Folding when pot odds justify a call?

[mdlm]

Is it ever correct to fold when the pot odds justify a call?

[pudley4]

It depends...

If you are defining "pot odds" only as the current odds the pot is giving you vs the chance of making your hand, then the answer is "yes" - there are times you should fold.

If you take into account implied odds, reverse implied odds, effective odds, and the chance you make your hand and it doesn't hold up, then I'd say the answer is "no"

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

If you read hands well enough that you're certain you're drawing dead, yes. Otherwise, no.

[ramjam]

Sometimes, yes. For example, if you are a strong player, I do not believe it would always be advisable to go all-in in a NL tournament with 22 against AKo even if you were sure that you were facing AKo and had a 52/48 edge. Think of the assumptions behind the assertion that "you should always bet when the pot odds are favourable because it will show you positive EV" (your money has no marginal utility (ie. a dollar won from this pot has the same utility as a dollar lost); variance is irrelevant; there is no opportunity cost to betting; you have enough time and money to ride out all short-term fluctuations; the outcome of this pot has no impact on the outcome of subsequent pots) and then think of a case when they might not apply - or even apply in reverse so as to justify calling when the pot odds don't merit it (eg. down to last two in a tournament - bad player faces world champion). These counterintuitive cases will mostly relate to (i) tournament play or (ii) you're playing without a big enough bankroll or with money that you shouldn't have put on the table in the first place. (The other rather odd case - but well beyond the intention of your question - might be the strong player who has already won "too much" at a regular social game and feels that he should avoid winning any more for the time being so as to avoid being thrown out.)

[Gabe]

[Josh W]

I hope so. I'm going to be posting a hand in the medium stakes forum in a moment where I did just this. We'll see what the others think by the responses. The thread will be titled something like "I prefer the small pots".

Josh W.

[J_V]

By definition - NO. In a non tourney setting, with a decent bankroll.

[andyfox]

Imagine a super-big game where the pot was $100 million and you could call on the last card for $1; your odds of winning the hand were 99,999,999 to 1. I would fold. Pot odd say call because, in the long run, it's a +EV move, but you'd go broke before the long run.

[ThePinkBunny]

Why not take a shot at a hundred mill? It's only a buck. What else can you get for a buck nowadays? [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

(I do understand your intent, but you need a better example)

D