Fold
Give up this hand and your claim to the pot. Chips already put in stay in the pot; folding costs no extra chips.
A FIELD GUIDE FOR FOLDING WELL
Start with folding. In this winning-player snapshot, just 23 of every 100 dealt hands are voluntarily played before the flop. Aggression comes after choosing a hand to play.
Out of 100 dealt hands, before the flop
Folding is the normal outcome.
The other 4: called or limped, without raising preflop.
“Not voluntarily played” includes folds and free big-blind checks. It is not an exact fold rate.
TERMINOLOGY · START HERE
Four betting rounds: preflop is before the community cards; the flop brings three shared cards, the turn adds a fourth, and the river adds a fifth. Each new round starts its own betting action.
Give up this hand and your claim to the pot. Chips already put in stay in the pot; folding costs no extra chips.
Stay in the hand without adding chips, only when nothing more is owed. You can check your big blind preflop if nobody raised. A check is not a fold.
Match the amount owed. If the price is $5 and you already put in $2 this round, calling adds $3.
AKA flat-call. Calling the big blind before any raise is a limp.
Put in the first wager of a betting round. On the flop, if nobody has bet, putting in $5 is a bet.
“Betting” can mean wagering broadly. A bet and a raise are distinct actions.
Increase an existing wager. If someone bets $5 and you make it $15 total, you raised: the new price to match is $15.
If nobody has voluntarily entered preflop, the first raise is an open-raise (2-bet).
Raise after another player has raised. The first re-raise preflop is a 3-bet; a further raise is a 4-bet.
AKA raise a raise. “3-bet” describes its place in the sequence, not its size.
In a standard preflop sequence, the big blind already counts as the first live bet. Here is one illustrative sequence with a $1 big blind:
The forced starting bet is already in place.
Player A raises the price from $1 to $3.
Player B raises A’s raise. Another raise after this would be a 4-bet.
These dollar amounts teach the names, not recommended sizing. Calls and checks do not advance the bet number. On the flop, the count starts again: bet → raise (2-bet) → re-raise (3-bet).
CONTINUATION BET · C-BET · CBET
The previous aggressor is the last player who bet or raised on the prior round. A flop continuation bet is the last preflop raiser making the first bet on the flop. They do not have to act first: other players can check to them. The name describes the sequence, not the strength of their cards.
Same starting hand, three different actions: A raises preflop and B calls. Only these two players see the flop, and B acts first. A is the last preflop raiser.
A made a flop c-bet. If B folds to that bet, B has folded to a flop c-bet.
B is leading into the previous aggressor: a lead, often called a donk bet. It is not B’s c-bet. If A folds, it is a fold to a lead, outside the flop fold-to-c-bet statistic.
A made the c-bet; B check-raised it. If A now folds, A folded to a raise. That response is outside the flop fold-to-c-bet statistic.
What if B raised before the flop? If A opened, B 3-bet, and A called, B is the last preflop raiser. B’s first bet on the flop can be the c-bet instead. Track the last aggressor, not who opened originally.
In the tracker convention used here, a turn c-bet follows a flop c-bet (a second barrel), and a river c-bet follows both (a third barrel). Betting the turn after checking through the flop is a delayed c-bet, a different category.
Definitions: PokerStars actions, 3-bet naming, and PokerTracker’s continuation-bet and response statistics.
Checking is a zero-chip action when nobody has bet. A check-raise means you first check, an opponent bets, and you then raise. Tracker documentation says most players’ overall check-raise rate is 10% or lower; treat that as a rough population reference, not a target for every board.
THE 100-HAND VIEW
100 dealt hands · before the flop
23 voluntarily played = 19 raised + 4 without a raise.
ONE PUBLIC SNAPSHOT
77 of 100The displayed top-100 winning-player cohort put no voluntary preflop chips into 77 of every 100 hands, and voluntarily played the other 23. Folding hand after hand is normal. You do not have to enter a pot just to stay involved.
Of those 23 played hands, 19 included a preflop raise; the other 4 did not. So 19 ÷ 23 ≈ 83% means “raised when they chose to play.” Across all 100 dealt hands, they raised in just 19%.
The 77 includes folds and free big-blind checks, so it is not exactly 77 folds. VPIP / PFR is still 23 / 19: both use all dealt hands as the denominator.
