Raising in poker is an art. Although it may seem like a very straightforward process, the size and timing of a raise are crucial in determining how successful it will be.
Knowing when to raise or re-raise is something that beginners struggle with executing.
In this article, we will delve into a complete discussion on the topic of raising and re-raising in poker.
What Does It Mean to Raise in Poker?
For those new to the game, a raise in poker means you are increasing the action so that opponents must call for even more. There are many reasons to raise, including having a premium hand, as well as to bluff in a pot and to be aggressive when playing in position.
In a game $1/$3 of No-Limit Texas Hold’em, an opponent might call the big blind. You can raise that to make the bet higher, pressing the action up to $12, for example.
Now others will have to call $12 to stay in the hand. It’s essential to note that other players can still raise your own raise, also known as a re-raise or three-bet.
The blind is the “first bet” and the first raise is the “second bet”.
What Does It Mean to Re-Raise in Poker?
Re-raise: To raise after a raise has already been made on the current street.
For example:
- Player A bets
- Player B raises
- Player A re-raises
Sometimes the terms "raise" and "re-raise" are used interchangeably, as will be discussed in the next section below.
Raise vs Re-raise
The first bet on any given street should typically be referred to as a bet (not a raise). An increase in the size of that wager would be a raise. A further increase in the size of the wager should be a re-raise.
Sometimes, the first bet on a given betting round is incorrectly described as a raise (rather than a bet). The term re-raise may also be commonly used to describe the first increase in a wager over the initial bet.
In other words, while a re-raise in poker should technically be the third action in a betting/raising sequence, it is often the second.
So, raise and re-raise are interchangeable in some circles.
Re-raises are also commonly referred to as raises rather than re-raises, as it’s easier to say “raise” than “re-raise”.
Why Is Re-Raising So Critical in Poker?
Regulating the size of the pot is one of the most essential skills in poker (regardless of the types of poker games).
A solid poker player’s primary goal is to build the pot when likely to make a strong hand but limit the size of the pot with mid-strength and weak holdings.
While this of the game is rather simplistic, understanding this concept of optimum pot size leads to surprisingly accurate decisions in most poker scenarios.
Raising/re-raising is one of the primary tools when looking to grow the size of the pot. Without the option to re-raise, poker players would struggle to reach their ideal pot size for each hand, which would hinder their overall win rate.
The exact poker raise amount will depend on the game's betting structure (more on that below).
There are three primary betting structures:
- Fixed Limit – Raising and re-raising occur in fixed increments. The number of raises in these games may be capped at a specific number.
- Pot Limit – The maximum raise or re-raise size is always the size of the pot. Omaha games often use this structure.
- No Limit – There is no maximum raise or re-raise size. Whether in a tournament or cash game, players can bet all their chips at any time. No-Limit Hold’em has become the most popular poker variant worldwide.
Calculating Minimum Re-raise Size in Fixed Limit Games
In fixed-limit games, there is only one re-raise size, so this sizing also constitutes the maximum raise size. The designated re-raise size will depend on the street (betting round); it will either be the small bet or the big bet. (All fixed-limit games have at least a small bet and a big bet sizing.)
- Community card games such as Omaha and Hold’em – Small bet used on the flop, big bet used on the turn and river.
- Stud games – Small bet used on third and fourth street, big bet used on fifth street onwards.
- Triple draw games – Small bet used in the first and second betting rounds, big bet used on the third and fourth betting rounds.
- Single draw games – Small bet used in the first betting round; big bet used in the second betting round.
Calculating Minimum Re-raise Sizing in No Limit and Pot Limit Games
No Limit and Pot Limit games have the same rules for minimum re-raise sizings, regardless of the variant in question.
Basic re-raise rule – Our raise must be at least the size of the previous re-raise.
If Villain raises our bet by 8bb, our minimum re-raise sizing will be an extra 8bb on top of that. This fact may seem straightforward, but it can create confusion.
A common misconception is that our new bet size must be at least twice the size of the previous bet, which is not the case.
Example 1 (Hold’em) :
In a $1/$2 game, BTN (button) open-raises to $6. The SB (small blind) folds.
What is BB’s minimum legal re-raise sizing?
Some might mistakenly assume the answer is $12 because it is an extra $6 on top of the BTN’s open. It’s essential to remember that the BTN is not raising by $6, but technically only increasing by $4. The BB (big blind) post of $2 was the previous bet.
So, the BTN is raising the BB post by $4, meaning the BB’s minimum raise size is $10 (an additional $4 on top of the $6 open-raise).
Example 2 (Hold’em):
In the following flop scenario, calculate the big blinds’ legal minimum re-raise sizing.
$12 in the middle on the flop.
BB bets $6.
BTN raises to $12.
BB re-raises?
In this poker hand, BTN has raised the BB by $6, meaning the BB’s minimum legal re-raise size is also $6 for a total raise size of $18.
Calculating the Maximum Legal Re-raise Size
The maximum legal re-raise size is straightforward in both fixed-limit and no-limit games.
- Fixed Limit: Players may not re-raise more than either the small bet or big bet amount (depending on the street).
- No Limit: There is no limit on how much players may re-raise, although they may not raise more than their stack at the table. Once a player is all-in, they get to see a showdown. Additional re-raises involving cars and private yachts are mostly fiction and against the rules.
Calculating maximum raise sizes in games with a pot-limit structure is more complicated, as we’ll discuss below.
Calculating a Pot-Sized Raise
Calculating a pot size raise is something that players notoriously get wrong. Why not test your knowledge by trying to answer the following question?
