What Does Fold Mean in Poker?

In poker, fold means to withdraw from a hand. This is a common action when a player has a weak hand or has been raised by opponents, especially in no-limit games. Players are expected to protect their hands, which they may do by holding them or putting them on the table in front of them. This can help prevent other players from seeing their cards, although it is not required at showdown.

Some players choose to play with a short stack, which is less money than the maximum buy-in for a game. This allows them to make decisions without risking their entire stack before the flop. However, this is often not the optimal strategy, since it reduces a player’s chances of winning in the long run.

Generally, the person to the left of the dealer acts first in any betting round. Then, players in turn act clockwise. In no-limit or pot-limit games, a player may raise a previous bet by an amount that is at least equal to the current bet or higher.

In some games, the act of raising a previous bet by an amount that equals or exceeds the current bet is known as opening the action. This is a standard feature of many no-limit and pot-limit games, but it is not universally used. It may be optional in some games, and it is rarely used in heads-up pots where only two players are active at the start of a betting round.

A player who does not have sufficient remaining stake to call a bet may decide to go all in. This involves betting the remainder of their stake. It is possible to re-raise after going all in, but only up to the size of the original bet. If a player goes all in before a re-raise, they may not bet again on that round.

If a player has sufficient money to cover both the ante and the blind, they may raise or fold. In most public cardrooms, the re-raise must be at least the amount of the prior raise. However, some cardrooms allow a player to raise by an amount lower than the previous raise, but this is not common and is usually only permitted in certain types of games.

Some games are played with a kill hand, in which a player who wins the pot is forced to pay a kill blind. This is typically 1.5 times (a half kill) or doubled (a full kill) the amount of the big blind. This is an attempt to encourage players to play the hands they have and discourage them from folding early on. It is not commonly done in private games, but is common in casino and other poker room settings where staff handles the chips. In these settings, players who want to top up their stack between hands will often carry additional cash on them, so they can quickly “buy in” for another hand without having to wait for a staff member to fetch it.