Should You Ever FOLD POCKET KINGS Preflop??

Today we're going to put you to the test. Here are five situations where a poker player decided to fold POCKET KINGS preflop. These come in various stakes and situations, and it's up to you to decide whether it was the right play.
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[@DougPolkPoker]

Have you ever folded pocket kings preflop? Be honest.

[@ICEMANKENNYTV]

YES...

[@Bawookles]

Only in tournaments. And every time I did it, the guy showed me the aces. Never have done it in a cash game.

[@TEAMGETHELP]

Once against a grandpa, I was right🤣

[@FloppedNutZzz]

No lol

[@coyedwards6184]

I haven't, but I've seen it done.

[@findingtodd]

Little did Doug know, he'd be folding KK pre just 7 days later at the Lodge lol

[@snex000]

I've never folded KK preflop in a cash game. I've had people fold it to me 3 times that I know of, and it was a bad fold all 3 times.

[@mepmep27]

I don’t think I’ve ever folded kings pre. Def have got away from queens and Jacks preflop tho. I Actually folded jacks preflop once to two all ins. They had AA vs KK, it was gross

[@RightFootForward11]

@@mepmep27 nice man

[@offrampc]

If I remember correctly, in the Upswing Lab, Fried Mulders has a pre-flop module in which he recommends folding KK pre in the following situations just 100 BBs deep. UTG open, MP 3bet, KK 4bet (from any position), UTG jam, MP jam. That MP jam is so strong staring into an uncapped 4 bet range and an uncapped 5bet shove range, that KK is not doing very well. MP's range (theoretically) is only AA and KK and blocking KK, makes this a fold. This is also true if instead of UTG and MP, it's MP and CO. Also, in deep stack, KK is a fold to a 6bet (or even a 5bet sometimes). All this is theory and most situations are unique.

[@rajahferrier7475]

Your fold against Helmuth was the best fold I've ever seen

[@sundarpichai940]

Thirsty

[@supersmoo7377]

Helmuth only had 12 combos of QT… and we all know Helmuth to be an aggressive-whale-bluffer.. so yeah, amazing fold.

[@viewerck]

@@supersmoo7377 12, doug blocks a Ten

[@supersmoo7377]

@@viewerck yeah, i fixed it, thanks.. was up late in the middle of the night, multi-tasking while I watched this.

[@augustgreig9420]

If you need practice folding KK, just play PLO for about a week.

[@joeyjackoff298]

That is so true...

[@ChiefQueef92]

A lot of the worst KK (like KK72r) are just open folds from early positions. The most misplayed type of hand for new PLO players.

[@thomasnewton7353]

90% of the time, when someone folds KK pre, it's cause they don't have another bullet to reload with.

[@maximo6037]

Other 10% they know their opponent

[@Skodak96]

I've seen old guys fold aces on ten high flop. Scared money shouldn't be playing poker tbh. But some people are just there for fun

[@jeremyrogers6179]

Where's Ryuske? 🤔

[@staytight6340]

90% of the time I lose with kings And I play them aggressively.

[@ncannavino11]

Lmao this is not true

[@Divinevert]

"And you determine if you fold." Me, in every scenario: "LOL KK, LETS GO"

[@nonsimplesimon]

Johnnie's reason for folding from his vlog#1... "when an Asain Hollywoods and shoves pre it's ALWAYS aces...."

[@jaxsonbateman]

6 combinations of aces, 2 combinations of AKs, 6 combinations of AKo, if I'm not mistaken. Calling a shove over the top with kings is thus largely going to come down to the opponent you're playing against: * Would they make this move with AKo? That puts enough combinations in there that they're more likely to not have aces than do, so you call. * Would they only do it with AKs or aces? Probably a fold then, as you block two of the AKs, meaning it's more likely they have aces. * If they'd do it with any other hand, you have to call. So pretty much, the only time you're folding is if you think they'd only do it with AKs or AA. As for a random player you've never played with before? I think it's more likely than not they'd be willing to do it with AKo/QQ or worse (from the POV of a player with AKo, they block an ace and king making it less likely you have AA or KK, and even if you have QQ - or worse, KK - they at least have the ace out), so yeah, there's a reason this is almost always a call even if there's the rare occasion that you're coolered.

