I am going to start a little series called #learnpoker, where I will write small articles that explain basic concepts in a simple way. I have seen many poker players on steem lately and I hope some will join me so we can turn this place into a sub-community of great poker content.

Poker is all about folding. Conquer your inner Schweinehund! (a.k.a. your inner devil)

In poker, folding is the most important thing you need to learn. If you fold well, you can basically not be beat. Playing your hand when you are strong comes more natural to people. It's easy to bet big with a strong hand, but it is hard to make a great hand and look forward to a nice win, only to understand that your hand is 2nd best. This is why mastering this skill of re-evaluating and adapting to new realities is the most important skill you must master in poker if you want to do well.

The other day I was sitting in my local 2/5 game. If you are new to poker, this means the minimum bet is $5 and people usually sit down with $500-$1000. If this seems like too much money, do not worry, the concepts we are talking about here apply to any level.

I'd like to start by telling you a story... It was a Thursday night at Harrah's Chester in Philadelphia and this was the only 2/5 table in the room. To be frank, it wasn't a very good game.

This particular hand is a straddled hand - one player bet an extra blind - so now the blinds are 2-5-10 and everyone folded to me in the CO position (CO is a late position just before the dealer, see graphic below or, if you need a bit more explanation, you can visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betting_in_poker).

I look down at Tc9c (ten and nine of clubs). T9 is not a very good hand, even if suited, however I am in late position. Late position is important in poker because the other players have to act before I do. This gives me an information advantage and information is what this game is all about. So, even though my hand is kind of bad, in this situation it is actually pretty decent. With this position and no previous action, I will open - or raise as the first player in the pot - any time I get the chance. One reason why I do this is because the guy on the button will have to fold most of his hands and this will leave me in the best possible position.

My standard open raise in a 2-5 game is 4 times the blinds. Because this is a straddled hand, the blinds are 2 + 5 + 10 (pot is $17) so I open with a $40 raise.

The button, the big blind, and the straddler all call me. That is really bad news. Now my pretty decent hand has become a crappy one and I will have to hit big in order to be able to continue. There goes $40...

The Flop is:

It is an A 9 T rainbow (this means it has all different suits).

Bingo!!! I hit two pair. I almost certainly have the best hand now.

Making two pair is really hard, the odds are 49 to 1 or about 2%. For anyone to make an even stronger pair is even harder, especially now that I have two cards of the board covered. The chances of anyone having a set are really low because I have the T and the 9. Therefore, it is 1/2 as likely that anyone will have TT or 99 and AA is unlikely because someone with AA would have raised me pre-flop.

I have the best hand now! Back up the truck!

Let's get some value.

Everyone is checking and it is up to me. 4 players are in this pot, all of whom paid $40 for the privilege to see the flop. The pot is now $160.

In this situation, the board is fairly dry (not many draws - only an inside straight draw is possible). Since my opponents likely have much weaker hands than I do, I like to bet about 1/2 of the pot. In my current situation, this keeps weaker hands in play. At other times, it allows me to make cheaper bluffs.

Back to the current hand... I throw out 3 green and 2 red chips for a $85 bet and now I fully expect to take down this pot.

The button folds. The SB player thinks for a while and then makes it $285 - not what I expected! Normally players do these check-raises with draws and monsters. All of the others fold - phew! Now I have to make a decision. My opponent covers me and I have over $1k in my stack.

I take a look at my opponent. He seems to be in his late 40's or early 50's, he has a big stack, and seems to be playing a straight forward game. Even though this is not my usual poker room, I know many players in the Philly area and he is the only one at the table who I don't know. He looks to me like he's the type of player who plays for fun but plays a relatively solid and simple game and usually wins that way.

Lets take a look at his range. I would guess a player like him would call a pre-flop raise in his position with:

• Any pair
• Any suited Ax
• Any broadway combo (any two cards T or higher)
• Sometimes some additional suited connectors (like 78s)

Given his range, he likely has no draws other than the occasional 78. However, this is rare. Also, players like him would probably just call with a hand like that. So, he is either full of crap with an Ax hand or he actually hit two pair or a set. The only thing that makes sense for his line is:

• A9 or AT
• 99 or TT

It is highly unlikely that he has either of these hands because I have T9. However, this is the only range I can think of that makes sense with his line.

My first reaction when he raised was, "Yeah, the fish is going broke!" But now that I think this through for a few minutes, it becomes blatantly clear that I cannot be good here.

I fold.

When he check-raised, I got really lucky. If he had just bet three times in a row, he would have most likely gotten most of my stack, if not all of it. But it is really hard to feel "lucky." I have lost this hand - I lost $125 and I had to fold a monster. I had sat patiently for hours, making good plays waiting for my big hand of the night. Finally, I got that monster, which was disguised, and I was ready to fire. I did not come here to fold monsters.

But those are just silly thoughts, they are not reality. What actually happened in that hand was that I DID NOT lose $1200. I was supposed to lose a lot here. The fact that he allowed me to fold so easily is like winning $800-$1000 from him. He was supposed to have the chips that are still in my stack.

Going through this logical analysis, the situation might look very simple. However, when you are sitting at the table this logical approach becomes much harder. When you are sitting there, it is very emotional. When you get a big hand, it is very exciting. You brain goes crazy and you become happy. You immediately begin thinking about winning the hand and how much you can and will win. Once you get into this mindset, it is very hard to let go of it because learning that you will lose is painful. As in ACTUALLY painful. They are just thoughts but, trust me, they hurt. This is why your mind is playing tricks on you. If you simply ignore the fact that you might lose, you can stay in your happy bubble. It is much easier for your brain to think about winning a big hand and going all in. Therefore, most players will simply avoid thinking of all the bad possibilities. It is much easier to just think about what a great hand you have. This is not a conscious process - it is subconscious and automatic. The animal inside of you likes to take over when you are under emotional pressure. Here, your smart human brain needs to stay in charge. Getting raised is like someone pulling a gun on you. It puts you into fight or flight mode.

In addition, when you fold here, you automatically feel like you are giving away all of the money you invested in the pot. Logically, that makes no sense. It was never your pot... but it still feels like your money. Boiling it down - folding feels like throwing away money. What if you are wrong? What if you have the best hand? Maybe you will get lucky? These are the things your "Innerer Schweinehund" will tell you. It literally means your "inner swine dog" but it's a German way of saying the little devil in your head.

You have to beat that little devil inside your head and this is why it is hard to playing poker well. It's not because the math is hard. Most players are able to understand the mechanics fairly well after a bit of study. It's about you and conquering your emotions.

I wish you good luck with the cards you are dealt and the emotional strength to analyze things truthfully when you play.