Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Blog > Knowing When to Fold
Knowing when to fold in poker is a crucial decision that poker players have to make during the game. At times, it’s hard to come to such a decision especially when you may have convinced yourself that you hold a winning hand. Most players, at one time or the other, have continued play knowing full well that they have a good chance of losing. This is why, having a sense of when to fold and when to keep playing is a very important decision, a decision that helps save money for later plays, and also saves a lot of remorse for not pulling out of the game sooner.
The main mistakes poker players make is folding either too early or too late. When new players get in on the game, it’s quite common for them to be extra careful and at times, they end up throwing in their cards at the first sign of a potentially bad game. And while this move may sometimes pay off, it’s definitely not a way to win.
A tip to follow, if you have a hand that you’re not feeling particularly confident about, (like a middle pair) it does not necessarily mean that you have to fold. Analyze the table and try to get a feel of the game. If you appear to be in an advantageous position, don’t fold. Instead, if you try and raise before the flop, your stance might intimidate the rest of the players causing them to fold early, and therefore increasing your odds. Playing and winning with a mediocre hand actually adds an interesting component to your game which is, an element of unpredictability. Other players will not be able to know or read your game, as they would have, if you had consistently played good hands.
Now, let’s take a look at the other kind of players. The ones who play with whatever hand they have, good, bad or just okay. Just because you hold one or two cards of high ranking does not mean that you should follow the entire game right to the river. Similarly, a player who holds a possible flush ends up ‘chasing’ the game, by trying to make a flush, again right to the river.
Try to understand the difference between bad strategy and strong play. When playing, always keep in mind your hand and your stack. Fold your hand, if you know that you have nothing. Playing would only jeopardize your position in the game.
A mistake most new players make is that they assume that folding in poker is giving up or backing down. It means neither. Folding is like any other play in poker, and is a strategy. Folding allows the player to be a spectator and then jump back into the game when the time is right. A real poker pro knows when to get out and when to get back in.
Knowing when to fold and knowing when to stay in the game is as important as any other decision in playing poker. Another thing is Poker Rakeback. Playing poker without getting rakeback is just stupid. If you play poker you pay rake, now imagine how much bigger your winrate becomes if you get 30-50% rakeback on top of your poker income. Even loosing players can get winners thanks to a good rakeback deal!
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