Know When to Fold'Em: Difference between revisions

''Know when to [[Trope Namer|fold 'em]]''

''Know when to [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|walk away]]''

 

[[An Aesop]] having to do with how [[You Can't Fight Fate]]. Knowing when to just let go is a [[Truth in Television|useful skill]]. Good luck trying to tell that to the [[Determinator]]. [[The Fatalist]] on the other hand is quite aware of this wisdom.

The [[Trope Namer]] is the Kenny Rogers song "The Gambler," which uses poker as a metaphor for life.

 

 

 

{{examples}}

* In an episode of ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'', Takeru successfully convinces all but one of the Chosen group to make a strategic withdrawal. Subverted when Daisuke, the one who isn't convinced, succeeds despite ignoring the logic, but only through [[Broken Aesop|pure dumb luck.]]

** As the goggle-headed [[Hot-Blooded]] protagonist, "defy all logic and win via pure plot convenience" is basically Davis/Daisuke's ''job description.'' Tai, Takuya, and Marcus would approve. ([[Digimon Tamers]]' place on the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|Sliding Scale]] meant it did things a little differently.) Also [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/digimon_adventure_v_tamer_01/v04/c028.5/4.html apparent] in the [[Intercontinuity Crossover]] with the [[Alternate Universe]] manga '[[Word Salad Title|Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01]]''. Not even getting cautioned by both Takeru and Hikari dissuades him from taking rash action. Gets funny [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/digimon_adventure_v_tamer_01/v04/c028.5/13.html later] when the alternate universe version of Taichi, Diasuke's role model, has the sense to immediately retreat when faced with an enemy he has difficulty defeating—much to the shock and disgruntlement of Daisuke.

* In ''[[Ranma ½]]'' this is known as the Saotome Secret Technique, employed by the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. It relies on speed, obfuscation, and contemplation. Or, put more plainly, run away and hide until you come up with a better plan. While introduced mostly as a joke early on, this is actually Ranma's most useful skill, as most of his fights are won less through sheer skill (Having just learned [[Martial Arts and Crafts|how to fight with teacups and teaspoons a few days ago]]), and more through outsmarting his opponents.

* In the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime, it is stated on numerous occasions that it is a trainer's duty to end the battle if there is any serious danger to their Pokémon (the first battles with Brock, Sabrina, and Blaine all ended in this fashion). However, this is pretty much a [[Broken Aesop]] as Ash will [[Determinator|determinate]] himself through anything, even winning one badge when Pryce forfeited despite Ash ignoring the option to do the same earlier.

** Ash was also berated for making his Treecko continue to fight Brawly's <s>Makuhita</s> Hariyama despite Treecko having no chance to win. It didn't help that he was almost ready to give up before, but Treecko got up anyway.

** One of his subordinates, [[Only Sane Man|Sting Oakley]] is this to the rest of the [[Tyke Bomb|Extended]] trio. [[Axe Crazy|Auel]] and [[Psychopathic Manchild|Stella]] will fight to the end, but Sting is smart enough to know when the battle is going against them, and typically bails soon afterwards, taking the other two with him.

* The "Unknown Enemy" of ''[[Gundam AGE]]'' don't bother fighting battles they know they can't win. Only once has an entire UE attack force been wiped out in the course of a battle, and that's because they were blindsided by two extremely powerful mobile suits they had no way of predicting. In every other case, they've retreated the moment the battle started going against them.

 

* [[God]] gives the eponymous character an epic put down in the last issue of the ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'' series, using the tale of Buddha and the Monkey King to illustrate the foolishness of fighting someone that you could never conceivably defeat. Lucifer counters that he lost with pride at least, the validity of which is up to the readers to decide.

* Simply having the presence of mind to recognize when to back down is considered a strength among many Micromasters in ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]''; Swindler of the Race Car patrol knows when he's beat. Detour of the Sports Car patrol is a bit of a coward, but can tell when the other shoe's about to drop, too.

