Learning to Fold

In pretty much every kind of poker game folding is a big part of learning how to win. Patience is a key element of a winning poker player and it can only be achieved if you learn how to fold. Learning how to fold enough to become a winner is not an easy task to accomplish. Once you are able to gain enough discipline to fold, then the rest will all fall into place.

In Texas Hold’em it is said that you should only see an average of 20% of the flops. That means that you should be folding 80% of the time. Tight players will fold even more then 80% of the time. Not only do you need to know how to fold before the flop but it is also important to be able to fold during the hand as well. Knowing when your beat and folding when you know you are beat sometimes, just as good as knowing you are ahead and winning a pot from it.

There is only a small amount of starting hands that are worth playing before the flop. Even then, after the flop there is nothing guaranteeing that those cards will still be good. Saving your money, and using it wisely is a very important part of poker. You only have so much ammunition and if you overuse it then you will not have any when it comes time for a real battle worth fighting.

It makes it a lot easier to fold when you think about how many other chances you will have to get better hands. Poker is not all about the cards you have, but it is the core of the game without a doubt. At some tables you will need cards to win because people call so much. At tables like this folding is an essential. If you are playing at a very tight table, then you might fold less and see more flops. It really depends on your opponents and what is going on at the table.

No matter what is going on you should still be folding more then you play for sure. There is no reason to be playing more hands then you fold. Learning to fold can save you a lot of money, and be the difference between a winning poker night and a losing poker night. There is a lot of poker hands played in a session, and all the times you call instead of fold will add up. You must think about if it will be worth it when all said and done. That is why there are pot odds and probabilities. Whoever made the formula up, had a very good reason for doing so and it makes perfect sense.