may just be an attempt to defend the blinds or foil a steal, whereas a raise from a player in early or middle position indicates a lot more strength.
Will you have position on the raiser after the flop – if they are one of the blinds then you will have position after the flop so this can allow you call with a slightly more marginal hand.
How aggressive is the raiser – a more conservative player should be given more respect for a raise than an aggressive player although don’t just assume that an aggressive player is bluffing – remember – he may have a solid hand just as much as you.
What are the pot odds – you should be more willing to call a raise with good pot odds than one with bad pot odds
Your stack – are you approaching being short stacked? Have you got time to turn this opportunity down and wait for a better opportunity to get your chips into the pot, or are you in situation where if you folded here, you would be forced shortly down the line to put in your chips in a weaker situation that this one due to your short stack.