It’s unusual to see a player with pocket aces fold in poker. However, as weird as that might sound, sometimes it’s the correct decision. Such a scenario is often described as a hero fold, and that’s what this article will discuss.

You’ll find out exactly what this type of fold is, as well as the benefits and drawbacks. If you want to improve your live or online poker skills, understanding these unusual situations is one small yet important step on your journey.

What Are Hero Folds?

These are rare but memorable scenarios when a player folds a really strong hand in light of how the action has unfolded. Whenever someone makes such a big laydown, they’ll typically reveal their hand to the entire table to try and claim the glory.

This term doesn’t tell you whether or not a decision was correct, of course. It only describes a tough-to-make fold.

For the casual viewer, seeing a pro make such a move might seem like an error. However, that same pro might’ve noticed something that the viewer missed. Perhaps an opponent who plays tight all the time raised unexpectedly. Maybe a tell gave them away. 

Whatever the reason, the player making the big laydown now feels their expected value (EV) is negative if they call. So, even though the hand seems extremely strong, they elect to fold. Here’s an example to better illustrate the point.

Hand Example

Imagine you’re holding pocket aces. You’ve hit the jackpot, right? Perhaps, but this hand isn’t unbeatable, as you’re about to discover. The hand plays out down to the river, where you’re up against a single opponent.

The board reads A♦ 7♣ 7♥ 3♥ 3♠, and you’re sitting on aces full. Naturally, you bet with such a big hand. However, your opponent responds unexpectedly with a big raise.

What will you do now? Well, all decisions in any poker game should begin with a look at your opponent’s playing style. If they’ve been playing loose, they could easily be holding a weaker full house or just bluffing, trying to represent one. If so, you’d want to call.

But the situation changes when you’re playing against an extremely tight player. Your hand is, of course, still powerful. However, it’s also the third best, given the board. Your opponent could have pocket 7s or pocket 3s, both of which give them four of a kind and would win this pot.

Given that your opponent has been playing very tight so far, it might be time for a tough fold. You’ll lose some chips already committed to the pot, but far fewer than if you called and they have the nuts.

Still, unless your opponent shows you their cards, you don’t know if you’ve made the optimal decision. Even if they do, you shouldn’t pay much attention to that, as you can fall into results-oriented thinking traps. You just need to understand whether your thought process would be correct in most scenarios with the information you had available.

Benefits

So, what are some benefits of giving up on good hands and making huge laydowns?

Preserving Chips

In general, knowing when to fold can save you lots of chips. It’s easy to fold when your hand is weak, so most players won’t waste their stack in those scenarios. 

However, if you can figure out when to give up with massive hands, you can preserve your bankroll for much longer. This is, by far, the biggest benefit that comes with giving up on good hands.

Presenting a Tight Image

When other opponents notice you’re folding with powerful cards, they’ll regard you as a tight player. While this isn’t beneficial on its own, you can turn it to your advantage if you realize what’s happening. Once you’ve been playing tight for a while, you can switch tactics. 

Your opponents will think you aren’t making reckless calls, so you can bluff more confidently. Timing is still vital since you’ll want to wait for a big enough pot that’s worth stealing. Fire a large and timely raise, but not unreasonably big as to oversell the bluff. Unless an opponent is on an extremely good hand, they’ll likely fold.

Of course, you must use this tactic sparingly and understand your opponents well before you try it.

Drawbacks

As with most poker situations, hero folds aren’t without their drawbacks.

Easy Way Out

One of the biggest pitfalls of folding good hands is that it can become a habit when a player faces a hard decision. Perhaps they’re unable to read their opponent, or maybe they can’t estimate their EV. In such a scenario, the easy way out is to fold, with an excuse that an opponent could hold the nuts.

You don’t want to avoid making tough decisions. If calling or raising is a positive EV play, you must realize this and act accordingly. Whenever you fold because you can’t make an educated decision, you’re spewing chips.

If you’re playing poker just for fun, you can still just fold if you feel like it. However, if you play poker online for real money on a regular basis, you must face the hard decisions if you’re going to improve.

Psyche Problems

Another thing you need to know about folding with strong hands is that it can be tough on your psyche. Keeping a clear head afterward is necessary to keep performing well. Besides, it’s easy to ask yourself why you’re even playing at all if you’re regularly making these folds with monster hands.

Even though it’s hard, try to maintain your composure. Talk yourself through your reasoning, and hopefully, you’ll see that you made the right play, even if it didn’t go your way. If you still feel tilted, it’s best just to end your session early to avoid unnecessary losses.

Fold Like a Hero

So, those are the key points to understand when it comes to hero folding. Now that you understand this concept, perhaps you’re in the mood to hit the tables. If so, register at Borgata Online and fire up an online poker game.Here, you can enjoy online poker tournaments and cash games across a wide range of poker variants. You’ll soon be making heroic laydowns — or, better still, forcing your opponents into doing so.