Placing a 'Bet' in Poker

A 'Bet' is a wager or agreement between two parties, often involving money, to determine the outcome of an event with the person(s) who predict the correct right outcome winning the wager. Often the bet is based around the likelihood of an event happening.

In poker terms, the verb, to Bet is to place money or chips (representing money) into the pot, either as a call, raise or re-raise. If a player before you make a bet, to stay in the hand you would have to 'call the bet'. Similarly if you were the aggressor, you should 'bet out' or 'Bet into the pot'.

In poker, side bets are also fairly common in which players (not necessarily in the game) have a side bet - for instance, how many Diamonds hit on the flop - it really could be anything. These bets do not contribute to the rake and are not normally sanctioned by Casinos and Poker Rooms. In saying that, they are not easily enforced and as such players are rarely penalized for placing side bets.

Next Definition : The Big Blind