What is a snap call in poker?
In poker, a snap call is when a player calls a bet without hesitation. Getting snap-called means someone calls your bet instantly. Normally in poker, you don't want to give away too much information, so acting too quickly is often not a good play. This is why the snap call often comes after one player moves all-in. At this point in the hand, it doesn't matter how quickly you make a call because the hand is over with your action.
When you snap call an all-in bet, or when an opponent snap calls you in poker, they will usually turn over a super strong hand. Unless they just have 100% confidence that you are bluffing.
I've also started to see the term snap call in poker referring to an easy call.
I see people post hand histories of an example hand and ask, “is this a snap call?” This means they are wondering if it's an easy call to make without spending any more time thinking about the hand, or should they dive deeper into the hand analysis to see what's going on.
In short, snap calling or getting snap-called in poker is either:
- When you quickly call an all-in without hesitation because you have such a strong hand.
- When you quickly call a bet because it's an easy, obvious call to make.
- When your opponent quickly calls an all-in or your bet, which usually means they have a very strong hand.
Examples of Snap Call Poker
For example, you are in a tournament with 20 big blinds and you are in the big blind. The action folds around to the small blind who has 40 big blinds. Your opponent shoves all their chips all in and you look down at pocket aces. There is no more action behind it, and you have the best possible starting hand in poker.
This is a snap call. If you make the opponent wait and think about it before you make an action, this is what is known as slow-rolling your opponent. There really is no decision to be made (unless EXTREME ICM comes into play). Slow-rolling is often frowned upon by poker players and your opponents will not appreciate waiting to see that.
This happens in many other cases as well, you might be holding a straight, which is the nuts after the flop turn and river, in which case you need to snap call to avoid a frustrating situation for your opponent.
The reverse is also true in that you can snap and fold a hand as well.
This can often be the correct play when you know that your opponent has a better hand than you. If someone shoves all-in on the river and you snap fold, then you have avoided a tough decision and can move on to the next hand.