[@aaronwarner1257]

He showed both cards

[@QuintBlitz]

7:06 is literally the honest commentary I'm here to watch!

[@DarknessGu1deMe]

how about asking the big question: should you ever fold AA preflop?

[@alleneng]

not in a cash game

[@Gos1234567]

in satellites near the bubble ...yes

[@Jokerlevin]

@@Gos1234567 Just adding: If you're qualified. If not, shove!

[@juangarcia-vu9yg]

In satellites... yeah.

[@juangarcia-vu9yg]

And I have done that.

[@Heyoooo192]

Done it once deep in a MTT in a fourway all in.

[@johnwuest1160]

One thing I will say about hand 2 is by putting ourselves in that spot we can almost for sure take AK and suited aces out of our opponents range if they are capable. When they jam overtop they should realize they have very low bluffing equity with only about a 2x raise

[@TheLeftReallyWeird]

Trick to see if someone is playing with 100% of themselves: Folding Pocket Kings Pre.

[@djmmz2648]

Wdym playing 100% of themselves

[@pog3166]

@@djmmz2648 not being sponsored by other people’s money to play in big games

[@djmmz2648]

@@pog3166 thanks man

[@pog3166]

@@djmmz2648 no problem. You’d be surprised how many players on hustler casino are sponsored by rich ppl who think they’ll win them money

[@amainstreamdeath7545]

Jackie's fold was the only one I'd probably fold as well. For all the others, if you got it, you got it.

[@jasperpearce3710]

If you get them after going to piss in a home game, it’s a prank, and a fold can be really stylish.

[@fiddleslayer5147]

Great content Doug, can u do the math for folding vs calling for all 5 videos and see if it's a positive play or negative play?

[@robertwilkinson8421]

The first example is knowing the Player. Solid fold.

[@patsters723]

What about Sam Barnharts pocket kings fold pre at WSOP?

[@G3eseH]

15:22 "The poket Jacks!!!" Doug enjoying getting us on the wrong foot again!

[@stuart7403]

I once folded KK versus a preflop min-raise from Phillip Hellmuth.

[@Fdanism]

I am generally in the "GTO" corner but Ill say this: The fold against Jennifer Tilly is 100% correct

[@Bisirsky]

True.

[@undergrounddojokeyboardcag701]

1. Nope, wouldn't throw away before flop. 2. Yes. 3. Nope, i'd play. 4. Nope, i'd play. 5. Yes, fold.

[@DustinPlatt]

I always shove fake aces ( A4 ) because I get over excited and don't know how to play poker, which is why I'm sending this comment via a prepaid phone.

[@jeskaaable]

I love my boy Doug but I'll throw some shade just for fun : "Here is a sample of 5 hands, selected for their variety and entertainment value. Therefore, you should base your strategy around this. More on strategy and game theory in my masterclass course. Sincerely, Doug"

[@houdinihir9549]

Fantastic review of these hands.

[@blackbond2406]

Eubank Jr is a pro boxer, and he's also friends with Ryuske.... Ryuske mentioned it on one of the lives. Im sure Eubank knows where he is lol

[@JohnnieVibes]

Fwiw the all-in in my hand was for $16K. The stack sizes were wrong.

[@user-iv5yk4nr4q]

"and by working tirelessly I mean hiring someone and paying them to do it for me." Love the deadpan humor Doug😂

[@williamraney3421]

He’s got amazing staff

[@mike3276]

Next, can you do a video of the reverse? Tournament, final table, I had AA, 2nd/9 in stack size. Action to my right goes all-in with JJ @ ~25k, I go all-in over the top for ~100k total, and there's stack #1 sitting on KK. I know what he has. I want to show him my aces... I all but directly tell him, what my hand is... he knew. he KNEW! but called anyway and flopped the K for a set. I got 9th. 8th paid. Still mad.

