While the title of this article may sound illogical, I assure you it isn't. Folding means giving up the hand so how can you win by doing so? To put it simply, it is a fact that you cannot win every single hand at poker and you will therefore loose some hands, and some chips. The question is how many chips will you loose when that happens? That's where folding your hand comes into play. Folding is a way to get you out of a sticky situation. Sure, you may loose some chips, sometimes a lot of chips perhaps, but don't loose your shirt over a single bad hand. This is Texas Hold'em, not strip poker!

Good Poker Players Know When They Are Beat

No one likes to loose a hand but it happens. A good player knows when he's beat, or when he can't get the opponent to fold. That's an important distinction to make. Sometimes, I start off with a bad hand, like 6-2 unsuited, but I play like I have a monster. Sometimes I continue my charade after the flop even if I caught no cards. I do so because I think I can get other players to back off and fold. However, if it looks like someone won't back off, then I seriously consider folding and minimizing my losses. In my mind, it's better to fold and loose a little, instead of continuing with an ineffective strategy and loosing a lot of chips. Knowing when to fold means staying alive longer in the game, and staying alive means the having the opportunity to win back those lost chips later, and eventually win the game.

Common Poker Mistakes

Here are common situations when players fail to fold when they should. When faced with these scenarios in your next game, consider folding. Of course, you'll have to take into considerations other factors like your position, chip count, table image, and the same elements for your opponent will affect your decision as well. I point this out because I don't want you to think that when you are in the following situations, it's an automatic fold. It's not automatic, but it needs to be considered.

The most common poker mistake of all is to fall in love with your hand. You start off with a nice hand, like A-K and you raise pre-flop. So far, that's generally a good move. When the flop come and doesn't hit your hand, then your A-K is perhaps not that good of a hand after all. More specifically, if the flop provides a straight up straight or flush opportunity, or if it contains a pair, an alarm should go off in your head. It doesn't mean its time to fold yet, but you'll need more information to help you make the decision. First, how many people are in the hand at this point? The more players involved, the greater the odds are that you'll loose. To get your information, you can do two things: Raise and see how others react. By doing so, you are accepting that you may loose those chips. The benefit is that you'll probably make some people fold which is good. In the end, you want to win the hand by getting everyone to fold, or by getting called by a single opponent and having the best hand. If you want to be a bit more conservative, then you want to see the next card for a little as possible so you'll check. This indicates weakness on your part and you may get raised. If you don't, you'll get a free card and hopefully you'll hit but remember that everyone else will also get a free card. Personally, I prefer to raise in this position, or if I really want to be aggressive and have a lot more chips than my opponents, I'll consider check raising. If it backfires however, I need to seriously consider folding. When faces with this scenario at the poker table, your ultimate goal is to get people to fold. If you can't make that happen, then you'll need to consider folding yourself.

Another situation you need to worry about is when you start a hand with a pair, and the flop reveals one or more card that is higher than your pair. For example, if you have Q-Q and the flop is A-K-4, that's a scary flop for you. Assuming that you had raise pre-flop and were called by one person, it's possible that they have a K or an A in their hand. If they come back to you with a raise after this flop, be prepared to throw away your Q-Q. Again, it's not an automatic fold but consider each other's chip counts. Can this person put you all in, and are you willing to go all in with Q-Q. You have to reason yourself that although you had a great starting hand, there's just too many ways for you to be beat, especially if there's more than one opponent involved in the hand. Your tactic here is either to attempt to make them fold, or to try and catch another card for free or for very little. That depends on your assessment of the situation.

The last scenario I'd like to mention is after the river card. If there are 4 cards of the same suit, or a straight possibility on the board (with 4 of the 5 cards making the straight possibility), that's a big red flag. If you don't have a flush or a straight in your hand, then consider that someone else may. If you have trips, or two pairs, or the high pair, you may in fact have the best hand. However, the more players in the hand, odds are that you're a beat. Beware of slow play because these two hands are the often used in trapping poker strategies. Don't be a fish! If everyone checks, this is the kind of hand you can get in trouble by raising so check for as well and may the best hand win. If you raise, and get reraised, this isn't the kind of hand you want to go all in with because there's just too many ways for you to loose. Minimize your losses and fight another day. This is just one hand. It's not the end of the world if you loose it.

Good luck!