In the beginning most poker players find it hard to fold hands. Usually this is accompanied by a slogan like: “You got to be in it to win it”. Which if you think of it is probably invented by an overeager casino manager trying to separate more gamblers from there money.

 For most of us winning by “surrendering” feels unnatural. And we prefer action over inaction. Players new to poker usually feel that they are giving up by folding.

Let’s first look at why folding is so important. One of Mike Caro famous concepts is: ”money you don’t lose is exactly the same as money you win”. His explanation for this is the following let’s say you earned $15,000 playing poker last year and some genie would magically add another $15,000 to it. But he says would you like me to add it to your winnings or subtract it from your losses. I would guess your first reaction would be I don’t care as long as I get it. As simple as this sounds intellectually, psychologically most people really don’t feel it that way.

It often goes something like this. You haven’t hand a lot of nice cards for a while, so J7 starts to look real pretty. So you figure why not give it a try. Than someone behind you raises and suddenly you are in for 2 or more bets. In your great “fortune” you hit your seven on a flop with two over cards. Ok maybe I can hit trips on the turn or make 2 pair and before you know it you are in way to deep. Playing too many hands is bad for several reasons. First reason is that you are seldom getting away with the original call, so it will potentially cost you more or even your whole stack. Because one temptation led to another (hitting something hopeful). But when you call preflop a lot of players seem very shortsighted and just figure that all they are losing this way is that one chip. The second reason is that if you would have kept the chips you dwindled away, and you find a good hand and manage to get your money all-in and double up you obviously win less. Another reason why folding is good it probably keeps you out more situations where you can go on tilt, and because you are not on tilt it is likely that someone else will be. Plus if you fold a lot players may get irritated that they can’t get you on there hook. And since we all get more crappy cards than nice ones, folding most hands is thus a must.  

OK! I get it, I hear you say. “In fact I understood the concept of folding before I read this article”. So what are we gonna do about it that will also get it in our gut, that we will train our folding muscles so it comes natural and not as such a boring experience. Well we have to change the way we feel about folding. Folding has to become a pleasurable experience for us. What works for me is comparing poker with boxing. Preferably if I would fight in a match I would like to be the only one throwing the punches, and I would like the other guy tied to the ropes. But the reality will probably be that we exchange punches. (playing hands in poker). So when my opponent is in the right position to hit me, would it not be wise to evade his blows and wait for the right opportunity to strike my own blows when he is tired or the right opportunity arises. In this example playing worse cards than your opponent would translate into, letting yourself get hit and hope the other guy hurts his hand on your head. The image of a punch drunk fighter helps me to stay tight enough at the tables. While just deciding to fold my bad hands just didn’t work.

You are welcome to use my metaphor off course, but it is very likely that you can use one that works better for you. Another mental trick I use sometimes is that I tell myself that all I really want to do is fold except for those occasions where my cards and position are good to great. When I really get into that mode, it is really kind of fun.

So to summarize in the long run all we really wanna do is fold our crappy to mediocre hands. And the rewards will be plenty I will restate them here shortly for emphasis.

Less chance for tilt on your part and more chance that others will fill that void.

Players may feel like you are uncatchable and get frustrated. You will save your chips for when they can do the most harm. Playing only good hands will empower you in that you will start to notice that your results are skill based and not just donkey luck. And you will link pleasure to playing good, which can’t be a bad thing. J I hope after reading this you will have found a new respect for folding, which in most cases is more powerful than calling.