Even if you are a neophyte to the game of poker, there are some basic tenets that you have before you even pick up a stack of chips to bet. One, when you get pocket Aces, you pound your opposition with a pre-flop raise otherwise everyone and their brother gets to play the hand and potentially crack your bullets. Two, you don’t need to play “special” hands like a 7-2, universally recognized as the worst hand in poker. Finally, there isn’t a such thing as “funsies,” 99% of the time you’re playing poker for a reason – normally to make some money.
If you fold your hand in poker, you lay down your cards and stop playing the hand. A fold can happen at any point in the play when it is your turn to act. Folding in poker means you are out for that hand. You no longer will have any claim on the pot and you won't be required to put more money into the pot for that hand. It must be emphasised that in poker, you’re usually going to be folding most of your hands preflop. In fact, if you looked at HUD stats for a winning 6-max TAG player online, they’re probably only going to be voluntarily putting money into the pot preflop (VPIP) about 22% to 26% of the time. The “4-bet” and “Call 3-Bet” rows are used if you have open raised and been 3-bet. If you do not have a hand that falls into the ranges listed, you fold. The “3-bet” and “Call Raise” rows are used if an opponent open-raises from EP or MP. If you get 4-bet, shove KK (in bold). Texas Hold'em is always a game you should play with the long term in mind, if your poker hand has a 55/45 advantage compared to your opponents, you can lose it 10 times in a row. But if you play the hand 10,000 times on average you will win 55% (5.500) times.This is why good bankroll management is important.
Beyond that, the education of a poker player gets a bit grey. Here’s a basic thought on some hands that new players will play simply because “someone told them it was worthwhile” or “but (insert professional player here) always plays this hand” or even “I had a feeling.” If you can put these into your repertoire of hands you need to fold pre-flop, you’ll potentially find that your sessions are more profitable.
Jack-10 (Suited or unsuited)
At first glance, J-10 is a pretty sweet looking hand. It holds the potential to make four nut straights, the only two card combination to be able to do that, and it can let you float a bet on the flop if they are suited and two of that suit hit the felt. The problem with J-10 is that it doesn’t play well after the flop.
If you get a flop that contains a Jack, then you have issues with the kicker that, in most cases, is going to be dominated by an opponent playing Q-J, K-J, or A-J. If you pair the ten, then the same situation is in play with a similar number of options that beat you – A-10, K-10 and Q-10. If they are suited and the two matching suit cards that come on the flop are under the ten, then there is a chance (a slim one, about 1-in-592) that an A-K, A-Q, or K-Q is out there to clip you. And let’s not even get into the potential for straights (K-Q, Q-9, 9-8) should you flop two pair.
There are two options here: hit perfectly and hope someone ignores the straight potential of the board, calling your bets all the way, or missing and having to let the hand go. If you get a flop like K-Q-x, about the only people who might come with you are pocket pairs (King, Queen or “x”) or those that have you beaten (A-K, A-Q, K-Q, any King or Queen combination and the pairer for the “x”). If the flop comes empty – say A-7-4, for example – then you’re left with air to bluff with; most wouldn’t consider chasing it any further with this dismal holding.
Baby pairs
Everyone loves to potentially crack a big pair by playing a small one – between deuces and fives – and set mining their way into the lead. But what happens when you’ve completely missed with your little ones? It gets pretty ugly in this case.
In pre-flop action, the baby pairs don’t hold up well if there is a great deal of action in front of you. Say you’re sitting on deuces on the button when someone fires a bet out of middle position, the hijack calls and the cutoff three-bets the situation. Your pocket deuces don’t look so good now, do they? There’s nothing wrong with sending the hand to the muck here and, in fact, it is the proper play with the flurry of activity ahead of you.
The baby pairs don’t hold up well if the cards on the flop are all higher cards, at best giving you the fourth-best hand after the flop. They also don’t work well as a straight filler. For example, if you have pocket treys and fill out a 2-4-5 flop to make it an open ended straight draw, there are other potential players that crush your baby pair or could best you in a straight situation.
Extremely Gapped Suited Cards
What Poker Hands To Fold Shirts
If you were to get dealt two extremely gapped cards – say a K-2 or a Q-3, for example – there would, for most players, be little hesitation in putting those in the muck. Why then, if there is the same symbol in the corner for each card, does it make a difference? While their suited nature does open the potential for a flush, it isn’t going to do much in any other circumstance.
If that flush draw comes, then you’re committing with weak holdings – sneaky for the flush potential, yes, but weak otherwise. If you flop a King, then you have kicker issues that come up and the same works if you hit the kicker – your top card might not be enough to win at showdown unless you make trips with the kicker.
Summary
We sometimes have to play hands we’d rather not play on certain occasions. But if you can control when you voluntarily put chips in play to hands, making sure they have strong potential (not always, mind you, but more often than not) instead of weaker holdings, you should find more success on the tables. And isn’t winning hands – and the chips that go along with those hands – why we sit down at the table?
What Poker Hands To Fold Hands
In a poker card game, folding means quitting the game. You cannot quit the game just for the sake of it, you normally quit the game because the hands that you have are nearly useless and can only lead to a guaranteed loss. Instead of succumbing to a loss, folding is wise as it saves your money until the next time you play. There are many instances that you are supposed to fold but, perhaps, because of lack of knowledge you continue with the game and end up losing. In this article, you will get to know about the hands that when dealt with by the dealer you should fold.
