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Need help explaining fold equity to a student

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  1. Jennifear Jennifear is offline

    Niagara Falls, NY
    United States

    Posts: 10,222
    Joined: Nov 05

    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 1:34pm)

    I fully understand what Fold Equity is, but I would like to explain it to a friend in the best possible terms. I do well in giving examples, but I'd like to give him something he could take notes on.

    - He is a somewhat profitable lower limit player with a good understanding of the basic premises of the game.
    - He is better at the creative/people side of poker than the math side of poker, so a detailed math explanation might be somewhat useless.

    Any help would be appreciated.
  2. MadTiger MadTiger is offline

    Akron, OH
    United States

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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 1:46pm) in reply to Jennifear

    Table Image/dynamics + Position + Bet size + Cards = Fold Equity

    You raise,and you are representing a big hand. Do you have one? Your table image, and superior position (hopefully not OOP!), and your cardsallcontributeto increasing your fold equity.

    You know what helped me to understand fold equity to the utmost? This situation:

    When I had KQ suited or something like that, and raised. The remaining player folded, but showed his hand.

    Guess what was shown? KQ suited, of course. The same hand I raised, hefolded.(Also an object lesson in the Gap Concept. He needed a "bigger hand" to call.)

    Myfold equity was great. We both had the same equity, asfar as PokerStove goes. But my table image, etc. contributed to him thinking I had thebest of it.
  3. Cyclone15 Cyclone15 is offline

    Washington, DC
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 1:46pm) in reply to Jennifear

    Well if he understands the general term "equity" then he should have no problem understanding what fold equity is.
  4. Cyclone15 Cyclone15 is offline

    Washington, DC
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 1:48pm) in reply to Cyclone15

    Mad Tiger those are all factors that may affect fold equity in a given situation, not fold equity itself.

    Fold equity= chips you gain when other person folds * % of the time other person folds
  5. epicatc epicatc is offline

    New York City, NY
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 2:01pm) in reply to Cyclone15

    I would describe fold equity as the ability to make another player fold if you go all-in. Your fold equity is determined by: the size of your stack in relation to the other person's (or people's) stack(s), and the blinds. If you go all-in for enough that it would put a serious dent in the other person's stack, or with enough chips that he doesn't have the odds to call with any two, you have fold equity. If you go all-in with so few chips that it wouldn't even hurt your opponent to call and lose, or with such high blinds or so few chips that he has the odds to call with any two, you have no fold equity. As far as examples go: let's say you're HU at the end of a SNG. The blinds are high, 200/400. If you have 3500 chips to your opponents 5500, and they're relatively tight, plus you have a tight image, you have enough fold equity that it might be a good idea to go all-in with any two cards and steal the sizable blinds. Your opponent would be crippled if he loses, so he'll have to fold without a strong hand. On the converse side, let's say you have 1200 to 7800 in the same situation. If you go all-in with a weak hand, he pretty much has to call you with any two, as you have no fold equity. That means it's worth while to wait a hand or two to pick up something decent, as described in SamENoles cockroach article.
  6. epicatc epicatc is offline

    New York City, NY
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 2:04pm) in reply to epicatc

    Technically, fold equity is more like Cyclone's response (Fold equity= chips you gain when other person folds * % of the time other person folds), as that deals with all bets, not just all-ins. But I find that I rarely calculate fold equity on a standard bet - either Im value betting or bluffing, and if Im bluffing, I'm doing so because I strongly believe they'll fold regardless of equity. Most of the time it comes up, in my opinion, is in all-in situations.
  7. Games Geek Games Geek is offline

    Foster City, CA
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 2:49pm) in reply to Cyclone15

    If you just want to explain what fold equity is: Pot * % Chance Opponent Folds.

    If you want to actually discuss the practical applications, you will need to go into detail on '% Chance Opponent Folds.' It has to be more than a wild guess. Do I have superior position? Do I have the person covered? Are they tight? Have I seen them "defend" their blinds? What hands have they seen me show recently? What's their M value if this is an MTT? All of these factors determine the final (theoretical) %, and therefore the ultimate value of your fold equity.
  8. tendonitis tendonitis is offline

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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 2:59pm) in reply to Games Geek

    Fold equity is many things. But the basic is that you can raise your opponent enough that he does not have correct pot odds to call you with less than a top tier hand.
  9. Wrongshui Wrongshui is offline

    Austin, TX
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    Jun 1st, 2006 (6/1/2006 4:10pm) in reply to Jennifear

    My fold equity is approximately 0%.

    I have my maid do all of my laundry.

    Hope that helps.
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