Explanation of Cold-Call
In the context of poker, the word \" cold \" signifies that no prior financial commitment has been made. This concept is restricted solely to the preflop betting round, because you cannot reach the flop without first contributing chips to the pot.
" Cold-call \" is often used to describe the action of calling in response to a preflop open raise, but it can also apply when a player makes a cold-call against a 3-bet or 4-bet. For instance:
BTN open-raises.
SB 3bets.
BB cold-calls the 3bet.
In the previous example, if the Big Blind (BB) were to make a 4-bet, that would count as a cold 4-bet. However, if the BB folds and the Button (BTN) then makes a 4-bet, it wouldn't be considered a cold 4-bet anymore, since the BTN has already made a financial investment with their open raise.
There’s an ongoing debate within the poker community about whether a call from the blinds preflop should be classified as a cold-call , given that the blinds are already obliged to put money in the pot. While many players do refer to it as a cold-call , some popular tracking software does not recognize a preflop defense from BB or SB as such.
Example of Cold Call used in a sentence -> After the button made an open raise, we proceeded to cold call from the big blind position.
Integrating Cold-Call into Your Poker Strategy
Having a broader understanding of the appropriate table positions for making cold-calls can be valuable in No Limit Hold'em and other similar games.
Generally, the ideal positions for making wide cold-calls at the table would be from the Button (BTN) and the Big Blind (BB). The BB benefits from a reduced cost on any preflop cold-call because of their mandatory blind payment. This position also ends the preflop action, ensuring that a cold-call from the BB most likely allows them to see the flop. The BTN is favorable for cold-calling as it ensures the player has positional advantage postflop.
Conversely, the positions where we prefer to minimize cold-calling are the Small Blind (SB) and Middle Position (MP). Given that players behind these positions might apply pressure with a squeeze, as well as the increased chance of facing challenging situations postflop, cold-calling a wide array of hands in these spots can often lead to negative outcomes.
See Also
Open-raise , Three-bet , Four-bet , Two-bet , Blind , Position , Squeeze