This is a descriptive online-player snapshot, not a commandment. Position, stack depth, table size, rake, bet size, and opponents all change correct frequencies.
Only the times facing a flop c-bet. Recall: this is the last preflop raiser betting the flop. A lead by the caller or a raise is a different action. Revisit the examples ↑
Picture 100 separate decisions facing a flop c-bet: at a 46% fold rate, 46 end in a fold and 54 in a call or raise. This does not mean folding 46% of all flops seen, or 46% of all dealt hands. The 100 is an illustration, not the source’s reported sample size.
The turn’s 43% and river’s 50% each use their own occasions facing a c-bet on that round. These are separate groups of decisions, not the same 100 hands shrinking from column to column.
Out of all dealt hands; includes free big-blind checks.
Think 46 folds per 100 flop c-bets faced.
Think 43 folds per 100 turn c-bets faced.
Think 50 folds per 100 river c-bets faced.
Making a c-bet and facing one are different roles. The flop’s 60% means c-bets made among opportunities to make one. The 46% means folds among occasions facing someone else’s c-bet. They are different questions, not percentages that should add to 100.
Preflop’s 56% also has its own group: times facing a preflop 3-bet. The 83% is among voluntarily played hands, while 8.9% uses eligible 3-bet opportunities. The “bet or raise frequency” rows are the source’s separate aggression-frequency measure; do not combine them with fold-to-c-bet rates.
Snapshot: top-100 winning-player view on Bluffaces’ public MDA page, retrieved August 19, 2026. The page says its aggregate covers the prior 12 months, but does not expose the hand count or every active filter in its readable text. “Afq” combines bets and raises; it is not a raise-only stat.
ALL 169 STARTING HANDS
The dashed line splits rank 84 from 85—the middle of 169 hand classes, not 50% win probability.
THE “COIN FLIP” HAS A FAVORITE
QQ ≈ 53%against ace-king suited in a direct all-in matchupThese figures assume random opposing cards and no one folds. Real decisions depend on position, ranges, stack depth, rake, and how well a hand realizes its equity after the flop. The 10-player values are win percentages from a 1.5-billion-trial simulation in which all ten players reach showdown; ties are reported separately by the source.
OUTS + POT ODDS
You have an open-ended straight draw. Any four or nine completes it: four of each rank = 8 outs.
| Draw | Outs | Next card | By the river |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gutshot straight | 4 | 9% | 16% |
| Two overcards | 6 | 13% | 24% |
| Open-ended straight | 8 | 17% | 31% |
| Flush draw | 9 | 19% | 35% |
| Flush + gutshot | 12 | 26% | 45% |
| Flush + open-ender | 15 | 32% | 54% |
“Next card” is outs ÷ 47 unseen cards. “By the river” counts both cards and only applies when you are all-in or sure to see both.
Fast estimate. Eight outs ≈ 16%; exact here is 8 ÷ 47 = 17.0%.
Use only when you are guaranteed to see both cards, such as an all-in call.
Include the old pot, their bet, and your call in the final pot.
“Clean” is doing work. An out may improve your hand but also complete a flush, fill a full house, or leave an opponent with a better straight. Discount doubtful outs. Future betting and implied odds can also change a multi-street decision.
BET-SIZING SHORTCUTS
| Bet size | Caller needs | Pure bluff needs |
|---|---|---|
| ⅓ pot | 20% | 25% |
| ½ pot | 25% | 33% |
| ⅔ pot | 29% | 40% |
| ¾ pot | 30% | 43% |
| Pot | 33% | 50% |
| 2× pot | 40% | 67% |
Caller needs = bet ÷ (pot + 2 × bet): the minimum equity to break even on a call. Pure bluff needs = bet ÷ (pot + bet): how often they must fold. Bigger bets demand more from both sides.
A common online cash baseline is 2–3bb when opening first in. Live games often use 4–5bb. If the table calls too widely, enlarge for value—not from frustration.
Fewer players remain and you act later after the flop. Tighten early; widen late. The same cards can be a fold up front and a raise on the button.
A larger 3-bet can reduce the positional advantage of the player who will act after you. Stack depth and the original raise still control the exact size.
There are 6 combos of a pocket pair, 4 of one suited hand, and 12 offsuit. “They can have AK” is sixteen combinations before blockers.
