Beginner What It Means to Muck in Texas Hold’em URL has been copied successfully! Knowing when to muck can impact how opponents perceive your strategy In Texas Hold’em, the term “muck” refers to both the act of folding a hand and the pile of discarded cards during a game. Mucking typically occurs in two key situations: when a player folds their hand during a betting round or when they choose not to reveal their cards at showdown. When a player folds, their cards are immediately placed into the muck, making them unrecoverable for the remainder of the hand. This prevents opponents from gaining any information about what was folded. In a live poker setting, players should physically push their cards forward toward the dealer, who then places them in the muck. Online, this happens automatically when a player clicks the fold button. Mucking at showdown is another common scenario. If a player knows they have a losing hand, they can choose to muck instead of revealing their cards. This is often done to prevent giving away information that opponents could use in future hands. However, in some games, players are required to show their hand if they have called a bet on the final round, preventing them from mucking in that situation. There are also some important rules regarding mucking. Once cards touch the muck pile, they are considered dead and cannot be retrieved, even if a player made a mistake. Additionally, some games have a “show one, show all” rule, meaning that if a player voluntarily reveals one card, they must show both.