Beautiful pain - Hero fold 💪

[Sos1l]

In poker, there are situations called bad beats and coolers — and we all fall into them sooner or later.
But there is a special kind of beauty in the character of a player who feels something is wrong and makes a hero fold.

Many of us don’t realize that the opponent might have a higher set, a straight that beats ours by one card, or a flush that is just slightly stronger.
It’s not about greed or overconfidence — it’s simply a bad beat, and we can’t see their cards.
But there are players who suspect they are behind… and still can’t fold.

Over the years, I’ve also learned to fold many strong hands (but of course, with a few exceptions).

For me, the hardest thing to fold is a set 🤤
And I also have a weakness for high flushes without the Ace — K, Q, J.
Among pocket hands, folding AA or KK is also extremely difficult, especially after you 3-bet preflop, played aggressively all the way, c-bet the flop, double-barreled — and then the river brings a straight, a flush, a paired board, or even gives your opponent two pair.
And on showdown… the funeral requiem for your bankroll begins.

If the RNG decides to set you up — there’s nowhere to escape.

But every time I lost with a strong hand, I asked myself:
“Did I really have no freedom of choice?
Could I not see that the opponent wasn’t bluffing?
Or did I simply refuse to accept that I was behind, because the truth was too painful and inconvenient?”

Sometimes I manage to fold.
But most of the time I don’t — convincing myself that it’s a bluff 😂

Even if you are a super-strong winning reg playing against a fish, it doesn’t mean you automatically win just because you have a flush.
Fish also make hands — full houses, better flushes, even quads.
And in those moments you must be able to fold.

I’ve seen very strong players who can detach from their hand and from the pot.
They make hero folds where most players blow up their entire stack:

KK, AA, QQ, top set, trips, the second-best straight, non-nut flush…
I even saw a video on YouTube where an Asian player folded quads 😵👏

I deeply respect such players.
Very few can control their emotions that well, resist the seductive influence of the pot, stay calm — and make cold, disciplined decisions.

I’m somewhere in the middle — not great, not terrible.
But one thing is crystal clear from practice:
you must learn to fold, because the best players win not by hero calls, but by hero folds.

And when there are players who dodge brutal bad beats like Neo dodges bullets in The Matrix — I know I must learn from them.
I must also become able to fold when it’s obvious I should… even if it’s incredibly difficult.

For me, the ability to fold is maturity and strength.

So tell me — how is it for you?
Can you fold strong hands?
Can you let go when it hurts, but you know it will hurt even more if you don’t?

 

[Mag_P1e]

I understand you perfectly; I've lost hundreds of tournaments with these K/Q-high flushes against the nuts. Especially when they're dealt to me in a blind vs blind spots , where folding is beyond my wild card range.

 

[Natox]

Hey there,
the ability to make big laydowns in poker is a crucial skill for taking your game to the next level. It requires trusting your instincts, recognizing patterns, and overcoming the human desire to see what your opponent has, while avoiding the costly mistake of folding a winning hand too often. Iam doing okay with that, but i still have to learn many things about patterns.

 

[dreamer13]

For many, a wife is like a book they've read, but poker is not, here the unknown beats the class.You need to know how to fall at the right moment.

 

[Sos1l]

Yes, BB vs SB is a world of its own.
You doubt the strength of his hand, he doubts the strength of yours, and it becomes a merciless shootout.
And the one who opened too loose is the one who will inevitably suffer.

[ I had a spot like this once on the BB with AA.
I was literally praying in my mind for someone to at least call the big blind or make a small raise.
The SB flat-called me.
I checked, he made a small bet — I called, trying not to scare him away.
On the turn, the SB goes for an overbet.
I re-raise, he shoves, I call.
And he turns over QQ.
(The whole board was just numbers)
A brutally painful cooler.
And the funniest part is — in his place, it could easily have been me]😆

When the cooler is for us, we are happy and take the win as something normal.
And when it’s against us, we nervously curse the RNG for its unfairness.

But still, it’s better to play correctly and lose than to enter a 3-bet pot with 27o and beat aces.
The work invested in learning will definitely pay off.

I’ve also lost a lot because of weaker flushes, weaker straights, or a bad kicker.
But I think narrowing the opening range to 10–15% is also a -EV decision.
I chose a tight style of 26–30% of hands, and not to be the most predictable player at the table.
Predictability is the easiest target for strong opponents.