That is about 12%, so calling large raises only to “set mine” needs sufficient stack depth and likely future payoff.
Choose a size for the range and board, not because your exact hand feels nervous. Randomly betting bigger only with value makes you readable.
THE PREFLOP HABIT CHECK
VPIP · VOLUNTARILY PUT MONEY IN POT
The percentage of dealt hands in which you voluntarily put chips in before the flop: limping, calling, or raising. Forced blinds and antes alone do not count; checking your big blind for free does not count either.
PFR · PREFLOP RAISE
The percentage of dealt hands in which you make any preflop raise, including an open-raise, 3-bet, or later re-raise. A hand counts once per statistic, even if you raise several times. Every PFR hand also counts toward VPIP.
ILLUSTRATION · 100 DEALT HANDS
22 / 1922 entered, 19 raised, 3 entered without raising. Those last three hands included a voluntary call or limp but no later preflop raise. The gap is 3 percentage points; PFR ÷ VPIP = 19 ÷ 22 ≈ 86%.
Keep PFR fairly close behind VPIP as a general selective, aggressive habit. A wide gap, such as an illustrative 40 / 10, is a prompt to review excessive limping or calling. The earlier sourced snapshot is 23 / 19; this 22 / 19 example is only arithmetic.
Do not force the ratio to 100%. Profitable calls exist, especially when defending the big blind. A small gap alone does not prove good play. Review hands by position, game format, stack depth, rake, opponents, and sample size.
A VPIP of 20–26% means 74–80% of hands have no voluntary preflop investment. That is an illustrative cash-game range, not a universal target or an exact fold rate: a free big-blind check is also outside VPIP. Table size and position matter.
When everyone folds to you outside the blinds, raise or fold is a useful beginner default. Open-limping means just calling one big blind. Small-blind limps and some tournament strategies are exceptions; use a range suited to the game.
A button (BTN) opening range should usually be wider than an under-the-gun (UTG) range. Figures such as 45% versus 15% are illustrations, not a mandatory 3:1 ratio. Count only chances to open when comparing opening ranges.
Facing an open-raise, a 3-bet-or-fold approach is a useful simplification in many raked cash games because you will act out of position. Flat-calling can be correct in some games and stack configurations; “never call” is too absolute.
WWSF means Won When Saw Flop: hands won after seeing a flop ÷ hands that saw a flop. A 45–50% reference band is a heuristic, not a required target. Continuation-bet when board, ranges, and opponents support it; do not bet every flop just to improve a stat.
Medium pairs can often check to control the pot and reach showdown. An overpair is a pocket pair above every board card; it often bets for value, but not automatically large. Draws can make semi-bluffs; pure bluffs need not have a draw. Reassess strong raises using the board and opponent’s range.
Definitions: PokerTracker and Poker Copilot. Examples are teaching arithmetic; the position percentages and WWSF band from the supplied cheat sheet are context-dependent heuristics, not measured results or solver outputs. Check frequencies over a meaningful sample, not a single session.
BUTTON VS SMALL BLIND
BUTTON (BTN) · THE DEALER SEAT
You see every opponent’s check or bet before you decide. That is why the button plays the most hands, bets the most, and can take free cards or check back cheaply.
SMALL BLIND (SB) · THE OPPOSITE SEAT
You are already ½ big blind in, but you must act before everyone on the flop, turn, and river, and the big blind is still behind you preflop. It is the hardest seat to win from, so it checks more and enters fewer pots.
Assumes: 6-max online cash game, 100 big-blind (bb) stacks, one opponent after the flop. Bet counting: preflop, the blinds are the first bet, an open-raise is the 2-bet, and a re-raise is the 3-bet. After the flop, the first bet is the bet, a raise is the 2-bet, and a re-raise is the 3-bet. These are starting defaults, not solver output.
