Too often, players make a bet in no-limit hold'em, then have no idea what to do if their opponent raises them. This should rarely be a situation in which you find yourself settling in for a long think; you should have a clear plan of action for what to do if an opponent pushes back at you after you make a bet.
If it helps, think of making a bet as making a move in a game like chess, checkers or go. Since you know what's in front of your (the cards, players, and chip stacks), you should have already taken this into consideration before you make your initial bet, and have formed a plan around that. Do you want to shove over the top of an opponent who raises? Fold to any aggression? Just make a call? While the answer to this question will, of course, depend on many factors, don't get yourself in trouble by waiting until you get raised to start deciding what to do.
Of course, there are plenty of times when an event truly does surprise us (say, an opponent makes a big bet after an apparent blank hits the board on the turn or river), and during these moments, we do need to take our time and figure things out. But it always pays off to think ahead as much as we can given the information we have -- it definitely reduces the pressure when it comes time to make tough decisions later on.
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