Poker

We bring the house down in the last of our series of poker tips with a look at folding your hand. Some say it’s the best move you can make.

We’ve shown you the basics, talked about bluffing and how to get inside the mind of your opponents but now we deal with folding - a decision which requires discipline and timing.

Most better-than-average players have a grasp on folding pre-flop. You’ve got to fold rubbish hands like J4 pre-flop, no questions. Get out of there fast or else you’ll bleed chips. The opposite can be said for big cards like AQ or KJ. You need to play these cards in a heads up situation or in a three-way, so bet big. Small pairs and suited connectors should be played in a multi-way pot.

As betting progresses post-flop, it gets trickier. Chucking pocket Jacks away on the turn may sound ludicrous but if someone bets the turn and then there’s a raise and another player calls, you’ve got to swallow your pride and fold.

River disaster

If you decide to follow through to the river on AK or any premium hand you need to go all the way. Folding on the river can be a disaster. Okay, you’ve invested two maybe three big bets to get there but if you find out you’ve thrown away the winning hand it can knock you off your stride for the rest of the game.

Most bad players lose money over time and not on any one big hand. This is because they continually make small mistakes. They call when they do not have pot odds, or they continue to call when they are clearly beaten. Every time you call when you shouldn't, you are making a small mistake.

A big mistake is folding when you should not have. Folding early and then later finding out you would have hit a miracle river does not count. We’re talking about when you have the best hand late in the pot – that’s the monumental mistake.