Knowing When To Fold

By Simon Skinner

Knowing when to fold is something that many players have a tough time learning. Because they obviously think their hand is the winning hand, they neglect to think about what their opponent could possibly have.

Most online casino games have certain players that are constantly “bluffing” and hold a worthless hand. But when it comes to online casino gambling with your entire pile of chips, you better be assured you have the best hand the table could possibly produce, or you will be out.

Knowing when to fold is an important strategy in all online casino games, but it is especially important in online casino games that are “no-limit”. If you don’t fold when you should, you will find yourself out of games quickly and not experience much success when it comes to winning. Texas Hold’em games are notorious for “bluffers” as well as hands that beat yours with the turn of a “river” or final card.

It is harder to know when to fold in online casino games because you can’t read the other players’ body language, facial expressions or go by what they say. The only way you can learn to read players in online casino gambling is to observe and see if you notice a pattern in their betting.

For example, after several hands, is there one player that goes “all-in” constantly, without ever folding a hand? If this is the case, chances are a good poker hand will beat him. On the other hand, sometimes a player that constantly folds, and then goes “all-in” probably has one of the best hands at the table, and you should fold, if yours is a mediocre hand.

Knowing when to fold is a strategy the best players have figured out. If you play Texas Hold’em, you have to analyze the cards that are in the center of the table and see what the possibilities are. If the “flop” is three suited cards, somebody could have a “flush”. If they are three consecutive cards, somebody could have a “straight”. If they are three of a kind, somebody could have a “full house” and so on.

If you fail to consider these possibilities, you are going to lose. If you are able to make one of those hands on “the flop”, you have to consider that somebody else may have, too and theirs could be higher than yours. When it comes to online casino games, it is not an equal playing field if two players get a “straight”, it goes to the player with the highest straight.

Online casino gambling can be more difficult because the winner can also be determined by a “kicker” card. Many players forget about this rule and they lose their pots in the online casino games where this is the case. For example, if you are holding an Ace, Queen, and another player is holding an Ace, King and the “flop” brings a pair of Aces, you both have a pair of Aces, but the other player will win because of the King “kicker” versus your Queen “kicker”.

Knowing when to fold in online casino games means reading the other players and realizing what potential hands they could have that would beat yours.