Example (Pot Limit Omaha):
In this flop scenario, calculate the BTN’s maximum legal re-raise size.
$12 in the middle on the flop.
BTN bets $6
BB raises to $12
BTN?
Take a moment to write down your answer before proceeding.
- The trick to calculating a pot-sized re-raise is as follows:
- Imagine we first call and see what the total pot size would be.
- In this case, if we smooth call, there would be $36 in the middle (including the $12 already in the pot). Hence, the maximum allowed raise is an additional $36 for a total re-raise size of $48.
Since it’s easy to get the numbers wrong, it might help to confirm our answer is correct by using a simple technique.
GTO poker states our raise size is correct if BB gets 33% pot odds on the call.
Let’s confirm:
- If BTN re-raises to $48, BB would need to invest an additional $36 to make the call.
- In such a scenario, there would be $108 ($48 + $48 + $12) in the middle.
- $36 is precisely 33% of the total pot, confirming that $48 is indeed a pot-sized raise.
Raise and Re-raise Terminology
What are 2bets, 3bets and 4bets?
Numbers can describe raises/re-raises, based on where they appear in a sequence of bets.
- 1bet – The first bet
- 2bet – The first raise
- 3bet – The second raise (re-raise)
- 4bet – The third raise (second re-raise)
- 5bet – The fourth raise (third re-raise)
Remember that in games such as Hold’em and Omaha, an open raise preflop is a “2bet” because the mandatory blind payments are the first bet. Numbers usually start with the 3bet.
What is a limp re-raise?
The term “limp re-raise” refers to the action of limping preflop and then re-raising when facing a raise (known as an isolation raise). Often, recreational players use this line to be tricky, representing a strong hand such as AA and KK in No Limit Hold’em.
Highly aggressive players who are yet to act in a hand often use these moves. A limp re-raise allows the aggressive player to raise and then isolate their opponent with a re-raise when holding a premium hand.
However, this move can go wrong on occasion if no players raise preflop. Your opponents can out-flop you and beat your premium hand.
What is a back re-raise?
The poker term “backraise” or “back re-raise” refers to the action of re-raising after initially calling preflop. For example, a player might call an open raise preflop and then 4bet when facing a preflop squeeze.
This play is tricky. If the back-raiser has a legitimate hand, why didn’t they 3bet initially?
Beginner Raising Strategy
When is re-raising recommended?
The main impact of re-raising is that it creates a larger pot on average. This scenario is mostly good when we either have a strong made hand or are drawing to a strong made hand. (Since these types of holdings like to play big pots.)
Re-raising may also be a good option if we believe our opponent folds too often when facing a re-raise.
We’ll consider re-raising in one of the two following situations:
1. We have a dominant, strong made hand or strong draw and want to get more chips into the pot.
2. We believe that our opponent folds sufficiently often against a raise for it to be profitable. (Especially useful in scenarios where we have a strong draw, known as “semi-bluffing”.)
How much should you raise in poker?
Raising is an essential part of a successful player’s game and should be part of your arsenal. But how much should you raise and when?
Keep reading to learn more about the raise in poker and how much you should be raising the action in different scenarios.
Which raise sizing should I select?
Re-raise sizing is critical and will depend on what we are trying to achieve.
- Strong value hands will typically raise as large as possible while still getting calls at a high frequency. However, if someone were to call significantly more often against a small raise sizing, the smaller sizing could prove optimal.
- Weaker value hands will typically raise for smaller sizings to avoid isolating against stronger holdings.
- With a poker bluff, you will usually raise as small as possible while still retaining a decent frequency of folds. However, if someone were to fold significantly more often against a large raise sizing, the larger sizing might prove optimal.
Beginner standard raise sizing
Although raise sizings should vary depending on what we are trying to achieve, there are typical, common “standard” raise sizings in every scenario.
For example, the following table lists standard raise sizings for No Limit Hold’em (and is similar for other pot-limit and no-limit variants of poker).
| Street | Standard Sizings |
| Preflop | Preflop open raises – 2-3bb online but larger in live games. Preflop 3bets – Usually around 3x the size of the open raise. |
| Flop | Flop 2bets are usually around 3x the size of the initial flop bet. Flop 3bets are usually somewhere between a min-raise and 2x the size of the 2bet. Flop 4bets are rare and are usually all-in. |
| Turn | Turn 2bets are usually around 2.2x if there was betting action on the flop. Turn 2bets are usually around 3x if the flop was checked through. Turn 3bets are rare. They are usually all-in if the flop was bet but between a min-raise and 2x the size of the 2bet if the flop was checked through. |
| River | River 2bets are usually just over 2x the size of the initial bet but often closer to 3x if there has not been much betting action on the earlier streets. River 2bets also commonly use an all-in raise sizing. River 3bets are rare and are usually all-in. |
Useful Formulas
Here is a quick summary of the useful formulas we have considered in this article:
- Calculating the minimum raise: It must be equal to the previous raise size (not necessarily the previous bet size).
- Calculating a pot-sized raise: Pretend we make the call and then look at the total pot. This calculation is the raise amount.
- Is the action still open? Only if we have faced at least one full-sized raise since we bet.
Raise Rules Summary Glossary
- Fixed limit re-raises occur in increments of the small or big bet.
- Pot limit re-raises must be the size of the pot at most.
- No limit re-raises can be any size but are limited by the effective stacks.
- In pot-limit and no-limit games, the minimum re-raise size is the same as the previous raise size.
- Raises less than the minimum legal raise size may be made when a player is all-in.
- Raises less than the minimum legal raise size do not reopen the action.
- Fixed limit games employ a betting cap, limiting the total number of re-raises per street.
