Let’s face it, folding in poker is pretty boring. You give up all potential to win the hand, and you’ll 9️⃣ never know for sure whether your opponent was bluffing or not. However, folding is just as essential in a winning 9️⃣ Texas Hold’em player’s strategy as betting or raising. If you don’t know when to fold, you’ll bleed money at the 9️⃣ tables, making it close to impossible to be a winning player. If you feel like you need some help understanding 9️⃣ when to fold in poker, this article is for you.
What Does Fold Mean In Poker?
Let’s start with the basics; what 9️⃣ does fold mean in poker? Folding in poker is the act of surrendering your cards and forfeiting all interest in 9️⃣ the pot. You no longer have to invest any money into the pot, but you lose your chance to win 9️⃣ it. You must wait until it is your turn to act before folding, as folding out of turn gives an 9️⃣ unfair informational advantage to the players who haven’t yet acted.
When playing online, folding is as easy as clicking a button, 9️⃣ but when you play live, you need to make sure that you keep your cards face down when you toss 9️⃣ your cards into the muck. This is because any exposed cards will influence the action for players who are left 9️⃣ in the hand, so it’s best to keep your cards on the table when you fold your hand.
How Often Should 9️⃣ You Fold In Poker?
Now that we know what folding in poker is, how often should you do it? Well, like 9️⃣ the answer to a lot of things in poker, it depends. If you fold too often, you allow your opponents 9️⃣ to exploit you by bluffing more frequently. However, if you call too often, your opponents can adjust their ranges to 9️⃣ bluff you less frequently, which means you’ll lose a ton of chips to their value bets. It’s a tricky balance 9️⃣ to pull off.
There are certain things that you should always consider before deciding whether or not you should fold; let’s 9️⃣ take a closer look.
Bet Size – One of the first things to look at is the size of your opponent’s 9️⃣ bet. A good rule of thumb is the bigger the bet, the more you should fold, as you need the 9️⃣ minimum defence frequency to be lower for larger bets. If you’ve got a drawing hand, another thing to think about 9️⃣ is whether you’re getting the odds to call, considering how often you’ll make your draw. If you are, then you 9️⃣ know you have a profitable call.
Opponent Type – Another thing to consider is the type of opponent you’re playing against. 9️⃣ If they’re a maniac who bets at every single pot, you should call much more often than if you were 9️⃣ playing a nit who only bet when they had it.
Opponent’s Range – You should use a combination of the size 9️⃣ of the bet and your opponent’s general strategy, as well as other information you’ve gathered in the hand, to construct 9️⃣ a range for your opponent. For example, if you notice that your opponent often folds to your raises, but now 9️⃣ they’re 3-betting you, your marginal hands, such as low pocket pairs, won’t look very strong.
Hand Strength – After using all 9️⃣ of the above information to construct your opponent’s range, you need to look at your hand and decide how strong 9️⃣ it is against the range of hands your opponent is betting. If you think your hand wins enough of the 9️⃣ time against your opponent’s range, given the price you’re being laid, you should call; if not, you should fold.
When Should 9️⃣ You Fold In Poker?
Knowing what to consider when folding is all well and good, but knowing when to fold is 9️⃣ one step better. We might be here all day if we were to lay out every single scenario where you 9️⃣ should fold, so instead, we’ve come up with a couple of common situations where you should be looking to find 9️⃣ the fold button.
Preflop
Let’s start with the first and arguably most important betting round; preflop.
In Early Position
When playing from an early 9️⃣ position, your ranges should be the tightest at the table. At a 9-handed table, this means only playing around 10-15% 9️⃣ of hands, and at a 6-handed table, you can bump it up a little bit to 15-20% of hands. In 9️⃣ these positions, you have the who table left to act behind you, and chances are that at least one player 9️⃣ has a strong starting hand, so you need to make sure that your range is just as strong. If you 9️⃣ want to be a winning player, make sure you fold most of your hands when playing from an early position.
When 9️⃣ Being 3bet By A Nit
We’ve all seen the players at the table whose VPIP and PFR stats are in the 9️⃣ single digits. They sit there waiting for a super premium hand and hope someone will be dumb enough to pay 9️⃣ them off. Well, if you’ve identified these players, don’t pay them off! When they 3-bet, it’s always going to be 9️⃣ a super premium hand. While calling to try and crack their aces is tempting, you’re much better off folding and 9️⃣ saving your money.
Postflop
Knowing when to fold postflop is more complicated, as there are a lot more variables to consider. However, 9️⃣ there are certain situations that commonly occur where folding is the best option.
When You Get Raised On The River
It’s well 9️⃣ known amongst regulars that poker players don’t bluff-raise the river anywhere near the frequencies they should. The river is the 9️⃣ street where the pot is at its biggest, so finding a bluff raise in these scenarios can be incredibly daunting, 9️⃣ especially for recreational players. This means that almost all players are heavily weighted towards value whenever they raise the river, 9️⃣ so unless you have a super strong hand, just fold and save your money – they’re not bluffing you.
When A 9️⃣ Fish Gets Aggressive
The majority of recreational players are incredibly passive in their play; preferring to let other people do the 9️⃣ betting for them. This means that when a recreational player starts betting aggressively, you should be concerned. Unless you’re playing 9️⃣ a maniac, most recreational players don’t bluff anywhere near the correct frequencies, so it’s very likely to be a value 9️⃣ bet – and a strong one at that.
If your opponent has a history of passive play until now, you can 9️⃣ fold your hand, confident that it’s likely an absolute monster.
Tips For Knowing When To Fold In Poker
We’ve covered a lot 9️⃣ about knowing when to fold and what to think about when making your decision, so here are some handy tips 9️⃣ you can use when at the table to make your decision easier.
Look Beyond Your Own Hand – Always consider your 9️⃣ opponent’s range of hands before making your decision whether or not to fold. The stronger your opponent’s range is, the 9️⃣ more you should fold.
Work Out Your Pot Odds – If you have a drawing hand or a marginal hand against 9️⃣ your opponent’s range, look at the odds you’re being given. If you think you make your hand/win the pot enough 9️⃣ of the time, considering the odds you’re being laid, you should call.
How Does Your Opponent Play? – Knowing how your 9️⃣ opponent usually plays is a key piece of information when deciding whether or not to fold. If your opponent is 9️⃣ usually a very tight player, it’s likely they have a very strong hand, so you should fold all but the 9️⃣ strongest hands in your range. However, if your opponent is a frequent bluffer, you can afford to call more hands 9️⃣ and fold less often.
Summary
As a wise man once said, you have to know when to hold’em and know when to 9️⃣ fold’em. If you don’t know when to fold in poker, you’re going to find it hard to be a winning 9️⃣ player in the long run. After reading this article, you should feel confident knowing what to consider when deciding whether 9️⃣ or not to fold. However, if you’re still having trouble, you can always reference this article for our handy tips 9️⃣ to help you at the table!
