Poker is a hobby to some people, while to others it is considered a sport. Why should you have to win a poker game by having the best hand when you can win by having your opponents fold to you? It does not matter if you are a casual poker player, or an online poker addict – learning about the fold equity concept in poker will lead to better play.
What is Fold Equity?
Fold equity is the benefit a poker player can receive from other players folding to one’s bets. In mathematical terms, fold equity is equal to the chances of an opponent folding times the potential winnings should the opponent fold.
Calculating Fold Equity
The first part of calculating fold equity during a poker game requires an understanding of your opponents. Being able to read an opponent’s tell signs, along with their general behaviours is crucial. The second part of calculating fold equity is the profits gained by an opponent folding to a raise you make, subtracting the losses from an opponent that will call your raise. Because fold equity is in effect a type of bluffing, it can have either positive or negative results.
Fold Equity in Practice
Poker pros are well aware of the poker strategy of fold equity, and many players use it to their advantage at large poker tournaments. Because pros are excellent at reading an opponent’s actions it is easier for them to make many decisions based off of fold equity alone. Many hands that most people would fold can be used to win a pot that shouldn’t have been one in the first place by using fold equity tactics.
Example
Let’s say that you are playing a $5/$10 game at a local casino or $.05/$.10 game online. With a pot of $100 or $1 (if playing online). You make a raise early on and your opponent calls. When the flop comes your opponent makes a weak raise. Now if you have paying attention to your opponent and can tell if would make a similar raise when he has only a pair, it is safe to assume that anything better than a pair would win. Even if you do not have anything in your hand, the correct decision is to raise or fold. Calling would only give your opponent reason to continue. Folding will cut your losses, however you should raise. Your opponent will likely fold due to the strong signals that you are sending.
This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 5:51 am and is filed under Poker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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