Pot committed
Also: committed
The point at which the chips you have left are so small next to the pot that folding is mathematically wrong — the price to call is low enough that even a weak hand has the equity to justify it.
Being pot committed is a consequence of earlier decisions, not a decision in itself. By the time the last bet arrives the arithmetic is fixed: if calling costs a fifth of the pot, you need roughly sixteen per cent equity, which almost any hand that got that far will have. The mistake is treating commitment as an excuse rather than planning the hand so that you never arrive there with a hand you did not want to play for stacks.
The corresponding skill is planning stack-offs backwards from the river, which is why strong players work out on the flop how the whole stack is going in.
Related terms
Full glossaryFrequently asked questions
Does being pot committed mean you must call?
It means the immediate odds make calling correct — the real question is whether you should have put yourself in that position.