[@josiahbarta2643]

Why didn’t you and JJ split 8th?

[@Sensenwerk]

100k bb stack seems rather deepstack for a tourney ft. 😂

[@trellw21]

When playing 1-3 live, if you get 4 bet preflop it's AA a lot of the time especially if they have more than 100bb in their stack, 4 betting is super rare in live low stakes

[@beatnuts1uk]

Love this format!! Thanks Doug!!

[@thaThRONe]

A lot depends on the player type. Some OMC's will never 4/5 bet preflop with anything other than K's or A's.

[@connortoogood6601]

Omc??

[@christopherashford4194]

​@@connortoogood6601Old Man Coffee ... The old dudes who are the tightest nits ever

[@Gos1234567]

some OMC's wont even 3 bet without AA/KK

[@toomanymikes3857]

once, to old man greg at isle of capri biloxi circa 2006. 8 handed, he had about 400 bbs, i covered. folds to him on the button. he opens, i 3bet sb, bb fold. he 4bet, i 5 bet, he jams, i fold. he didn't show.

[@DaftFader]

That's actually a good spot to be folding in tbf (assuming they aren't a maniac). 😅

[@toomanymikes3857]

@@DaftFader yeah nah he was an omc. i heard later he told someone else he had t8 tho, so you never know.. 🤷‍♂

[@DaftFader]

@@toomanymikes3857 At that depth it's stack off threshold tho... And against a 400+bb deep 6bet jam aces is a fair stack off threshold against most players imo. He probably just said 10/8 to make it look like he wasn't so transparent when someone asked him "so you had aces right?" Or something like this lol. Unless you played agressive (compared to the table) and he thought he was being bullied in pots and had enough. 😅

[@ticenits1926]

The problem with folding KK is there’s a non zero spaz factor from your opponents. You never know when they might just be tilting, or think that you’re overbluffing and decide to take a stand to shut you down. For that reason he said we must always get it in

[@Nikkithedog-t6b]

But sometimes you do know. If an old lady with a vpip of I played my last hand in February 4 bet shoves, it's AA.

[@itskmillz]

"You never know" speak for yourself. Some of us know.

[@Ohrami]

Suppose a 99.9999% chance of AA and a .0001% chance of 72o. Run that through Equilab and check the equity.

[@shaneslaght2154]

This is exactly why Doug said you need to play in light games and short stack games if you are going to NEVER fold kings. you can’t risk blowing your bank roll at any given time without the nuts pre flop

[@supersmoo7377]

Unless it’s against nitty Jennifer Tilly who 4-bets UTG vs UTG+1 all-in for 200+ BB’s.

[@zeebot1]

Love the content rapid fire Doug! Keep it coming 🔥

[@HedgeFundAnalyst]

The only time I'd ever fold KK pre would be in a satellite near the payout period. Outside of that, if they have AA, GG

[@boltaurelius376]

Easily could do with a 2nd large stack in the bubble or final table for ICM.

[@puravida3605]

Way back in 2004 I was playing a 2-4NL cash game at Stars with $400 on the table, there was a guy in the seat right before me who was raising every hand and laughing at me folding every hand because I was playing super-nitty. I picked up KK in the cutoff seat and he made it 19 to go. I smooth-called with my KK and the button folded. The small blind then pushed for 180. It folded around to the guy who was making fun of how nitty I was, and he jammed for the full 400. I reasoned that he absolutely knew I had to have a huge hand to call the initial raise, and that he basically at that point would put me on AA or KK. He had to have AA because if he didn't, he would fear that I had it. I folded my KK and he showed AA. The small blind had JJ.

[@user-jt2bf6ym1o]

awful awful awful

[@oggiggs]

The only ones I got right were player based which I guess speaks to this being a read-based decision, fold vs tilly, call bill klein

[@ed0c]

i very very rarely fold just about anything pre flop. you never know if you can flop a set even with a couple of 3's, it would have to be extreme amount of money for what i got in my hand but pocket kings i dont think i ever would.

