Remember Texas Hold’em and fold 2-7 offsuit, which is statistically the worst starting hand, with an equity of less than 5%. Fold all but the smallest pocket pairs like 2-2 to 5-5 unless you flop a set which happens only around 11.8% of the time. Above 7-6, Suited connectors should be folded as they only complete a straight or flush on the river about 8-10% of the time. Finally, when you have amongst the bottom ace with a unconnected kicker like A-xx offsuit) fold as your kickers are sometimes beat if someone else has an Ace.
Hands with a Card ≤6, Just Fold It
If you have a card of 6 or even lower and hesitates not long fold.! Trust me on this one. Holding a lottery ticket, with almost 0 probability of you winning. In Texas Hold’em, less than 10% cold calls can be won by hands like 5+4 or 6+3. Is that a bet you want to take 90 times out of 100? You might as well start throwing your chips in the river. And who would take their chance.
Look at it this way, poker is more on strategy and building for the long-term – not hopeful thinking. Okay, so let’s say you have a 4 and a good ol’ deuce pre-flop—not great right? Even if you get to the flop for free, at best all there is a miracle straight or trips available that will invariably see bet after huge raise on top of no decent hand support (you need some sort of premium combine in your pocket) being beaten. In the end, you will lose this battle for your mother.
Here are some explanations of why these low hands can be dangerous. That means, with 6+5 and two streets remaining (turn and river), the chances for straight improve to a mere: That’s right, less than 10%! That was at least something… 6+2, would be incorrect enough that you are unlikely to hit a pair with it. Anyone can see that there was no real chance to make a straight or better with those low cards but I still find many players trying shoot through the ranks of their hole cards in desperate anticipation for some wonder. Don’t be that player.
So — cue the wine! — here are more concrete examples:
However, we must chucklegates any 3+5s or below (2+4 and maybe even the last five on some X≤6 hands). Even 5+5, whilst pocket pair has very little value unless you hit a set. And that is at the flop where you only have a 11.8% chance of hitting your gutshot. The math doesn’t lie.
Plus 7 assists that can be trouble. Well, you may find 7+8 or 7+A is fine but what about that of with a number like either; just stop and change your copy. Nope. Fold that garbage. These hands are not lucrative, and if they do hit you end up playing during the rest of a hand that keeps remaining itself because these palms seldom enhance on those flops.
Seems too good to pass up low connectors like 6+5 and 5+4, but you only have around a 9% chance of hitting your straight. If you’re banking on that small chance of success, good luck.
Even so, professionals will tell you that in poker the trick isn’t winning every hand it’s simply not losing on bad ones. When the probabilities are seriously against you, it is a good option to fold. Tons of amateur players at this point will be looking at these low cards and thinking “Hey, maybe I can bluff this one out” — but that’s a recipe for disaster. Your best option? Just fold and wait for some good cards.
Beginner tip: 20% is probably the magic number here for all you beginners; if there’s less chance of winning, don’t splash too many chips. Sure, you can catch a good run of cards every now and then with an Ace or King in them but in the end all these hands will cost your stack faster than imaginable. Poker is a game of patience. You are not trying to win every hand, you just want play smart and save your chips for when you will have the best opportunity.
Ambiguous Hands, Just Fold Them
So now we get to those borderline hands, the ones that make you pause for just a sec and think about playing or folding. These fall right in the frustrating middle ground. Decent, not good by any means. The trick — when in doubt, fold. I know, it hurts a lot but trust me on that.
For example, something like low pocket pairs: 4+4 or 5+5. Sure, when you have a pair in your hand it feels like Christmas but…let’s get some numbers. Since you’ll flop a set only about 11.8% of the time, without them your hand is really underpowered and more times than not will be dominated by better hands on wet/paired flops like this. Little to no chance of winning if there is absolutely zero improvement.. Especially against multiple opposition. Really, are you that lucky? I wouldn’t.
The other is ace with low kickers, for example A+6 or A+7. Sure, you have an ace but don’t get caught — that low kicker can be a killer. You are bound to be out-kicked by any other player at the table with a higher ace, unless you flop two pair or something equally miraculous. It’s not worth risking this high probability of getting out-kicked in these scenarios. In terms of the strength, Aces will depend on their kicker so if your second card is a frail one, you should fold it.
