Check Fold Posted on April 14, 2015 by Poker Dictionary This is an option, only available with internet poker through a pre-action button, which allows a player to check their hand but if the action comes to them and a previous player has bet the hand will automatically fold. This is particularly useful when playing at multiple tables. Check Raise – To check when it is your turn to bet and then, after someone else bets, to raise that player’s bet. Donkey – An opponent who plays poorly and seems to be throwing his money away. This is the current term for a pigeon, a sucker or a fish. Double Belly Buster – This is a hand with two inside straight draws.
Table Of Contents
The game of poker has its own slang or “poker talk.” If you are new to poker, learning the poker slang will greatly improve your knowledge of the game. From the small blind to the straight flush, here is a poker glossary of the important poker terms to know. Act: check, bet, raise, or fold. Action: whose turn it is, as in “Action is on. 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. Another player may now bet, in which case you may fold your hand, call the bet or raise (the action of first checking and then raising when an opponent bets is known as a check-raise). If no-one bets on that round then the next card is dealt and again the first player has a choice whether to bet or check. Continue to The Button.
What to Do When a Player Bets the Flop and Checks the Turn?
Many players routinely bet the flop with a good hand. Then, when the turn comes, they check. All the time.
They choose to call because they don't want to be raised by someone on the turn or river (when the bets are doubled).
I find this habit is prevalent in lower limit games. If you play mid-limit games, this flaw is not nearly as common.
In any case, it is worth considering, as some mid-limit and high-limit tables attract more than a few players who keep this behaviour in their game plan.
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Make Observations
As a PokerNews reader, I'm sure you know that looking at how your opponents play is of the best poker tips to follow if you intend to go far.
In the following scenario, you are playing no-limit hold'em with a few regulars and a new face (we'll call him Player 'X').
You don't know much about Player 'X' — so you need to keep your eyes open and try to take mental notes on his style of play.
As the game develops, this hand happens:
- Player 'X' has and the flop is .
- Player 'X' bets the flop and two other players call.
- On the turn, a appears on the board.
- Player 'X' checks.
- As soon as one of the other players decides to bet, Player 'X' calls.
- On the river, Player 'X' checks and calls again.
- At the showdown, Player 'X' shows .
Taking things out of context, Player 'X' would appear to be a 'weak' or 'weak-tight' player.
But — is this the correct assumption to make?
What if this was a recurring behaviour? What if more observation would help you recognise a pattern and give you precious insights on your opponent's hands and style of play?
To discover if this an isolated episode, lock on to Player 'X' and watch how he plays the same situation in future hands.
If this behavioural pattern continues, it's time to implement the right poker strategy to exploit his weakness and use all this knowledge to your advantage.
SEE ALSO: I Played a Tournament Without Looking at the Cards. And This Happened
Why Does He Do That?
Keep in mind the motivation for this behaviour.
If he is weak and 'tight'ish', he is not betting the flop and checking the turn simply because he's given up on a bluff or thinks he has been outdrawn on the turn.
He is afraid of being raised on the turn or river when the bets are doubled.
As such, he checks with the intention of calling all the way to the showdown. It's usually that simple.
How to play Against This Sort of Opponent?
Whenever you find yourself at the table with a Player 'X', you should use your observations and findings to implement two important changes into your game plan.
First, you can call with more marginal hands preflop. In fact, you can do that on the flop as well when you are in a late position and he is sitting within two or three seats of your right.
READ ALSO: How to Play Marginal Hands in Poker
Let's look at an example.
If you have 6-7 off-suit in a late position, you should probably not play this hand unless a big multi-way pot is brewing.
However, if it is a medium-size pot and your Player 'X' calls preflop, you may want to call.
If you hit any sort of draw on the flop, there is a good chance that this opponent will give you a free card on the turn.
This is why you can play more drawing hands against this sort of opponent, even if your draw is not stunning.
Need another example?
Let's say that there are five callers (including yourself and this opponent) before the flop and you have 6-7 off-suit.
The flop is K-8-4 and it's checked to this opponent. He bets.
As a result, you must call one small bet to win the six small bets in the pot.
Additionally, one or two other opponents may call behind you on the flop. But let's say you are only getting pot odds of 6-1 on the flop.
Should you call?
The chances of hitting a 5 on the turn or river are approximately 5-1.
However, if you fail to hit the five on the turn, you will probably have to fold, even if you called the flop.
Your odds of hitting a 5 on the river are 10-1 against and you probably won't be getting those sorts of pot odds on the turn.