[@Namdrahsirhc]

"And here is...a different venue"😂😂

[@Namdrahsirhc]

And leaving HCL off the shoutout list at the end. True troll god

[@penpal222]

Man, I've gotten everyone wrong that I didn't remember lmfaoo

[@jklm.]

never play off a stack that is so big you fold kings pre and also just never fold kings pre.

[@joomorrow]

Pretty sure Jacky's fold is correct in theory. Tight position multiway battle, you sometimes can just play with AA. Some preflop sims even fold KK at 100bb (200nl rake) facing multiway action, so at 800bb deep it's not out of the questions.

[@tehblogger]

he should just be calling

[@joomorrow]

@@tehblogger exploitatively, maybe. In theory, don't think solver would ever cold call here with a strong uncapped range behind.

[@Johnny-cz2wv]

Interesting how solved ranges would look like

[@ReallyDavid01]

so funny cause earlier for the first time ever i folded kings preflop cause i was AFK in the bathroom, i came back to see the end of the hand play out and someone had basically hit trip 5's on the flop then turned quad 5's all in vs two others the person with quad 5's had 52o preflop so happy i was afk for that lol

[@DaftFader]

That's happened to me with AA twice...come back from the toilet, or from the break slightly late, and hand auto folded, i think Inwould of won them hands too iirc. 😢😂

[@Adiodevil]

If you had been there and raised, 52o wouldn't be in the pot. Could've just been a preflop raise and take.

[@Mr.Wilson-xo8z]

A guy named Fishman who was the "Loose Cannon" in the TV-Show was folding AA preflop and was dogding quads.

[@Gmexican]

I think that if you have a lot of information on your opponent and can place their hand on Aces, well more power to you. but I'm usually going broke or at least seeing a flop with Kings.

[@EthanBriggs]

Doug, when do we analyze the pre flop fold of AA with Fishman in The Big Game so we can say 1 for 1 of correctly folding aces pre to flopped quads? 😂😂 We need more people to start folding them pre-flop to balance out their ranges or something. 😏

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

2:31 Justin 'I don't do handshakes people' Schwartz

[@BOTTENEGAMING]

Sometimes, it's just your time die - Doug Polk.

[@bentonja668]

Folded Kings preflop once in a cash game. Never again. 1/2 live I was playing wild for hours open raising to $25 and playing blind much of the time. This old man was waiting to catch me and came over the top all-in and I knew he had AA. Folded and he showed QQ. Never again. My wild play had opened up his preflop shoving range.

[@someluke005]

Hope to visit The Lodge some day!

[@TrocarSlushWeasel]

You missed out on the epilogue from that PokerGo hand. They ran the board out anyway and there was a K and a T on it. So, folding Kings that time was wrong too.

[@iamamish]

In some parallel universe there is an alternate Doug Polk with a 10 second video consisting only of Doug yelling, "DON'T FOLD POCKET KINGS PRE"

[@awalker2501]

Who's here after Doug folded Kings preflop tonight on the Lodge stream 😂

[@FloppedNutZzz]

The supreme leader is back and better than ever. Thank you as always Doug!

[@xavierharding8938]

Kim Jong Un ?

[@Snowy123]

It's just a mindset issue people expect to win all the time with AA and KK while the truth is that you win most of the times and lose sometimes. Still gotta put all your money in even if you lose it all sometimes.

[@Trias805]

Should You Ever FOLD POCKET KINGS Preflop?? What's up, guys. Doug Polk here. No. Thanks for watching. Please like, subscribe and leave a comment below.

[@garrettschwartzbach9611]

Rick Salomon vs John Morgan in super high roller bowl cash game; folded KK correctly v AA pre flop.

[@alexcosme1133]

I’m calling, you got it… you got it.

[@Texasfishingfamily]

I did fold them once. I had 2500 (and it was most of my roll) on the table in a 2/5 10 rock game. I three bet and then there was a 4 and a 5 bet from two different opponents. They got it all in with QQ and AK... and I would have flopped a set to lock up the win.

