Know when to fold
Why is it important to master the art of folding in poker? Some pros like Phil Hellmuth have said that this is the most important skill to develop for profitable poker.
For most new poker players, folding is seen as an act of cowardice and escape from difficult times during the game. Moreover, they believe that folding means not playing a real strong poker, and this is why many beginners have a hard time folding properly.
Folding depends on the context. In Texas Hold'em poker, folding should be more frequent in a full ring game than in a short-handed game. This is because there is a higher chance to face a strong hand when more hands are dealt. On the other hand if you are involved in specific formats such as a tournament with rebuy, then you should fold less before the end of the rebuy period, as the early stage is for the big gambles.
But mastering this technique of knowing when to fold is extremely useful in ensuring your long-term success, because the key to winning is to be selective and to only play hands favorable to you. It is important to be able to give up in situations where you are at a disadvantage.
To reach this level of play, you must make great efforts to counter feelings of boredom and impatience that may arise when you fold a lot and stay on the sideline watching other players get all the poker action. A good player can discipline himself, starting with pre flop hand selection. Here are some tips that you will make you no longer bothered by having folded many starting hands and you can concentrate better on the post flop game.
First, one word of advice for new players is to practice this pre flop strategy away from the poker table using a software that make game simulations and allow to study various game situations to find the most profitable play in certain conditions. The advantages of this type of training is that the "standard play" will become second nature to you, so that you can focus on the specifics of the table without wondering if you are folding too much.
In real situations, waiting for premium hands becomes boring even for the more experienced people. Accordingly, it is very important to have an occupation in the time not to stay quiet and to relax a little. Small exercises such as breathing, cracking fingers, open and close fists, rolling the neck or even walk a little in the room helps you to boost circulation and relieve tension.
That way, you will no longer be tempted to play a hand simply for doing something. Another positive aspect of the little walk after folding is that your opponents will forget that you're playing tight. If you leave the table for a few minutes the other players will not remember that you've mucked all your weak hands up to now and that you wait for the strongest hands.
In online poker you cannot walk away from the table. Instead play multi tables to fight the boredom, as you will have good cards more often. And your average variance will be lower.