SEE ALSO: WPT GTO Trainer Hand Review: Three-Betting From the Big Blind
So in reality, you are only calling on the flop to see if you can spike a 5 on the turn, since you won't continue to the river if you miss.
Therefore, the only odds of significance are the odds against hitting a 5 on the turn only.
Since you are approximately 10-1 against hitting a 5 on the turn card, you are not really getting the correct price to call on the flop.
However, if you know that your opponent will bet the flop, then check the turn and give you a free card, you should call the flop by all means.
The odds of hitting a 5 on either the turn or river are approximately 5-1 and since you will be getting a look at both cards for the price of a call on the flop, you can take those 5-1 odds because you are getting 6-1 from the pot, not to mention the large implied odds on offer and the possibility that some other early position opponents will call the flop behind you thereby increasing your pot odds.
This approach comes with three caveats based on the same reasoning.
- If this particular opponent bets again on the turn, you must fold. If it seems that this opponent is unreliable, or becomes unreliable, at automatically 'betting the flop then checking the turn' you must abandon this strategy.
- If another player at the table picks up on this opponent's behavioural pattern as you have and starts messing up your plan by putting in fancy check-raises on the flop and betting our of position on the turn, stay away. Wait for the right time. This fancy player may soften up this opponent further, resulting in more free cards in subsequent pots.
- If this opponent is in an early position, this strategy won't be as effective. If he bets the flop and checks the turn, middle and late position players between you and him are probably going to bet the turn more often which disrupts your free card strategy.
Aside from the free card aspect of this sort of opponent, you should also never try to bluff or semi-bluff him on the turn.
SEE ALSO: How to Play Pocket Aces in Poker
In my opinion and experience, I have won much more money from players giving me free cards (when they shouldn't) than I have won by semi-bluffing.
This comes back to the motivation for his behaviour: he has a good hand but checks the turn to avoid being raised when the bets are doubled.
Therefore, he intends to call to the showdown and probably has a good enough hand to do so. Don't bluff a caller.
When to Use This Approach
Finally, you should use this bet the flop and check the turn strategy yourself when you are heads-up against a maniac with a reasonably good hand.
Let's say you have A-Q. The maniac raises, you call and it's heads up.
The flop is A-8-6. If you bet here (which I think you should), he will probably raise. In this case, you should simply check and call the turn and river.
This way you avoid losing big bets when you are genuinely behind and avoid being moved off the winning hand.
This article was originally published by Matthew Rochman in July 2005. Last update: February 2020.
Mucking is an often misunderstood part of poker. Knowing the definition and when it is both appropriate and strategically correct to muck is an important part of the game. I have researched every angle of the subject of mucking and decided to pass along my findings to you.
What is a muck in poker? The word muck can be used as a noun or a verb. As a noun, the muck refers to the pile of discarded cards lying on the table. As a verb, mucking means to fold your hand. Most often, the word is used at the end of a hand when a player is faced with a decision on whether to show his cards or “muck” them.
Simply understanding the concept of mucking in poker is one thing. Knowing how to use that information is another. To learn more about how to use the poker muck rules to your advantage at the table, read on.
Poker Muck Rules
At face value, mucking poker hands seems like a fairly straightforward concept. Even so, there are a few rules about mucking that every poker player should know:
- The muck is a one-way street: Once your cards even touch the muck, your hand is dead and cannot win. Make sure you are 100% sure you are folding before you throw those cards into the muck. Never EVER reach your hand into the muck to try to retrieve cards. This is a serious breach of the rules.
- Muck your hand correctly: The correct way to muck is to place your cards down in front of the dealer, not chuck them across the table haphazardly. Eventually, you will turn one or more cards up and annoy everyone at the table.
- Do not muck your hand out of turn: or let anyone know you plan to fold since this is a breach of both the rules and etiquette. We don’t want to unfairly give one or more players this type of information. Make sure you learn the showdown rules of poker so you know when to muck.
- Beginners should never muck their hand on the river: Even experienced players sometimes misread their cards. Throwing away the winning hand, even in a small pot, is extremely frustrating.
What Is Considered a Muck in Poker?
Mucking is the same as folding. If you place your cards on the discard pile or slide your cards toward the dealer, your hand is said to be mucked and is dead for the rest of the current hand.
Your hand can also be mucked automatically if your time bank runs out in online poker or someone calls the clock on you and you run out of time in live poker.
Can I Set My Cards down Again Once I Pick Them Up?