[@charleswaldon8362]

When the straddle is ridiculous, you have to be incredibly suspicious about folding kings.. Definitely a weakness exposed in scenarios

[@g1344304]

On my last day in vegas recently I had KK 3 times in 30 mins. I got felted 3 times, twice against AA. On the third hand I just knew but still made the all in call pre for comedy value and the distant hope I’d be wrong.

[@johnnyblackrants7625]

In hand #1 Tilly bet 23k into 2.1k, meaning you only need to call with like 10% of your three-betting range to be unexploitable. Even from a GTO perspective only calling Aces there should be fine, right?

[@dwarner9158]

Course on Back-4 betting Jacks coming soon to Upswing

[@samuelwolf3521]

At 5:16 villain does the smirk with with the outstretched lips, one of the big tells of strength covered in Zachary Elwood's "Reading Poker Tells". Opponent feigns disappointment before betting.

[@sdmit2000]

yeah buddy go back to 1/2

[@justindonato6436]

Doug’s content is always top notch, but this episode is just extra 🔥

[@YallaMiami]

Do you want to Marry him 💍?

[@huzcer]

"Extra" - that term makes me itchy.

[@LarryIsrael]

I’m never folding Kings preflop! Even if I’m all but sure that they have Aces! They have to show me! Besides, even if they do have the Aces, there’s still 5 cards to see 👀

[@alexfernando4681]

In a cash game, I would never fold Cowboys, unless it’s been 4 or 5 bet all around. In a tourney, folding them is more feasible a play for the same reasons or for ICM implications.

[@officeofpeaceinformation5094]

Folding KK in 2to7 single draw is not a bad play

[@nikolaykomissarenko7822]

This is a NL Holdem video though…

[@Nick-xu7ns]

@@nikolaykomissarenko7822 nothing gets by you

[@iambadatpickingusernames6669]

The only one I said I’d have folded was Jacky v Bill v Garrett. So deep and cold calling a 5 bet doesn’t seem very appealing. Not to mention it was a UTG open.

[@JohnSmith-su3ze]

I saw a kid fold AA pre-flop in a 1/3 game once. True story.

[@boltaurelius376]

I saw a guy fold quads preflop once in a 5/3 game

[@overnightdelivery]

​@@boltaurelius376 That was a good play because everyone at the table would of known he was cheating by having 4 cards in his hand. 😅

[@ph34poker73]

Doug I have BREAAAAAKING NEWS ! Pepe is my old backer for the sketchy ass home game scene in LA where they rake 125 cap 10% every hand. Also Pepe owes tons of money and Ryan F just let's these people on the streams whils simultaneously stopping grinders like me and many others.

[@runningrock124]

my record for folding QQ preflop is awful. like 1/6 times correct fold when they have JJ or AK call all in when they roll over AA or KK

[@NewWebDesign]

there was a loose cannon that was up 130k and folded AAs pre-flop because he just wanted to cash 130K and was right - one of the pros did catch a set on the flop -- kinda speaks words to the anything can happen, even the worst hands have a chance and in lets say the bubble should you fold AAs?

[@ekia3056]

In satelite tournament stone bubble when few super shorts, yes, in any other tournament never :DD

[@JSBushey]

The pro actually flopped quads in that hand

[@DaftFader]

​@@JSBushey Na it was actually 5 of a kind!

[@fenikstechnologies1173]

Ya, but that decision is based in game theory outside of poker. For example: You have the option of taking 10 million dollars or Gamble for 50 million with an 80% chance of winning The EV for the 50m is 40mil, so that's the correct play in a vacuum. Just like the Loose Cannon shouldn't have folded AA. But, if the money guaranteed is already so life changing the extra on top would matter much less than losing the guaranteed, then the optimal life play is to take the money you already have. AA in a tourney on bubble or pay level is same. Is the bubble money or pay level bump worth so much in your life that the extra is diminishing returns? If so, it's a fold.

[@davidpetrosky]

I've never done it with aces, but I've folded kings and queens several times on the bubble, due to action behind me. Not really hard to do.

