Fold Equity in Online Poker: How to Understand and Execute It

As a poker player, you have probably come across the term fold equity. In this piece, we are going to explain what fold equity in online poker means and why it is important for pros. Besides, we provide some mathematics to help you calculate the fold equity.

For starters, fold equity in online poker refers to the chances you have of causing your opponent to fold. In addition, it is about the gain expected due to the opponent folding to your bets. So, technically speaking, if you think your opponent will fold 25% of the time in a $200 pot, you have $50 in fold equity. If your opponent folds literally every time, you will never lose, thus, you have 100% equity.

However, experts at online gambling news sites in Nigeria argue fold equity can have a broader meaning. It includes your game plan that affects the probability of your opponent folding at any time in poker. But, even if you get to understand it thoroughly it will not all of a sudden let you turn water into wine. Instead, once you start factoring in the likelihood of your game plan of getting your opponent to fold, you will be in the driver’s seat. Okay, let us first discuss why fold equity matters.

Fold Equity as a Way to Win in Online Poker

When playing you can win the pot in two ways. These may read as the following:

1. To have the best hand at showdown.
2. You can win the pot immediately by having your opponent fold.

Obviously, our interest here is in the second way, which brought up the concept of fold equity. It can win you pots that you have no business even being in the first place.

Most likely you have been in this situation of considering the chance that your opponent will fold to a bet. Thus, you have already employed the concept of fold equity without realising it at the time. Overall, your opponent’s chances to fold automatically increase your opportunity to win the entire pot as opposed to just showing down the best hands.

How to Execute Fold Equity in Online Poker

As for now, you can get your head around the concept and its meaning. But, more importantly, you need to know how to use it in your future poker games at the best online poker sites in Nigeria. Well, for that matter here is what you have to do.

Read Hands

The first half of fold equity is about the likelihood that the opponent may fold. It can only be estimated based on the reads of opponents or their previous actions. Reading may consist of monitoring your opponent and identifying a pattern, as well as understanding reactions to your raises. In order for you to collect all that data, it is crucial to have incredible hand-reading skills.

Semi-Bluff

The second half of fold equity is about your own actions and calculation of the hands you have against the total current pot. Simply if you do not bet or raise, your opponent will have zero chance of folding, which will diminish your fold equity. To put your opponent in a folding mode, you need to incorporate more semi-bluffs into your play.

Is it your first time coming across the concept of semi-bluff? No worries. Here is our guide on the best poker bluffing strategies. In brief, you frequently face a situation where you need to raise or fold in poker. But, with semi-bluffs, you wield fold equity to your advantage not letting your opponent be the one to profit. Last but not least, how can you calculate fold equity on paper?

The Math of Fold Equity

One way of wielding fold equity is assigning percentages to the likely outcomes. These percentages have to be calculated on spot, which of course needs a good brain. Here is an example of a game and try to imagine you are taking part in it.

Let us say you hold A♣ 6♥ playing against an opponent who has 2♥ 2♦. In the meantime, the flop is 9♠ 7♣ 3♦. At this point, your pot equity is 31.5% while your opponent’s pot equity is 68.5%. This means that if no further bets were put in place and both of you tuned up your hands, your chances of winning are only 31.5%.

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However, the game is still on, and there are many hands that you may be playing next. Thus, we may presume that your opponent’s chances of folding are 70%. In this way 70% x 68.5% = 47.95% which is basically the fold equity. This is the kind of math you have to do when playing in order to wield the fold equity in your favor. If you like our simple guide and you wish to try to implement your strategies at some poker games, just check out our Ignition Casino.