There aren't many things that are simple in poker because of all of the variables that have to go into each individual decision. However, one situation that is very simple to analyze is when you're making a call that will end the action in a hand. Amazingly enough, the majority of players make big mistakes in this kind of situation because it's easy to be impulsive whenever your call is going to effectively end the hand, no matter if you win or if you lose.

To get a more accurate idea of what the correct play is in this type of situation, stop to think about the following instead of just acting impulsively. Divide the amount you're calling by what the total pot will be after you call. This value, as a fraction or percentage, tells you how often you must win the hand for your call to be profitable. So if you are calling $40, and the total pot will be $120 after you call, then you must be winning one-third of the time to make the call.

Once you know how often you must be winning to be profitable on the call, take into consideration what possible hands your opponent can have. Your ability to read players and understand how they play are important here, but it's also important to be able to think about the entire hand, narrowing down your opponent's possible range of hands after each action he or she has taken. You don't have to estimate your chances of winning, but instead only compare your opponent's actions to how often you've got to win to make the call profitable.