{"id":1373938,"date":"2021-10-12T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.pokercoaching.com\/?p=1373938"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:36:14","slug":"who-is-folding-pairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pokercoaching.com\/blog\/who-is-folding-pairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Folding Pairs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you can find a guy who is folding pairs,\nyou can collect tens of big blinds without a hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can find a guy who isn\u2019t folding pairs, you can collect much, much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utilizing The Threebet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most threebet bluffing strategies<\/a> these days work to isolate a person who flats threebets too much. It is increasingly rare to find a player who will fold to a threebet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In those cases, when one is working with a\nlight threebet, the focus is on who folds their high cards postflop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can find a person who is getting\noverly involved preflop and isolate them on the flop, they\u2019re in real trouble\nif they just fold every time they miss. They\u2019re getting their chips plucked\nwhen the other players have nothing. They need to develop a tighter opening\nrange, a checkraise, or a donk bet. Most low-to-mid stakes players wouldn\u2019t\nknow where to start if they were told to do this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is another gear that poker players can engage in when they\u2019re not isolating players who will fold their high cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It starts with a simple question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho can fold pairs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Can Fold Pairs? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is actually rare to find someone who can\nfold pairs at low-to-mid stakes. Many players at these limits are consumed with\nthe worry that they might fold the winning hand. If they call and you have the\ngoods, they can just nod and muck the hand. No one gets to see what they called\nwith. No harm, no foul. They\u2019re not used to winning anyway, so that doesn\u2019t\nbother them. They just don\u2019t want someone to show them a bluff, and then have\neveryone staring at them like they\u2019re an idiot. They don\u2019t want to go home\nworried they folded the winner when it was right there in front of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these reasons, players should focus on relentlessly value betting most of the time. Folding percentages actually go down as people get further into the hand. Loss aversion is a real thing, no one understands sunk cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are players who can fold\npairs. If you can find them, it opens up some bluffing options that aren\u2019t\nnormal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What To Look For<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How can you identify players who fold\npairs? The secret lies in watching the other hands. If you see a player get to\nthe turn or river and face multiple barrels then fold, you have a likely\ncandidate. Typically, people call on the flop with at least a pair. This is\ndoubly true with a turn call. If they\u2019re getting through those streets and then\nfolding later in the hand, that is someone who has the ability to read hands.\nGenerally, people don\u2019t double and triple barrel bluff enough, so they\u2019re right\nthe vast majority of the time when they\u2019re folding on those later streets.\nThey\u2019re just not going to be right when they\u2019re folding versus you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also identify these players based on their appearance. Guys who dress like poker pros might actually be poker pros. There\u2019s a reason so many of us wear the sweatpants, hoodies, and hats, we get lazy after we\u2019ve spent so many years living out of a casino without a boss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a guy is dressed like that, it\u2019s\npossible he\u2019s made somewhat of a living over the years playing cards. He\u2019s\nlikely learned that many players don\u2019t have the gall to bluff. He could be\nfolding pairs later in the hand. Again, watch the hands you\u2019re not involved in\nbefore you make this assumption, but know that this is a marker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes serious recreational players are capable of folding pairs. They present themselves in a different fashion than the pros, however. A player who has that kind of discipline postflop is the type of person who likely has discipline in other facets of their life. You\u2019ll notice many of these guys are spookily lean, clean cut, and keep their chips in neat order. They\u2019re calm and measured in their speech. They\u2019re kind to the floor staff. They have no bone to pick with anybody, they\u2019ve mastered themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late Folds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now, once you\u2019ve seen a few late folds, you\ncan start setting up your double and triple barrels more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should start with a couple different\nboards for this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is any board where a player would\nlikely raise with their best hands. A board such as 9d-6s-5s, for example, is a\ndangerous board to smooth call on. You\u2019ll see many players raise their sets or\ntwo pair on that board. If they didn\u2019t threebet you preflop, it\u2019s unlikely they\nhave an overpair. Their range is capped at one pair, and not a great one.\nThey\u2019ll occasionally have the draw, but most of the time they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that board starts developing in a way\nthat is not favorable to the pairs on it, then you should keep firing. Sevens\nand eights are fair game. Spades, a little less so, but you can still lean on them.\nOver cards are great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another board you can look for is one where\na second overcard comes to the second and third pair. This is a board many\npeople don\u2019t consider a bluffing board, but it works well. Many players have\nawoken to the fact that people like to double barrel bluff when an over card\ncomes, but they won\u2019t see this one as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a board like Kh-6d-5d. You fire a continuation bet<\/a> and your opponent calls. The turn comes a Jack of clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 8-7 just missed, the diamond draw missed, and the sixes and fives now have another overcard to deal with. This is a good time to fire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Last Eventuality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s discuss one more eventuality\nthat will come up if you play in a cardroom enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find that some guys just cannot\nfold a pair if their life depended on it. They can\u2019t handle not knowing if they\ngot bluffed. You\u2019ll identify this guy by noticing he never gets to the river\nand folds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a tournament, you should lock up a 75%\npot-sized bet versus these people, but if you\u2019re playing cash and you have\ninfinite time, you need to start experimenting with overbets. You\u2019ll be amazed\nhow many of these people will call when you value bet 1.8X pot on the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How should you balance? Well, this guy\nisn\u2019t going to notice, but if you want to keep him calling, I would start\nworking in overbet bluffs versus the pair folders on those boards we discussed.\nAt some point, you will get caught. People pay special attention when an\noverbet is called in a normal game. If your mark who can\u2019t fold a pair sees you\nbluffed once with an overbet he\u2019ll keep calling for ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope these tips have been beneficial to you and your game. Good luck to all of you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you can find a guy who is folding pairs, you can collect tens of big blinds without a hand. 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