Baby, I Was Born To Fold

Online poker is seeing a huge surge in activity over the last few weeks. Everyone and their cousin seems to be setting up accounts or logging in for the first time in ages. The tables are busier than ever with people trying to dust off their poker skills. Which is why it’s a great time to make sure you hit the tables too. Having more people at the tables is always a good thing. It means that there are more people for you to generate some cash from. But maybe you need to brush up on your skills too? If that’s the case, we’re here to tell you why your motto from now on should be, “Baby, I was born to fold”. Yes, we’re going to sing the praises of folding in poker.

And okay, we’re not going to apologise for the fact that Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run will be in your head for the whole time you read this article. And let’s be honest, probably for a while after too. That’s okay. We love Bruce almost as much as we love poker. We assume the feeling is mutual with all you lovely readers too. If not, maybe play a loud Pantera song while you’re reading this to drown out the sound of Springsteen in your head.

If you want to practice any of the folding in poker techniques we tell you in this post, a really good place to try it out is bet365 Poker. If you haven’t used bet365 Poker in a while, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s intuitive and easy to use. And if you’re an online poker regular, you’re going to love the fact that you can play at a variety of stake levels, which is pretty handy because that means there’s pretty much always another budget bracket to grind up to. Maybe you’re completely new to bet365 Poker? Well that’s even better because you get to take advantage of their fantastic welcome offer too!

Why is folding in poker so important?

Folding in poker more often basically means that you’re setting yourself up for future success. It means you’re not wasting your time playing weak hands and every hand you do play, you’ve got a higher chance of winning juicy pots with.

Folding in poker doesn’t seem very exciting. Why should I do it?

Folding in poker is pretty integral to the card game. No one, and we mean NO ONE, can be a successful poker player if they don’t know when to fold ’em (queue The Gambler by Kenny Rogers, RIP).

Sometimes you might have folded a mid-level hand earlier in the game and when you saw the flop you realised you could’ve won big. Now you get the same hand again and even though it’s mediocre, you reckon that you should give it a go. Bad idea, the odds are against you.

Perhaps you haven’t played a hand in ages and you just feel like getting in on the action. Bad idea, that is a ridiculous reason to play a hand.

Maybe you’re on a big of a winning streak? Your stack of chips is tall and you’re feeling confident. Bad idea, that confidence can bite you in the ass.

Do you have a lucky hand, which isn’t particularly strong, but you feel a cosmic affinity towards it? I think you know what we’re going to say here. Bad idea, poker is about maths not the universe giving you a sign through a crappy hand. Unless your lucky hand is AA, don’t play it.

When should I not be folding in poker pre-flop?

You shouldn’t be folding in poker when you get a really strong starting hand.  Also, in case you’re wondering, this is based on Texas Hold’em statistics. Unless there is a huge amount of betting and re-raising pre-flop, you should stick to playing just pocket Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and AK suited.

But was there a lot of betting and re-raising? Then only play if you’ve got pocket Aces or Kings.

Does my pre-flop folding in poker change depending on my table position?

Yes, the cards you shouldn’t fold do expand a little if you’re in mid position at the table, as long as no one has raised or even limped in before the action gets to you. Those hands are: pocket 10s; AQ, AJ, KQ (all suited); AK (unsuited).

Then if you’re at a late position on the table, you can opt to bet when you’re holding these cards too: A10, KJ, QJ (suited); AQ (unsuited); pocket 9s.