I understand you perfectly; I've lost hundreds of tournaments with these K/Q-high flushes against the nuts. Especially when they're dealt to me in a blind vs blind spots , where folding is beyond my wild card range.

 

[tagece]

Yesterday I had to fold in a very uncomfortable way. I received ATs in UTG+1. The table was very loose and there was a maniac in the BB.
The UTG, who was playing many hands, made 2X. As it was the beginning of the tournament and the blinds were low, I raised to 5X, already expecting the BB to raise. The others folded and we were left with three in the hand.
He raised to 10X, which didn't scare me. The UTG called and so did I.
The flop came AT2. Two pairs for me. The UTG bet 2X again and I raised to 8X. They both called.
On the turn, a 3.
The UTG checked and I bet 10X, thinking I was ahead, would be called by the BB and the UTG would fold. But the BB went all in. I had seen that he usually called to hit the hand, and folded when he missed.
To my surprise, the UTG called. That's when I realized I was unlikely to have the best hand, and folded.
The UTG player opens A2 and the BB shows 45o(!). The crazy guy called preflop with that hand and then called again with a gutshot.
I lost a lot of chips, but I stayed alive in the tournament.

 

[Sos1l]

Hey there,
the ability to make big laydowns in poker is a crucial skill for taking your game to the next level. It requires trusting your instincts, recognizing patterns, and overcoming the human desire to see what your opponent has, while avoiding the costly mistake of folding a winning hand too often. Iam doing okay with that, but i still have to learn many things about patterns.

Indeed, to be able to fold, you first need to let go of the curiosity of “wanting to know what the opponent had.”
And of course, a loose call with QQ on an A-K board will sometimes be correct — maybe even more correct than incorrect.

And while learning to let go (to fold), you also must NOT lose your boldness — the ability to fight back on uncomfortable boards, to re-raise when you miss with AK or TT, and to play in a way that opponents understand:
you can fold,
but you won’t overfold;
you can get aggressive,
but you won’t overcall or open 35–40% like a maniac.

 

[Sos1l]

For many, a wife is like a book they've read, but poker is not, here the unknown beats the class.You need to know how to fall at the right moment.

For many, a wife is like a book they’ve already read — but poker is not.”
Very funny 😂👍 …but also meaningful 👏

Yes, unfortunately poker is a game where a very weak player can win a tournament, while a strong reg can bust out on the first hand.
But the most important thing is that over the long run, the distance shows who is who.

 

[Sos1l]

Yesterday I had to fold in a very uncomfortable way. I received ATs in UTG+1. The table was very loose and there was a maniac in the BB.
The UTG, who was playing many hands, made 2X. As it was the beginning of the tournament and the blinds were low, I raised to 5X, already expecting the BB to raise. The others folded and we were left with three in the hand.
He raised to 10X, which didn't scare me. The UTG called and so did I.
The flop came AT2. Two pairs for me. The UTG bet 2X again and I raised to 8X. They both called.
On the turn, a 3.
The UTG checked and I bet 10X, thinking I was ahead, would be called by the BB and the UTG would fold. But the BB went all in. I had seen that he usually called to hit the hand, and folded when he missed.
To my surprise, the UTG called. That's when I realized I was unlikely to have the best hand, and folded.
The UTG player opens A2 and the BB shows 45o(!). The crazy guy called preflop with that hand and then called again with a gutshot.
I lost a lot of chips, but I stayed alive in the tournament.

Yeah, maniacs are a very common phenomenon in poker, and we have to accept them as they are.
A maniac is someone who holds a slingshot but acts like he has a tank (a straight) or even a nuclear bomb (quads) 😂.

These players can ruin your stack because they play on pure luck and aggression.
But at the same time, they can take chips from everyone else and then bring their entire stack to you in one single hand.

They’re like the mushroom in Mario — you find it, wait for the moment, and when the time is right, you eat it and get stronger.
They’re like a power-up locked in an electric panel — you have to be careful and attack only when you’ve got real strength.

Great fold 👏👏.
I’ve also lost many times with two pairs, and I know that two pair is much more often a fold than a call against a shove.
For calling shoves, it’s better to start with a set — and play everything weaker with caution.