A hand with a 2 unless it is a pair of twos either suited or unsuited or an Ace-Two suited. For example, 2-3, 4-2, 9-2, 2-8, 2-5, 2-6, Q-2, etc. The truth is that these hands can only lead to a loss and as a poker player, the earlier you know this the better. As soon as you are dealt with any hand that falls in this category, you should fold and wait for the next game as the odds are not on your side. Also, any hand that has a 3 apart from a pair of threes and an Ace-Three suited should be folded. For instance, 3-4, 10-3, K-3, J-3, 9-3, 5-3, 6-3, 8-3, etc.
This is because, a 3 is a low card and even if it is merged with most cards in a 52-card deck it can only result to a low-card and weak finishing hand. With this knowledge of weak three-hands in mind, you will no longer play losing games hence you will minimize losses that you incur. If a starting hand has a 4, you should fold it except if it is a 4-4 suited or unsuited or an A-4 suited. K-4, Q-4, 6-4, 4-7, 8-4, 9-4, 4-5, etc, are examples of such starting hands. High chances are that these hands lose more than they ever win, so, the smart move would be to discard the cards as early as possible.
Any starting hand that has a 5 apart from a 5-5 with suit or off-suit, or an A-5 suited has less than 2% winning chance and hence, must be folded. Such hands include 5-6, 5-3, 5-2, 5-8, 5-J, 5-7, 5-2, etc. This is simply because these hands are not fatal enough to create a capable and competitive finishing hand that can have a chance of winning the game. Again, if you are dealt with any starting hand possessing a 6 except a 6-6 with a suit or without or an A-6 suited, you should fold. It is not worth it and definitely will bring about a loss.
By any chance if you are dealt with a starting pair that has a 7 you should fold as it usually has a less than 5% winning chance. They include 2-7, 4-7, J-7, K-7, 3-7, 5-7, etc. Although there are exceptional hands like 7-7 suited or unsuited, A-7 suited, and 7-8 suited. A few starting hands with an 8 are relatively strong and can have a shot at creating a great winning hand. Although, there are some that should be folded because they have minimal winning chances like 2-8, 3-8, 4-8, 5-8, 6-8, and J-8.
A number of starting hands with a 9 have a robust chance of winning the game by creating a good finishing hand. Unfortunately, some of them have a less than 3% chance of winning like 2-9, 3-9, 4-9, 5-9, 6-9, and 7-9, therefore, demanding to be folded. The only starting hands with a ten that demand to be folded are 2-10, 3-10, 4-10, 5-10, 6-10 unsuited, and 7-10 unsuited as they definitely guarantee a loss.
Folding is critical and most situations demand it, only that a lot of poker players mostly do not have the necessary knowledge to decide if they should fold or not. For a poker player, the discussed-above information is critical and should be mastered. This is because it instils knowledge on the confirmation of possible poker games to win, and ones impossible to win. By all means, this will minimize losses that you have been incurring and put you at a position where you will have elevated winning possibilities.
A hand with a 2 unless it is a pair of twos either suited or unsuited or an Ace-Two suited. For example, 2-3, 4-2, 9-2, 2-8, 2-5, 2-6, Q-2, etc. The truth is that these hands can only lead to a loss and as a poker player, the earlier you know this the better. As soon as you are dealt with any hand that falls in this category, you should fold and wait for the next game as the odds are not on your side. Also, any hand that has a 3 apart from a pair of threes and an Ace-Three suited should be folded. For instance, 3-4, 10-3, K-3, J-3, 9-3, 5-3, 6-3, 8-3, etc.
This is because, a 3 is a low card and even if it is merged with most cards in a 52-card deck it can only result to a low-card and weak finishing hand. With this knowledge of weak three-hands in mind, you will no longer play losing games hence you will minimize losses that you incur. If a starting hand has a 4, you should fold it except if it is a 4-4 suited or unsuited or an A-4 suited. K-4, Q-4, 6-4, 4-7, 8-4, 9-4, 4-5, etc, are examples of such starting hands. High chances are that these hands lose more than they ever win, so, the smart move would be to discard the cards as early as possible.
Any starting hand that has a 5 apart from a 5-5 with suit or off-suit, or an A-5 suited has less than 2% winning chance and hence, must be folded. Such hands include 5-6, 5-3, 5-2, 5-8, 5-J, 5-7, 5-2, etc. This is simply because these hands are not fatal enough to create a capable and competitive finishing hand that can have a chance of winning the game. Again, if you are dealt with any starting hand possessing a 6 except a 6-6 with a suit or without or an A-6 suited, you should fold. It is not worth it and definitely will bring about a loss.
By any chance if you are dealt with a starting pair that has a 7 you should fold as it usually has a less than 5% winning chance. They include 2-7, 4-7, J-7, K-7, 3-7, 5-7, etc. Although there are exceptional hands like 7-7 suited or unsuited, A-7 suited, and 7-8 suited. A few starting hands with an 8 are relatively strong and can have a shot at creating a great winning hand. Although, there are some that should be folded because they have minimal winning chances like 2-8, 3-8, 4-8, 5-8, 6-8, and J-8.
A number of starting hands with a 9 have a robust chance of winning the game by creating a good finishing hand. Unfortunately, some of them have a less than 3% chance of winning like 2-9, 3-9, 4-9, 5-9, 6-9, and 7-9, therefore, demanding to be folded. The only starting hands with a ten that demand to be folded are 2-10, 3-10, 4-10, 5-10, 6-10 unsuited, and 7-10 unsuited as they definitely guarantee a loss.
Folding is critical and most situations demand it, only that a lot of poker players mostly do not have the necessary knowledge to decide if they should fold or not. For a poker player, the discussed-above information is critical and should be mastered. This is because it instils knowledge on the confirmation of possible poker games to win, and ones impossible to win. By all means, this will minimize losses that you have been incurring and put you at a position where you will have elevated winning possibilities.