If you pick your cards up and then place them in front of you, that is not considered a muck. In fact, you can pick your cards up and set them down as many times as you like, as long as you do not verbally declare that you are folding or touch your cards to the discard pile.
If the Dealer Deals One of My Cards to the Wrong Person, Is It Mucked?
If the dealer accidentally gives your card to the wrong player, you should announce it immediately. If it is obvious which card was dealt to the other player, a correction can be made and the card shifted to you. However, if the other player mixed it with his other card or cards or took a look at it, the card is dead.
If you are in the blinds a misdeal would be declared and the hand restarted. If you are not in the blinds and your card is declared dead, then it would be given back to the dealer and used as the burn card for the flop.
When Can You Muck Your Hand in Poker
On every betting round you must follow the correct order of play and wait until the action is on you before you can fold or muck your hand. Showdown is the only time that a player may muck his or her hand out of turn.
When Are Your Cards Considered Mucked
What Does Check Bet And Fold Mean In Poker Room
There are three instances that your cards can be considered automatically mucked:
- You push your hand to the dealer
- Your cards touch the discards already mucked
- You verbally announce that you fold
Always remember, if you are in doubt about the local muck rules it is okay to ask the dealer or even the floor.
What If Someone Mucks out of Turn
If someone mucks out of turn there is no automatic penalty given to that player. However, except for at showdown, it is still a breach of poker etiquette to either muck your hand or telegraph that you are folding before the action is on you.
Players who continuously fold out of turn and become disruptive to the table for doing so, may be given a penalty by the dealer or floor at their discretion.
Can You Ever Ask to See Mucked Cards?
At showdown, any player who was dealt into a particular hand can ask to be shown any hand that was called, even if was thrown into the muck. However, this is known to be in bad form and is looked at as being extremely bad etiquette.
The only time you should ever remotely consider asking the dealer to flip over a mucked hand is if it was a huge pot and you suspect cheating or collusion.
Mucking Strategy – Deciding When to Muck or Show
First off, if you are a beginner you should always flip your hand over at showdown. Staying involved mentally all the way until the completion of the hand is important in the learning process. Always showing also prevents you from ever misreading your hand and folding the winner.
On the other hand, advanced players should never show losing cards without a very good reason. Poker is a game of information and the less you can give away for free, the better.
Look Before You Muck
To avoid silly errors, I advise getting in the habit of taking one last peek at your cards before folding. This prevents you from ever accidentally folding the winner. Even the best misread their cards from time to time.
How to Muck Your Hand Properly
What Does Check Bet And Fold Mean In Poker Lingo
Folding your cards is no time to get fancy. Just about every so-called “serious” player out there seems to want to impress everyone with their fancy mucking technique. Don’t be that person.
Fold your cards correctly by placing them face down in a neat little stack and quickly sliding them to the dealer. Dramatic, time-consuming, folding techniques will only slow down the action and actually hurt your hourly rate
What Does Check Bet And Fold Mean In Poker Table
A Wise Poker PlayerWhat Does Check Bet And Fold Mean In Poker Terms
Protecting Your Hand
If your intention is to keep your hand live then you should always protect your hand. Either purchase a decent card protector or place a low denomination chip on top of your cards. Otherwise, the dealer might accidentally muck your cards. This happened in a huge WSOP hand a few years ago, as shown in the following video.
Mucked Cards Shown in Online Poker
Some poker sites allow for mucked cards to be shown in the hand histories of the site whether you have “auto muck” clicked or not. This is a feature added to combat issues with cheating or collusion
I recommend using this information to your advantage when reviewing your play in your preferred tracking software program. You can see exactly what your opponents do in particular situations and gain and, as a result, optimize your lines.
Related Questions
In Online Poker What Is Auto Muck? Many online poker sites have a feature where you can automatically muck losing hands at showdown. I recommend using this feature if the site you play on offers it. Not only does it speed up play, but it ensures that your hand gets mucked without giving away unnecessary information.
What is a dead hand in poker? A player’s hand is considered dead when it can no longer win the current hand. Numerous actions can lead to hand being declared dead.
What are the nuts in poker? The nuts in poker means the best hand possible on the current street. Quite often, the nuts on the flop will be different than the nuts on the turn or river.
Final Thoughts
Just like any other part of learning poker, understanding mucking rules is just one small piece of the puzzle towards making a person a complete player. While mastering strategy and tactics lead to profit, mastering the basics of gameplay is also important
Every little thing you do in poker leads to maximizing your profit. Isn’t that what