| Action | Button | Small blind |
|---|---|---|
| Check | Not available. Only the big blind can check preflop; everyone else must fold, call, or raise. | Not available. You can “complete” the extra ½bb when folded to you, but a beginner default is raise or fold. Completing in an already-limped pot with suited or connected hands is fine. |
| Call | Don’t limp first in. Calling one raise is fine because you act last on every later street: small pairs (22–99), suited connectors (65s–JTs), and suited aces (A2s–A5s). Fold weak offsuit hands such as K9o. | Rarely. You would play out of position with the big blind still able to squeeze behind you. Flat only some pairs and suited broadways against a late open, or in games with very little rake. |
| Raise (2-bet) | Folded to you: open to about 2.5bb with roughly 40–50% of hands: any pair, any suited ace, most suited kings and broadways, suited connectors down to 54s, offsuit broadways, and A8o+. Only the two blinds are left, and both are out of position. | Folded to you: raise to about 3bb with roughly 40–45% of hands. Only the big blind is left, but they will have position on you after the flop, so size a little bigger than the button. |
| 3-bet | Facing an open, re-raise to about 3× their raise. Value: QQ+ and AK, adding JJ and AQ against late-seat opens. Bluffs: a few suited hands such as A5s and A4s. In position you can call more and 3-bet less. | Your main weapon facing an open: re-raise to about 4× their raise (10–12bb against a 2.5bb button open). Against the button: TT+, AJ+, KQ, plus suited aces and broadways. Against early-seat opens, tighten to QQ+, AK, and AQs. |
| All-in | With 100bb, only AA and KK (often QQ and AK) when facing a 4-bet. With about 15bb or less, small raises give way to push-or-fold charts. | Same at 100bb: AA and KK, sometimes QQ and AK, facing a 4-bet. Short-stacked and folded to you, the small blind can shove a wide range because only the big blind can call. |
| Action | Button | Small blind |
|---|---|---|
| Check | As the preflop raiser, check back on low connected boards that hit the caller (7♥6♥5♣) and with medium hands you are happy to take to showdown. With a draw, checking back takes a free card. | Your default. Check most hands to the preflop raiser. Even as the 3-bettor, check more often on low, connected boards that suit the button’s calling range. |
| Bet | Continuation-bet small (about ⅓ pot) on high, dry boards (A♠8♦3♣, K♥7♣2♦) where you hold more strong hands. Bet bigger (½–¾ pot) on wet boards with value hands and strong draws. | As the 3-bettor, c-bet about ⅓ pot on ace-high or king-high boards. Leading into the preflop raiser is rare; keep it for boards that clearly favor your range. |
| Call | Facing a bet: call with top pair, second pair on dry boards, and draws with 8+ outs. A half-pot bet asks for 25% equity; a flush draw has about 35% if you see both the turn and river. | Facing a c-bet: continue with pairs and good draws, and fold hands with no pair and no draw. Out of position you realize less of your equity, so fold more marginal hands than you would on the button. |
| Raise (2-bet) | Raise for value with two pair or better, and semi-bluff with strong draws (flush draw plus overcard, open-ender plus pair). Raising one pair mostly folds worse hands and gets called by better ones. | Check-raise with sets, two pair, and strong draws. Most players check-raise about 10% of the time or less; do not do it with medium pairs. |
| 3-bet | A flop re-raise shows a very strong hand: a set, the nuts, or a huge draw. Facing one with a single pair, fold. | Only with a set or better, or a 15-out combo draw. Against unknown low-stakes players, a flop 3-bet is almost never a bluff. |
| All-in | Stack-to-pot ratio (SPR) decides. In a 3-bet pot (about 23bb in the middle, 89bb behind: SPR ≈ 4), an overpair or top pair with a good kicker can commit. In a single-raised pot (SPR ≈ 18), you want two pair or better. | Same SPR logic. Low SPR makes committing from out of position simpler: in a 3-bet pot, QQ+ or AK on an ace-high flop can go all-in. |
| Action | Button | Small blind |
|---|---|---|
| Check | Check back medium hands (second pair, weak top pair) to reach showdown cheaply, and draws that want a free river card. | Still the default. Before you check, decide: check-call with hands that beat bluffs, check-fold with hands that do not. |
| Bet | Bet again (“barrel”) when the turn improves you, or brings a scare card for the caller such as an ace or king. Give up with air that has no outs. | Bet again after your flop c-bet with strong value or a strong draw. Lead out when the turn completes a draw you are more likely to hold than they are. |
| Call | Call with hands that beat bluffs, such as top pair. Slow down when the turn completes the obvious flush or straight and a passive player suddenly bets big. | Bluff-catch with top pair against aggressive players. Against passive players a big turn bet is usually a strong hand, so fold one pair more often. |
