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Our main objective in winning at poker isn’t to win pots. In fact, the biggest lifetime losers are the players who win the most pots! Why? Because, taken to the extreme, they would always be there at the showdown — or win prematurely by betting and raising at every opportunity. If a pot could be won, they would usually win it, whether it was a good gamble or not.
Sure, there are some professional tricks that can help you win pots average players wouldn’t. But in general, the players who win the most pots lose the most money! That’s why you need to be selective about the hands you play.
The real objective
So, if the objective isn’t winning pots, what is it? Simple: It’s to make the right decisions. Folding and abandoning all hope of winning the pot is the right decision whenever calling or raising would be more expensive.
In those cases, folding means saving money, which is the same as winning money, because you have it to spend. Repeating: Successful poker isn’t about winning pots; it’s about making good decisions. — MC