When you go online today to find answers to your not-so-perfect Texas poker betting history, the majority of the things you’ll find in books and blogs focus on the offensive side of the game. Like how to beat your opponents, what hands to play and why, how to bluff or call down a bluff, how to win this million, and how to exit your Hold’em session smiling.
Because regardless of how good you may be at Hold’em, you can’t always have the best of days, meaning that some sessions will be great while some others may not be too impressive.
And according to Avram Ray,
“Every bet saved is a bet you can use to win more money in the future.”
But when you have no proper knowledge about when and how to fold, it becomes almost impossible for you to save your bankroll for fighting another day.
It is in this light that we’ve compiled a few tips to help you decide when to fold and how to go about it.
Bad starting hands
Although it might be difficult for you to list of bad hands you can fold at the starting stage of the game is quite large. But by folding these hands, you’ll give yourself more chances to win money in the future because all of those starting hands lose money on average by entering the pot with them. By and large, most of the hands you should be playing are high pairs, high suited cards, and high unsuited cards. These hands give you the best chance to win by completing high pairs, flushes, and high straights. While the offensive aspect of the game is, no doubt, crucial to your chances of winning, it’s also important for you to learn how to be defensive, especially if you’re playing online poker on sites like dewapoker21.
The river
Take it or leave it; it is rarely correct to fold on the river. Of course, if you’re faced with the possibility of missing your draw, you should consider folding your hand, but if there is even the smallest of chances to win, you should try to play it and not fold.
The flop
At this stage of the game, you would have played five out of the seven total cards that make your hand. And as such, you should be able to make a good decision about folding or not to fold. With your experience and reading of the game, you should be able to decide whether you want to exit the game or fight till the end. It is common practice to see players chasing a hand and waiting for one more card on the turn before folding. But this habit is the reason why many players lose in the end.
Take a good reading of the game and decide whether you want to fold or continue. But bear in mind that whatever you choose at this stage will have a direct impact on your pot winning potential. So if you think the hands you’ve got currently aren’t so profitable, it might be best for you to just fold them.
The turn
We’ve decided to list “the turn” as the last because it’s generally believed that if you’re having the best of games and folding on the flop when you should, by the time you reach the turn, the game will naturally play out itself. By and large, the decisions you make leading to the turn are what will decide whether you end up winning the pot or exiting the game empty-handed.
