The art of folding

Folding at the appropriate times is vital if you want to be successful. It doesn't always feel good, though. Folding a good hand when the price is just too steep to stay in the pot can be like taking cod liver oil. Actually, I've never had cod liver oil, but I'm reasonably sure it doesn't have a delightful taste!

Tonight the hand that hurt me to fold was trip 2s. I was dealt 6h 2s and the flop came 2c Th 2h. On the betting round after the flop, I doubled the bet when it was my turn to act, then called a reraise. The turn card was the jack of hearts, giving a flush possibility. The table checked around to the button, who bet a whopping $38,400. That was just too rich for my blood; not only was it likely that the button also had a 2, making my 6 kicker vulnerable, I couldn't ignore the flush possibility. I would have had to go all in to call. So I folded, with regret. The button's hole cards were 7 2 offsuit, giving him trip 2s; he raked in a pot worth $118,000. If I'd hung in, I'd have split the pot with him, since the river was a king.

The very next hand, though, I made an ace high flush -- the hard way. I was dealt 5s Ac, and the last four community cards were clubs. I won a pot worth $38,800, and decided to call it a night.

delta: $12,334
balance: $376,227