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In poker you must love to fold
Many players know they should only play good cards. However, few players actually possess the patience to do it.
When you only play good cards you are giving yourself the best opportunity to win. It will not ensure victory on any given hand, since poker is a long-term game, but it will ensure long-term success. Remember, long-term means anything can happen on any given hand but, over the course of many hands things will work out the way they should. If you are a 4 to 1 favorite in a hand in the long-term you will win four out of five times, in the short-term you could lose three, sometimes four or more times in a row.
Think of it this way, continually playing weaker hands is like bringing a knife to a gunfight; even if you get lucky and take out a person or two, eventually you’re a dead man!
In terms of playing starting hands patience means one thing, you must be willing to fold, and fold A LOT! Folding is not an option in poker, it is an absolute necessity. By folding you are winning. That sounds strange doesn’t it? By folding you are winning? As strange as this concept may sound it is dead on.
Folding in poker is what is known in military circles as the feigned retreat: The feigned retreat has been a battlefield staple since it was first employed by Genghis Kahn; you’ve probably heard the name.
The feigned retreat is when you let your enemy think they are beating you, or in poker terms ‘pushing you around’. However, all you are doing is waiting until you have the advantage before you engage them. You pretend to retreat, falling back while your enemy pursues you.
What you are really doing is pulling your enemy into a more favorable situation for you. The key point being; you are not losing! You are simply picking the right time to fight, when you have the advantage. With your enemy in pursuit you can choose the perfect time to turn and strike.
Because Genghis Kahn’s forces were all mounted their enemies would never catch them. Of course they lost a few men here and there, but that is the price you pay to win the battle. With the cost of playing a round of poker so low you can also afford a few small losses until the time is right and you win the battle.
Folding in poker is the feigned retreat, you lull your opponent into a false confidence by folding and folding, letting them believe they are pushing you around at their will, and then when the time is right you turn and strike with all your fury.
When your opponent has the advantage you simply avoid conflict altogether. As I said, you will lose a few blind, and a small pot here and there, but you will avoid big losses from playing marginal hands.
The beauty of this strategy is, your opponents genuinely believe they want you to fold! After all, you can’t beat them if you fold? The truth is you want to fold. If your opponents were schooled in poker theory they would want you to always fight, especially when you have weak cards.
A patient poker player not only folds a lot but they actually love to fold! Every time they fold a bad hand they know they are winning. It also gives them the opportunity to focus on other things going on in the game. |
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