When To "Smooth Call" Your Opponents

OK, let's talk about the "smooth call".

A smooth call is when you're holding a REALLY GOOD hand and someone bets into you... but instead of RAISING, you simply CALL.

The smooth call is VERY POWERFUL, but a lot of players totally mess it up. Here's how to do it RIGHT...

Let's say you're playing a cash game of no-limit holdem at a 10-man table. The blinds are $5-10.

You're sixth to act before the flop (good
positioning) and you pick up pocket Aces...

Nice!

A couple players limp-in and the action is to Drew, who's an aggressive player.

He makes it $125 to play.

This is a rather large pre-flop raise at this table. The normal pre-flop raise has been between $50 and $75 up to this point.

You immediately put Drew on something like pocket Jacks or tens.

Why?

Because you know that if someone makes an UNUSUALLY large pre-flop raise, it's probably because they have a hand they DON'T want to play.

And quite often that hand is 10's or J's.

So anyway, the next guy folds and now the action is to you with your monster American Airlines.

What should you do?

This is an ideal situation for a smooth call.

Here's why:

You know Drew is going to bet again after the
flop-- regardless of what hits-- since he made such a large pre-flop raise.

And you also know that you've got Drew beat right now. If you call his bet, there's no way he's going to put you on Aces.

If you RAISE, Drew is going to be scared. Because RAISING after a big bet means you must have a monster. And that basically gives away your hand.

OK, so you make a smooth call and put $125 in the middle.

Everyone else mucks their cards, so it's just you and Drew to see the flop.

The flop comes out a "rainbow" (which means there are three different suits on the board):

8-7-4

This is the perfect flop for you. You figure Drew has a pocket pair HIGHER than the cards on the board, which means he'll be confident betting his hand.

The only thing to be WORRIED about is if Drew has pocket 8's, since that would mean he just made trips. If he DID have trips, he'd probably check after the flop and fake weakness.

So anyway, the action is to Drew and... as expected... he comes out firing a $250 bet.

What now?

Well, you could come back over the top of him and take this pot right now. Or you can do ANOTHER smooth call and go for the kill.

You think for a few moments... hesitate... then smooth call.

The turn card comes and it's a four, which is PERFECT for you.

Drew doesn't hesitate and puts his last $500 into the pot now... thinking he has the best hand.

You call, and throw over your monster Aces.

Drew shakes his head in disgust and throws over his pocket Queens.

And you win a massive pot.

Now, that's basically the "ideal" way the smooth call works. Let's discuss the RIGHT CONDITIONS when you'll want to make a smooth call... and how you can add this powerful move to your "poker toolbox"...

*** CONDITIONS FOR A SMOOTH CALL ***

The smooth call is the combination of two main
components:

ANTICIPATION + SLOW-PLAYING

The INTENTION of the smooth call is to FOOL your opponents while letting them dig their own grave.

Here's what I mean...

The smooth call operates on the fact that you ANTICIPATE that your opponents will continue betting... AND... that you have the best hand at the table.

When your opponents think THEY have the best hand, they'll be confident with their betting. They'll become pot-committed... and will get frustrated that you won't back down.

That's when they'll make a mistake and go all-in, or simply bet too much, and you'll come out on top.

There are four main "conditions" for performing a smooth call... Here they are:

1. You don't need to figure out where you're at, because you KNOW you have the best hand.

2. You ANTICIPATE future bets from your opponent.

3. You have good positioning.

4. You're not worried about too many players getting in the hand.

The first condition basically means you should only smooth call when you have really good hands.
We'll talk about the EXACT hands to smooth call with more in a minute.

We've already gone over the second condition...
you need to ANTICIPATE future bets from your opponent. Most of the time, players who raise before the flop will bet AGAIN after the flop.

The third condition is POSITIONING. You can't perform a smooth call if you're first to act. Then what you're doing is just check-calling your opponents... which ISN'T the same thing.

And the final condition for a smooth call is that you're not at risk of having lots of players in the hand.

This last condition is important because it will help you prevent bad beats.

Basically, when you have a monster hand before the flop, you want to narrow the field down to one or two callers...

If you have three or more players seeing the flop, your monster will get run down by someone who gets lucky.

In the example I shared earlier, Drew had made a large pre-flop raise of $125. That meant there was no danger of too many players calling...

If the pre-flop raise had been only $40 or so, it would NOT have been a good situation to smooth call... because the raise would have gotten multiple callers. And then you're at risk of a bad beat.

OK, so those are the conditions that need to be present in order to make a smooth call.

Remember, the REASON a smooth call is powerful is because it "represents" something like a draw, low pocket pair, or hand like A-K, A-Q, or K-Q.

If you smooth call before the flop, your opponent will probably put you on something like suited connectors, two face cards, or a low pocket pair.

After the flop comes out and your opponent THINKS he has you beat, he'll keep INCREASING his bet sizes to try to scare you out. This is a fundamental poker principle...

For each successive round of betting, the bets and raises will INCREASE. The bets after the flop will be larger than the bets before the flop. The bets after the turn will be larger than the bets after the flop. And so on.

In our example, if you came back over the top of Drew BEFORE the flop, he would have folded. That means you would have won his $125.

At MOST he may have called a $125 raise from you... but then would have check-folded after the flop. In that case, you would have won his $250.

But by smooth calling, you got BOTH his $125 bet
(pre-flop) and $250 bet (post-flop)... and then by smooth calling again you got his remaining $500.

The key is to trick your opponent into thinking he has the better hand... and let HIM take the offensive. If you can do that, you're money.

*** HANDS TO SMOOTH CALL WITH ***

You want to smooth call before the flop with hands like Aces or Kings. You DON'T want to smooth call with something like A-K or A-Q.

Big Slick is a great hand... don't get me wrong...
but it's not "complete". By itself, Big Slick is just an Ace high. If the flop doesn't help you and your opponent comes out firing, you're in trouble.

If you're going to smooth call after the flop or turn, you'll want to do it with hands like trips, two pair, or an over pair (like in our example).

Trips and two pair are usually "hidden" from your opponent, which is why they make great smooth call hands. (Remember, it's all about making your opponent think he's got the best of you.)

OK, TWO MORE THINGS to keep in mind...

First off, there are DANGERS to smooth calls. The main danger is if your opponent catches a better hand than you.

You should be ready for this if there's something on the board like a straight draw, flush draw, or two face cards.

Let's say you smooth call before the flop with pocket Kings and the flop comes out 3-Q-6, all diamonds.

If your opponent comes out firing aggressively, be careful. He wouldn't come out betting UNLESS he felt like he's still got you beat.

I mean, think about it: Those three diamonds are going to SCARE him... unless they HELPED him.

It's the same way with flops like 10-J-Q, K-K-5, K-Q-10, J-A-3, and so on. If there are two face cards out there, your opponent might have just made trips or two pair. If there's a straight draw on the board and he's not scared, YOU should be scared.

The second thing to think about is how you can INTEGRATE the smooth call into the rest of your game...

The smooth call is a "maneuver" or "play". It will bring you tons of extra pots and winnings when added to the STRONG FOUNDATION of your poker skills.