flatcall

Flatcall, or flat calling, is a poker term describing the action of calling a wager rather than raising. A player who flat calls accepts the current price of the pot without adding a raise to the action, often with a hand that has potential but is not strong enough to justify a raise.

In preflop play, a flat call occurs after a raise when the caller prefers not to re-raise. Reasons for flat calling include keeping hands in a multiway pot, protecting a vulnerable hand from a raise, and controlling pot size when stacks are deep or postflop play is unclear. A common example is calling a raise with a suited connector or a medium pocket pair and seeing how the hand develops.

Postflop flat calling is common when a player has a draw or a second-best but live hand. On the flop, a player may call a continuation bet with a drawing hand, second pair, or backdoor possibilities to realize equity on later streets while keeping the pot manageable. Flat calls can also be used to disguise the strength of a hand and to induce bets from worse hands.

Strategic considerations include pot odds, stack-to-pot ratio, position, and opponent tendencies. Flat calling preserves potential for future bets, allows deception, and can extract value from worse hands in certain dynamic games. However, it also risks giving free or cheaper cards to opponents and may invite raises on later streets or build a pot when out of position.

See also: call, check-call, check-raise.