So, onto suited connectors 7+8 etc. They look pretty good, I mean they sometimes hit at least a straight or flush right, but more frequently then not you are left chasing. Two-in-the-calls of a straight or flush with, — you CONNECTABLE will not go to the river in 15% of cases. Now, let that sink in for a minute — 85% of the scenarios you put yourself will be dead. Actually, yes but very rarely if they function.
So imagine this: You flap a 7+8suited and… It is also Souter CJ but 4-5 in a style of your suit… You’re all ready at a disadvantage. And do you really want to keep playing anyways in search of a likely nonexistent straight? The real pros are those who fold or even go out straight away unless they catch big hands.
Trying to fit these ambiguous hands into win situations is by far the biggest mistake I see players make. Poker is a game of odds, and when you have under a 20% chance to win with two cards this risky it just becomes gambling. Well, of course not — you wouldn’t do that in business either…where 15% odds would fail before they reached a minimum viable product. Ditto for poker — do not commit to a bad hand.
Added to that is the fact almost every one of these hands appear as though they could work in some other imaginable universe somewhere, which makes it all even more galling. Low suited connectors, low pairs, weak aces — they always seem to be on the cusp of breaking out into an absolute monster. But the thing is — they can almost all be considered drawing hands, and hardly ever will become a winner. Poker is a game of numbers, and the ones behind these hands just are not in your corner.
Low Suited Connectors and Small Pocket Pairs, Fold Them
The low suited connectors, the small pocket pairs. What can I say those look so delicious, right? A 5+4 of spades or 6+6 think its it one flop away from the big time. I have a friend who has an editor read over each one of his emails before he sends it out, and even asks for copywriters to edit everything down….but here’s the deal: they usually suck. Mirage: These hands are deceivers — they look like winners but the math conveys differently. Let’s break it down.
Begin with tiny pocket pairs; 3+3, 4+4 or maybe even a little larger — 5+5. You might be tempted to think, “I have seen this type of shoes before!” when you see them the first time. But the thing is: unless you spike a set (which happens 11.8% of the time), your hand can very easily be crushed by almost anything. That’s a troubly board it the face card like Q-J-K. His small air is not going to get it done there — even if you have something like 10-9-8. You are waiting to get run over by a bigger set or straight. 3-bet pot vs LAGs, against passive fish you can flat here this close with the nuts so u gii…So we go a bit further with low suited-connectors like 6+5 or 7+6. These are the hands that appear to be on the cusp of a big hand but in reality almost never make one. Odds he hits a straight by the river -Connectors Around 9.6%. That’s right, less than 10%. As for the odds of making a flush with suited connectors, on this one: About 6.5%. Let that sink in. Access this great article on preflop play. Bonus Tip: Do you truly want to put your chips at risk over a hand that wins against the fish less than 10% of the time? I wouldn’t.
For example: Your 6-5 of hearts get no help from the flop as Qd9h3c rolls off. Well, now you have a hand that has no potential. Say the turn gives you a little hope, like say…a 7; odds are one or more of your opponents have a queen or better. The thing about these low hands is that when they do hit the board, it will almost never be strong enough to take down a pot on its own. The most you can hope for is to limp through to scrape out a small win, at which point best case will see you limping on life support in an attempt suck what ever chip sweet blood that might come your way.
Now here we will discuss the problems with overvaluing suited connectors. If you are a beginner poker player, there is something that can remind me of opinion: I see two suited cards in my hand and an idea just comes to mind immediately “flush possibility”. However in reality, unless you have two face cards (AK suited or something) the chances of making a strong 5-card flush are very low. And even when you do flop the flush, someone else may have a better one. Sounds like, if you held 5+4 of clubs and the flop was three clubs. Great, right? Your hand is toast — unless someone else has A+J of clubs. It is the game of suckers, and you do not want to be getting Rivered by a better flush.
