To 'Fold' in Poker

The term 'Fold' refers to the action of throwing away, or mucking your cards in a game of poker. Actions that can be taken in any game are i) fold, ii) check, iii) call and iiii) raise. The objective of any game of poker is to win the pot and to do so you either need to have the best hand at showdown or get the rest of the players to fold their hand through aggressive play.

In community card games such as Holdem or Omaha, players are dealt two hole cards which are dealt face down and are private to each player. Left of the dealer button, the first tow players will post the small blind and big blind, the automatic bets that need to be posted (to ensure there is incentive for players to get involved in the hand). The player left of the big blind is the first player to act and is said to be under the gun. This player is first to decide what to do. He has a number of options. Firstly he could 'Check' in which he would need to match the value of the big blind. He could also raise the pot. The third option available to him is to 'Fold', where he would play no further part in the hand.

Aggression is an important factor in any hand in that a player does not need to have the best hand to take down the pot. A key reason why aggression is a good thing in poker is that every time a player makes a raise or re-raise, they have two chances to win, either by having the best hand or getting their opponents to fold.