A second chance to win with Unfold Hold ‘em

Texas Hold ‘em is one of the most popular forms of poker on the planet. With the step-by-step reveal of the cards, it has all the suspense and tension of the best Hollywood thriller, making it as exciting to watch as it is to play.

No wonder millions of players around the world enjoy playing the game both online and at live poker tables.

Described as the thinking man’s game, Texas Hold ‘em has more layers of strategy and a more complicated betting pattern than other games. It is much more a game of skill than other card games such as blackjack where the random deal of the cards has so much more influence on the outcome. It is so skillful that the official committee is considering it for an Olympic sport.

The Frustration of Folding

The only downside of Texas Hold ‘em is making a call based on only two cards, with no idea what the flop may bring. There are plenty of strategies to help you decide on the strength of your hole cards, ranging from tables and rankings, such as the hand groups created by David Sklansky or Phil Hellmuth, to complicated mathematical formulas such as the Chen Formula created by Bill Chen.

You don’t need Sklansky’s charts to spot a stinker.

Of course, you don’t need a mathematics Ph.D. from Berkeley to know a stinker of a hand when you see one. When you have a low-scoring, unrelated, off-suit pair, such as a two of clubs and an eight of hearts, you may well feel that you have no choice but to fold. After all, with virtually nothing to build on, it’s hard for you to see where your hand can go or how it can possibly compete for the main pot.

So, you fold, and sit on the sidelines, watching as the rest of the hand takes place and someone else scoops the pot, including your ante. That can be frustrating enough in itself, but it is even more frustrating if the flop then delivers cards that would have made you a winner. Two more eights and another two would have made your unpromising hole cards into a full house, but having already folded, all you can do is watch and weep. It’s one of the worst feelings in the game and can lead to some sore shins as you kick yourself hard for folding.

Now, You Can Unfold

We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling of seeing the perfect flop after we’ve folded, but now, you can revive those abandoned hands thanks to Unfold Hold ‘em from PokerStars. This game offers you a second chance to win, even after you’ve dropped out of the main game, with a separate unfold pot.

The game plays out the same as any other game of Texas Hold ‘em, except all the players contribute an extra ante bet to the unfold pot before any cards are dealt. Once all five community cards are dealt, anyone who has folded pre-flop is eligible to play for the unfold pot, and they can do so by matching the unfold pot amount with a single bet.

If two or more players matched the unfold pot, the winner is decided by a straight face-off between their respective hands, using their two unfolded hole cards and the five community cards. If only one player wants to play the unfold game or no one wants to take part, then the unfold ante is returned to all the players.

A Second Chance

It is rare to get a second chance anywhere in life, let alone at the casino tables. You can’t untwist when you go bust while playing blackjack, and you can’t change your mind once the ball starts rolling around the roulette wheel. But with Unfold Hold ‘em, you can still be in when you are out, and go on to pick up a tidy pot with a hand that otherwise would have gone to waste. Not only will it keep you interested and involved in hands that would otherwise leave you as a mere observer but it will also keep your shins from getting quite so sore from all that kicking yourself!