You Got To Know When To Hold ‘em, Know When To Fold ‘em…

Ah… the timeless country sounds of singer Kenny Rogers.  He was right.  You do have to know when to hold your hand and definitely when to fold it.  I’m dedicating this post to the art of the fold.

Yup, it’s one of those things that good poker players do routinely.  And the best poker players do ALL the time.   Do you ever wonder when you watch poker on television, nearly every hand is always so exciting and has action right to the river with wicked hands?

Well, if you didn’t know already, you can certainly guess now that editing plays a HUGE role in televised poker.  Most of the best players fold their hands anywhere from 70-95% of the time.  And that’s why they are the best players in the world!

Sometimes amateur players want to be in on the action so badly they try to “will” their hands into actionable plays, but almost always end up losing more money.  My advice is that whenever you approach ANY hand in poker you must prepare yourself to fold at any time.  Indeed, your own instinct will tell you you’re beat;  or that the odds are against you.  And your job is to listen well to your instincts.  I played a hand once where I had pocket Aces and I assumed I was untouchable.  The flop came up 6, 9, 8.  The suit isn’t releveant for this example.   I was elated and raised at my turn confidently…  until the turn cam up 7.  Crap.  Two other players in the game raised and and re-raised.  I’m holding pocket aces but it’s pretty clear SOMEONE has a 5 or a 10 to make the straight which of course, easily beats my pocket aces.  It was agonizing to lay it down.  But I did.  And sure enough my insticts were right and I saved a  lot of money.   But it was hard to lay it down.

The art of folding is not as simple as you’d expect.  It ain’t easy when you have a really good starting hand.  Sometime the flop also tempts you with the possibility of an open straight or a flush draw.  But like the ancient Greeks’ sweet siren songs, you can be lured in so easily that even if you start to have doubts that you can actually win the hand, your contribution to the pot becomes too big to pull away from.

So… the obvious question.  When do you fold?

The answer is simple:  You fold a good hand when you know you probably have the 2nd best hand in the the game.

Tempting fate by playing it through almost always leads to disaster.  You keep calling the raises and limp through to a loss.  It’s painful and avoidable.

Of course, the best way to avoid the above situation is not to play hands that “feel” like they “could”  be good, but really aren’t.  Say you get dealt an Ace and Five (off suit).  The temptation may be to try your luck and play this hand – but it woud be a mistake.   The Ace is a great card, but the Five kicker is much to weak and you will likely lose a showdown.  Same goes for King and Nine, and other similar hands than seem powerful, but aren’t.

I must admit that sometimes in my own games it feels like the hardest thing in the world to do to lay down the pocket Aces after the flop, but it’s saved me time and time again.  Excellent professional players realize that what may start out as a very strong hand can easily turn weak.   Just as another player who anted up the big blind on a 2 3 off-suit suddenly hits the striaght on a flop and wins the pot.  Strong starting hands can turn weak and vice versa.

Too often I see players who commit to seeing their cards through right to the end only to lose badly.   I don’t want you to become that kind of player.  So take a lessson from that classic Kenny Rogers song and truly learn to know when to hold ‘em and of course.. know when to fold ‘em.   The more often you fold your cards the better you’re getting as a poker play… guaranteed!.  Good Luck!