Explanation of Overcall
The term “overcall” in poker means to call after a player before us has already called.
For example, on a three-handed flop. Player 1 bets, player 2 calls, player 3 overcalls. If there are more players involved in the hand, any subsequent calls against player 1’s bet are also referred to as overcalls.
An overlimp is also a type of overcall, but exclusively refers to players calling against the original BB post on the preflop betting round. For example, if UTG open limps preflop, any additional limps that occur preflop are referred to as overlimps.
Example of Overcall used in a sentence -> The button open raised, the small blind cold called and we overcalled in the big blind.
How to Use Overcall as Part of Your Poker Strategy
Whether we are dealing with preflop or postflop overcalls, or overcalls in another variant besides Hold’em, overcalls share two common characteristics.
1. The implication is that we will be involved in a multiway pot. Our hand selection when deciding whether to overcall should hence be weighted towards those holdings that preform well in multi-way pots.
2. We are offered better pot-odds in general when dealing with overcall scenarios. Since one or more players have already called before us, our investment will be much smaller relative to the size of the total pot i.e. we get better pot odds. Although we might imagine that this allows us to continue wider, it’s important to remember that the potential for domination is much higher when playing multiway. Mid-strength made hands lose a lot of value due to the likelihood that they are either already beat or will be outdrawn by the river. Weak draws also go down in value a lot due to the potential for domination when hitting. The main category of hands that benefits from the better pot odds are the holdings that also benefit from excellent implied odds, nut draws in this case. So, although we get better pot-odds in multiway scenarios, this is not free license to defend an insupportably wide range.
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