Protection (poker)

In poker, one of the motives for betting or raising is to give your poker hand protection, which means to encourage opponents to fold a drawing poker hand that might otherwise improve to beat yours. This is generally done with a made poker hand that you perceive as vulnerable to an opponent's drawing poker hand. This differs from a bluff in that the latter can win only when the opponent folds, while a bet for protection is made with a poker hand that is likely to win a showdown, but is not strong enough for sandbagging.

It is especially important to bet for protection when there are multiple opponents. For example, if your poker hand is presently the best, but each of four opponents has a 1-in-6 chance of beating you, the four combined are actually a favorite to defeat you, even though each one is individually an underdog. If you bet, some or all of them will fold, leaving you with fewer opponents and a better chance of winning.

The term protection is also often heard in the context of an all-in player (see poker table stakes rules), because a bet by any player serves to protect the poker hand of an all-in player just as it protects the bettor (and possibly more so). To deliberately make such a bet solely to protect a poker hand other than your own is a form of collusion.

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