| Raise (2-bet) | Raise only with two pair or better, or a nut draw. A turn raise puts a large share of your stack in; one pair should call or fold. | A turn check-raise says two pair or better. Use it with your strongest hands, not as a bluff against players who never fold. |
| 3-bet | The nuts or close to it. With 100bb stacks, a turn 3-bet usually means all-in by the river. | The nuts or close to it. If you are not happy getting all-in, call or fold instead. |
| All-in | If a normal ½–¾ pot bet would leave less than one pot-size bet behind, just go all-in with strong hands; there is no point saving a small amount for the river. | Facing an all-in with a draw, use one card of equity: a flush draw is about 20% (9 ÷ 46), enough only if the shove is about ⅓ pot or smaller. |
| Action | Button | Small blind |
|---|---|---|
| Check | Check back hands that can win at showdown but will not get called by worse, such as medium pairs. Betting them only gets called by better. | Default with medium-strength hands: check and let them name the price. Check-fold weak pairs to big bets from passive players. |
| Bet | Value-bet when worse hands will call; bluff with missed draws that have no showdown value, when the story makes sense. Use ½–¾ pot for value and about ⅓ pot for thin value against players who call too much. | Lead when the river improves you and they would likely check behind. A small “block bet” (about ¼ pot) with a medium hand can set a cheaper price than they would bet. |
| Call | Price check: against a half-pot bet you need to win 25% of the time; against a pot-size bet, 33%. Call when they bluff at least that often. | Same arithmetic. A good price does not help if their range is all strong hands: against passive players who rarely bluff, fold more. |
| Raise (2-bet) | Value only, with a hand that beats most of the hands they would bet. At low stakes, river raises are almost never bluffs. | Check-raise the river only with the nuts or close to it. When a passive player check-raises you on the river, one pair should usually fold. |
| 3-bet | The nuts only. If you cannot beat the hands that would raise again, call instead. | The nuts only. |
| All-in | Shove with the nuts when they can still call. Big all-in bluffs are an advanced play that needs cards blocking their best hands. | Same. Never shove a medium hand: it folds out worse hands and gets called by better ones. |
These defaults combine common published 6-max opening charts, the pot-odds math in sections 04 and 05, and widely taught low-stakes adjustments. Real ranges move with rake, stack depth, the opponent, and the exact board.
THE SMALLEST BET THAT WORKS
A bet has two jobs: fold out weak hands, or get paid by worse hands. Weak hands fold to a small bet. Strong hands do not fold to a big one. So past the size that folds weak hands, extra chips mostly buy one thing: a bigger loss when a strong hand calls.
ILLUSTRATION · A $100 POT
| Your bluff | They fold | Won when they fold | Lost when they call | Average result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50 (½ pot) | 50% | +$50 | −$25 | +$25 |
| $100 (pot) | 50% | +$50 | −$50 | $0 |
| $200 (2× pot) | 50% | +$50 | −$100 | −$50 |
Same folds, four times the risk. In real games a bigger bet folds a few more medium hands, so the gap is smaller than this. Against beginners who call too much, extra size rarely buys extra folds.
A pure bluff must work bet ÷ (pot + bet) of the time: 25% at ⅓ pot, 50% at pot, 67% at 2× pot. Same pot, much higher bar.
A hand with no pair and no draw folds to ⅓ pot about as readily as to 2× pot. You do not need to pay extra for that fold.
Two pair, sets, and straights call or raise any bet. Against them a big bet does not protect you; it only makes the loss bigger.
A flush draw hits the next card about 19% of the time (9 ÷ 47). A half-pot bet asks for 25%, so the draw already has the wrong price without a giant bet.
With the best hand, an oversized bet folds the hands that would have paid you and leaves only the hands that beat you. If nothing worse calls the size, bet smaller.
Go large when you are very strong or have nothing (not in between), when stacks are short so the next bet is all-in anyway, or against players who call any size: then bet big for value, never as a bluff.
THE BEGINNER’S LOOP
Before acting, ask four questions: Where am I sitting? What hands can each of us have? What price is this bet offering? What will I do on the next card?
SOURCES + LIMITS
This page is educational, not a real-time strategy engine. “Pro” is represented by the source’s top-100 winning-player cohort, not by all professionals everywhere. Starting-hand percentages are raw preflop showdown win rates, not guarantees, solver ranges, or expected profit. Values are rounded for display.
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