What is fold in poker

Let’s take a look at such a common poker term as folding. This is one of the solutions available to any player during the game. It is accepted absolutely at the request of the player, based on his assessment of his hand and the situation at the table. Recall that in the process of bidding on each of the existing poker streets, participants can make the following decisions: make a bet – bet, call another player’s bet – make a call, raise or reraise someone’s bet – raise or reraise, go all-in – or all-in, and in the case of a completely unsuccessful hand – to give up, that is, to decide to throw off your cards, this is what is called folding.

In this article, we will try to understand in detail what this action is, in what situations it is acceptable and acceptable, and also find out if folding has any restrictions or special circumstances. What is Fold in poker Let’s start with the basic, fold – in English fold – this is a situation when a table participant makes a voluntary decision to stop participating in the auction. This term also has alternative names – fold, pass, fall or fold, the essence remains the same. Fold is used by players when hole cards are not worth the unjustified risk and refusal to continue trading is the best decision for the participant in this situation. Thus, the participant can wait for the next distribution with the least losses. Fold is a very popular action among beginners. Many inexperienced players use the “fold in any incomprehensible situation” scheme. And this leads few people to the goal, although a fundamental struggle in every auction should not be the rule either. Like many other decisions in the game, folding must be appropriate, justified, and well thought out in order to be the optimal and most rewarding action for the player. It is important to note that upon making a fold, the player must comply with additional rules – do not discuss or show their discarded cards, naturally, do not prompt the participants remaining at the table in any way. Returning to the trade after a perfect fold is not possible. When to Fold Now let’s look at when and under what circumstances a fold is made. Players can make a fold on any of the poker streets (at each stage of the auction). However, the most frequent period for folding is the first stage of the game – preflop. We remember that the first street obliges two participants to make blind obligatory bets – blinds, while the rest of the participants need to make one of the possible decisions. At the same time, players can assess their prospects only by the received two hole cards – based on this, someone can call the bet, someone raises, and others fold. What can be a reason to fold preflop – uncertainty about the potential of your hand, relative to the hands of your opponents and unwillingness to risk chips; too large bets of opponents – when the risks are definitely considered unjustified. Recall that the position with the strength of any starting hand can change during the game. The position at the table also affects the decision – you need to evaluate the probability of a return raise and the chances of reaching the street of the flop. In the later stages of the betting, you will have to make the best decisions every time – whether to call, check, go all-in, or still, avoiding risks, fold your weak cards and save your stack for the next hand, in which you can get more promising, in terms of amplification, hand. Justification for Fold in Poker As we said above, the fold solution is available to players at every stage of poker trading, but its expediency is sometimes questionable. Imagine the situation – you do not make blinds, you got not the best hole cards on the preflop – this of course can be a reason for a pass, but if the rest of the table participants did not raise or made a decision to check – you can wait for the flop without loss, see three common cards and Based on the evaluation of the board, decide whether it is worth continuing to participate in the auction. And if you get the cards you need for a normal combination on the table, you can fight for victory. It turns out that here the fold was inappropriate or unjustified. The prospect of raising to a good hand, even with weak cards, can also be a reason not to fold. Let’s take an example – the starting hand has offsuit two and five – not the strongest set and someone wants to throw off these cards, but if the flop gives us offsuit six, four and three – we will get a full-fledged straight – five offsuit cards going strictly in order. So, if no big bets are made at the beginning of the game, don’t rush to fold. In fact, folding, like all other poker decisions, must be considered and justified. It serves as a protection against the risk of losing a lot of chips with bad cards. Professional players are not afraid to fold, but also do not miss the opportunity to improve their not the strongest hands in the process of further play. For beginner poker players, folding may seem like a very simple and one-dimensional solution, but it is far from it. How often and why you fold adds up to your style of play and defines you as a player and opponent.