And the deal breaker — even if you were to complete your straight or flush, it often pays out handsomely. All of these factors make a huge change by the time you finish chasing those low connectors or small pairs at least to the turn and river, where in unwanted case scenario you have lost lots of your chips. The returns? Often minimal. Compared to holding a higher percentage winning hand such as A
But professionals know discipline is key. And it’s not just a matter of hitting the right flop; if you can put your stack in and feel comfortable getting away from second-best hands, this knowledge is useful when conserving chip stacks. The problem as you may well already know is low suited connectors and small pairs just don’t pay out often enough to justify the risk. Sure, you might occasionally hit a str8/ set but at the same time these hands will generally chip dumbs.
Which means when you get a 5+5 or even 6+7 suited next time, DO NOT just stare at the possibilities. Fold, save your chips for a better situation, and spare yourself the agony of having to watch what you worked so hard for dwindle away on an impossible hand.
When to Fold Based on Position
Your seat is everything in poker. This is similar to what its like playing a hand in poker — having the initiative can be seen as somewhat of a superpower and being last might entirely change your approach. The difference of whether you save or pitch chips (often entire tournaments) can be based solely on folding at the right time according to your seat position. Believe me, its not only your cards it´s at the same time of where you are sitting around on that table when to fold!
Let’s break it down.
Early position? Just fold most hands. Well, you are the first to act which means that nobody has said anything about what they have or plan on doing. Fold unless you have pocket aces, kings or queens. Hell, even things like A+K or suited A+Q can be risky if table is aggressive. Why? Just like this, they do not even know what the players behind you might decide to take as action. The looser you have to be, the later position you are in. Chances are, you will run into a surprise strong hand and the best defense is simply to fold anything that isn’t of top-quality.
Case in point — You have a Jack-10 suited and you are sitting at an early position. It’s tempting, right? But here’s the kicker — if someone big raises afterwards, then you are in a bad spot. For example, the hand in the image below looks hot as hell but that’s far too much risk for early position. Doing a fold, wait for your time.
Middle position? It does give a little bit, but be careful folding it. You now have the benefit of seeing what the first movers are doing. If they all folded, you can begin to relax a bit. You can possibly add in some more stronger hands like Q+J suited, or A+10. That said, don’t go crazy here. You are defiantly not in the clear as there are many people that could easily have some pregnant draws behind you. Remember, you are looking to balance here in middle position — value-bet but be prepared fold if the action starts getting frothy behind.
Now imagine 7+7 in middle position. Decent hand, right? Unfortunately when late position drops the hammer on you. Now what? Suddenly, your small pair is much weaker. You can safely fold here despite how good you felt about it in the beginning.
Late position? Make sure to give yourself adue time but still not too much! This is also known as being in the cutoff or on the button (the player who acts last) and it means that you get to observe how everybody else played their hand. This is where you can step on the gas a little. The kind of hands he had late enough and probably would have folded K+10 or Q+J in early/mid position might be good now. Why? Because you can see how the table is moving and do something about it. However, please remember to keep it safe if the people in front of you are raising large. This does not equate to start opening trash hands just because you are in a lovely spot. If the action is heavy fold and wait for a better spot.
For example — you have 8+8 on the button, and a flop of A-K-9. That has had some movement, but not a whole hell of a lot. Should you keep going? Probably not. It’s time to fold. Even your queens cannot neglect the board of how dangerous it is, with an ace or a king out there to crush them and thus would turn into eights if you are overcautiously folding from this position. But sometimes — even in late position – maybe the best play is to get out of there with no chips invested yourself.
FINALLY, THE BLINDS From the blinds you are put in a difficult position when your opponent calls. And they be like, “Well I’m in already so why not play?” Wrong! Do not be afraid to give them those blinds unless you have a powerful hand. It hurts to let go once you have some chips in the middle, but if you stay committed with marginal hands just because of those investments then be prepared to lose them all. The key here is discipline. For instance, when you are in the big blind with 9-6 off suit and everyone at the table is raising to $15 then feel free to let it go. And this is a good example of the old adage “Throwing good money after bad.” 4) Let it Go — that small amount of chips you poured in at Level 1, don’t worry about that.