[@martinedwards4522]

be it wrong or be it 100% right, cash game or tourney... i just cannot fold kings pre flop. yes, of course ive fallen victim to this quite a few times!... BUT!.. i can happily say the last time this happened to me it was in a tourny weeks ago and i flopped a king ( she slow played AA ) n got a full double up... she was not amused

[@enriqueolan5030]

Nothings better then when Fishmen folded aces preflop avoiding quads lmao. Still can’t believe this

[@staytight6340]

Douglas Wow You must be feeling great!!!!

[@VisaHing]

u forget to show the hand where guy from big game folded AA preflop and would've run into quads :D

[@DarkTruth1]

The hand where multiple straddles are happening (9:17 ish) I wish I knew more about the game and how it was playing. Are these mandatory straddles? Are the players used to these stakes? Saying 140bb effective vs. 1400bb effective is very different. Sure, you could argue technically you're 140bb in this specific hand, but it's a little more in-depth than that, especially when it comes to live poker. After looking over it again, I dont think this 25, 50, 100 straddle is a normal thing considering the average stack of everyone else is 4.5k, so unless there's something I know about this guy jamming, I'm probably folding KK here too.

[@christmas6666]

This was a really fun video

[@saraw5271]

As the 2nd one was finishing I was saying to myself "yeah these are all before the A5s jams became fashionable"...

[@sdc7309]

Doug is it almost not worth it anymore five betting all in with aces anymore? Flatting them seems to be the more profitable play. Of course it’s situation dependent but when extremely deep it’s almost worth flatting the four bet with the aces. Thoughts ?

[@jeremywright5036]

I've never folded kings preflop. Some times you do run into aces and sure your behind, but, your also not drawing dead. I don't think its worth folding kings basically ever.

[@munckymagic]

The hollywooding from Ken in the second one 😂

[@hexpest9328]

folded kk pf once in my life. I knew 99.9999999% it was a great lay down. went on to win the tourney that night. I was in the zone.

[@whirlingdervish69]

You must be very proud.

[@Vegasbonus702]

Your next video needs to be when pocket kings crack pocket aces when they call ❤

[@JibasJr]

Very nice change of pace from your other videos, it's much more entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Your other videos are getting a bit cringe Doug, but I still watch all of them 😅

[@TwelveandHalf]

I wisht I watch this video yesterday 😂😂 I had to fold 😂

[@andygnatovich]

Super disappointed we didn't get a single, "POCKET KERMIES!!" in this video.

[@Midwest_Picker]

Every hand I'm like call call call lol😅😂

[@Gforcebond]

I got someone to fold QQ when I was bluffing with 27 in a cash game once lol but I don't suggest doing that. It was pre flop they folded too. No flop.

[@karabinas]

About 25 years ago Card Player magazine had a long article regarding folding AA Pre-Flop. This was pre-Moneymaker so it wasn’t too exciting. FUN FACT: KK vs AK off -an Ace hits the flop or turn card 99.76% of the time 😎🤓😉😉😉😉

[@LordZnake]

make a vid on the hustler live magnus carlsen stream, thanks doug

[@matmodaboss]

When playing in smaller games, 1/3$-5/10$ KK pre flop facing a 4 bet out of nearly any position is an automatic 5-bet shove. If you’re 9 ways it’s 4.32% likely that an opponent has AA, even less likely shorter handed. If they have AA and you get stacked that’s just life, there are so many hands you get to fold and take the pot or beat that 4 bet pre. It’s obviously different when playing high stakes, just wanted to put it out there for the homies grinding (doesn’t apply to the super NITs)

[@spacecowboy301]

I would have folded 2nd hand only, and would have lost it all the 1st hand and made a lot of money hands 3-5 I also remember a school teacher folding kings once, he was a "loose cannon". But he was up tremendously and just wanted to stay that way

[@josephparkes6412]

Think I actually would have called in that A5s hand. The 5 bettor has a bit too juicy of a spot to go for it there.

[@1angelsigh]

Only time I've done it was a misclick! Opponent then showed 8-4 offsuit too :(

[@FloppedNutZzz]

In the vibes hand the opp had more than 11k. They update the graphics at the end the jam is 13.8k