A player is said to be folding their hand if they discard it when it is their turn to take an action in a betting round. In most poker games, folding is done by returning the hand to the dealer, or by placing it in the muck yourself. Folding does not cost the player anything in money, but also does not gain the player anything monetarily. Once a player has folded, they may no longer rejoin the. A player will know when to fold when they get hands that need miracle flops to be ahead such as J-5, 2-3, 4-6, and so forth. All other hands that are playable will of course be dependent on. Folding is the least sexy topic in poker. Folding is just sofinal. Your cards hit the muck, you concede the pot to your opponent, and you’re off to the next hand. But the honest truth is that poker players fall into two main categories. When a player “folds” their cards, it means they give up. This is one of the few objectives that some players aim to accomplish. As, the more people that will fold the lesser the opponents he or she will need to face, which will mean that he will have a bigger chance in winning.

If you fold your hand in poker, you lay down your cards and stop playing the hand. A fold can happen at any point in the play when it is your turn to act. Folding in poker means you are out for that hand. You no longer will have any claim on the pot and you won't be required to put more money into the pot for that hand. It's also known as lay down and muck.

The Right Way to Fold

When playing at a poker table, you should wait until it is your turn to act before you fold. While you may have been dealt poor cards and you would love to toss them in immediately, you need to be patient and wait for the other players ahead of you to fold, call, or raise. If you make your fold out of turn you will earn the disapproval of the others at the table as you are giving information to those who have the action before you. Those who had yet to act on the hand will know there is one less person to call and add to the pot or with the potential of raising the pot further. This can affect their decision to call, raise, or fold.

If you're playing online, you can often program the action in when you view your cards, but at a live table, you need to wait.

Place the cards face down and, out of courtesy to the dealer, slide them forward enough so the dealer can easily rake them into the muck pile. You may also say 'fold' or 'I fold' verbally before you discard your cards face down. Once you indicate a fold, you can't change your mind and re-enter the hand.

You should not expose your cards to the other players when you fold. Don't get fancy with your tossing action and risk one flipping to be exposed. If you do this more than once you are likely to get a further admonishment from the dealer.

It also is unusual to fold rather than check if you have the option to check, such as after the flop, turn, or river. Usually, you would check and then fold if there is a raise.

The Hero Fold

If you are folding on the final play of the hand, such as after the river cards have been dealt and your opponents have made all of the plays they can make, some players might expose one or both cards to show they have made a hero fold. For example, the river card has been dealt and you are in the hand with only one other opponent, who goes all-in. You decide it's time to fold 'em because you know they are a tight player and it's likely you will lose the hand. But you're holding a decent hand and you decide to turn over cards when you fold to show what you had. In this case, you won't get an admonishment from the dealer because you aren't giving information to any player who still has action in the hand.

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, but you’ve no longer got to know when to unfold ’em.

That’s because, after a six-week run, PokerStars is dropping Unfold Poker, the site’s latest twist on cash games. In fact, PokerStars’ Director of Poker Innovation and Operations Severin Rasset told Pokerfuse that after a strategic review, PokerStars made the decision to “fold ‘Unfold.’”

Unfold Poker is essentially a no-limit hold’em ring game where players pay an additional Unfold ante. Then, the players who fold preflop have an option to go after the side pot created. They just need to match it, which allows them to pull their cards out of the muck. The antes are returned if all players pass. If more than one player Unfolds, the best hand of the bunch wins the side pot. PokerStars rakes both the main and Unfold ante side pot.

Just another rake grab?

Like many of the innovations PokerStars has rolled out recently, the game has been panned by critics. Most say it’s just another rake grab. Still, Rasset told Pokerfuse PokerStars’ attempts to try new game formats it believes will appeal to players will not end here:

“PokerStars is invested in creating and testing products and new variants of poker to suit a variety of player tastes. While not every new development will be a home run, we will keep trialling, listening to player feedback and analysing engagement with our goal of continuing to offer fresh promotions, formats and updates that enhance our players’ experience and bring more people to the game.”

PokerStars’ Split Hold’em, played with two boards, and Showtime Hold’em, which reveals all player holdings after they have folded, have both come and gone this year. Both faced similar criticisms in the short time PokerStars offered them.

A question of motives

All these stops and starts raise an important question. Should the poker community be applauding the world’s leading online poker site for its attempts at innovation, or panning it for failing to produce anything that is still around?

It really comes down to a question of the site’s motivations.

If the only innovations PokerStars comes up with are games the poker community widely considers rake grabs, its research and development team are nothing more than a bunch of con artists trying to fleece the community out of its cash. If money is the only motivation here, it’s time to call a red spade a red spade.

However, if PokerStars is really testing new game formats in a legitimate effort to bring more people into poker, it’s important the site be recognized for its effort to grow the game.

Fold Termine Poker Games

Is Short Deck the answer?

Pokerfuse did some digging into the PokerStars client. Based on that, it seems to think either something called Fusion Poker, or Six Plus Hold’em, will be the next innovation the site rolls out.

Fold Termine Poker Rules

Leaving Fusion aside for the moment, since little other than the name is known about the game, releasing something like Six Plus Hold’em could go a long way towards convincing the community the site’s motivations are pure.

Otherwise know as Six Plus Hold’em or Short Deck, the game is hold’em. Although, it’s played with a deck where the deuces through fives have been pulled out. The game evolved out of some of the biggest cash games in the world over in Asia. It is quickly gaining steam all over the world. The Poker Masters just ran one of the first Short Deck events on US soil this week.

It’s an action game with increased variance. It’s the kind thing most poker players seem to love.

Releasing Six Plus Hold’em simply makes sense for PokerStars because of its appeal to players. Plus, perhaps even more importantly, it’ll be seen as more than just another way to generate rake.

Fold Termine Poker Table

It may not be purely PokerStars’ innovation. However, it’s the kind of idea that can help improve the image of the site’s Poker Innovation and Operations department. It’ll give the poker community something it clearly wants. A move that can only help the community begin to see PokerStars is after more than just its money.

Fold Termine Poker Game

If PokerStars wants to continue to be the world’s largest poker site, making a decision that’s as much public relations as it is innovation is the right move right now.