* At least twice Marvel comics has used the schtick that an alien force is intent on invading Earth only for one person doing the research to realize they are trying to invade a planet that has defended itself successfully, multiple times, against other invading aliens, multiple galactic empires (''at the same time''), cosmic entities no one else in the universe has ever managed to even slow down, and is home to entities capable of eating stars, assorted deities, and a Watcher who thinks the planet rocks so much he's actually done stuff instead of merely observing. One time the fleet commander listens and does a u-turn. Another, not so much. The invasion is defeated by three X-Men (one of them drunk).

** Made literal in the latter case when one group of the invaders backs off when faced with a lethal bet in a card game against Wolverine.

'''Archivist:''' What?

* [[The Dragon]] from the third [[Blue Beetle]] series advocated just up and leaving when it became clear they weren't in control of the situation. The [[Big Bad]] always shot down his suggestion that they quit while they were ahead.

* This is a part of what has always made [[Doctor Doom]] such a capable antagonist. Unlike most supervillains, Doom can recognise when the plan has gone south and it's time to leave. Yeah, Reed Richards is still alive, and you don't have what you came here for. It doesn't matter. It's time to go. Long before he had his diplomatic immunity, Doom regularly got away by having planned his escape in advance, and leaving the minute he was in danger of being surrounded.

* DC's version of the trope, had the Reach, who plan centuries-long infiltrations of their targets, get exposed by the [[Blue Beetle]] to Earth government's. The humans demand the aliens surrender. Knowing they can't even defeat the regular forces of human governments, let alone the superheroes of Earth, they do.

 

* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', Daimonji was the only member of the {{spoiler|photography ring}} who gave up rather than resisting. He got off the lightest.

 

* Subverted in ''[[WarGames]]'', when Stephen Falken says, "Now, children, come on over here. I'm going to tell you a bedtime story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Once upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals that dominated the world through age after age. They ran, they swam, and they fought and they flew, until suddenly, quite recently, they disappeared. Nature just gave up and started again. We weren't even apes then. We were just these smart little rodents hiding in the rocks. And when we go, nature will start over. With the bees, probably. Nature knows when to give up, David." He claims that the computer he built will not realize in time, as humanity hadn't, that it is impossible to win a Thermonuclear war. {{spoiler|Eventually, he is convinced to help avert the crisis, and the computer learns the nature of acceptable futility through being unable to win millions of perfect-play games of Tic-Tac-Toe and nuclear war scenarios}}.

{{quote|'''JOSHUA:''' A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.}}

** Of course, at that point the Russians could have won because the United States' missile system was crippled by a computer that wouldn't "play".

* Done with Picard in ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]],'' who became Captain Ahab <small>[[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE!]]</small> when the Borg are around.

* Oddly enough, this trope is included in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', when the Wizard points out to the Cowardly Lion that he's confusing cowardice with wisdom—running away from a situation that's clearly going to get you harmed or killed is obviously the smart thing to do. This trope is also present in [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|Baum's original version]] as a subtext—the Lion is deeply afraid of the Kelidas roaming the forest, and does his best to avoid them... but the fact that they're twice his size and have the heads of tigers and the bodies of bears suggests that avoiding them might be the smart thing to do until you can find a better way of handling it, which the Lion does with the help of Dorothy and her friends.

* In ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'', {{spoiler|after recovering from his brutal beatdown by the Hulk and when cornered by the rest of the heroes, Loki simply asks [[Iron Man|Tony Stark]] [[I Need a Freaking Drink|for that drink he offered earlier]].}}

 

* The mountain in ''The Farthest-Away Mountain'', which would always stay the same distance away as long as you kept going toward it. You had to turn around and go the other way to get there.

* Dianna Wynne Jones' ''[[Chrestomanci|Charmed Life]]'' also has a garden that stays the same distance away no matter how long you travel towards it. It is bespelled so as to be inaccessible to people trying to reach it, so those trying to enter only suceeded when they had given up on doing so.

* The [[No Ending]] (except for that of the main plot) of the last ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' book. Sorry, [[The Chris Carter Effect|you'll never (ever) get all the answers]], just accept it as it is...

* This is an explicit theme of ''[[From a Buick 8]]'': Some things just can't be explained, like that Buick 8 in the police impound that shoots lightning, makes people disappear, and causes [[Cosmic Horror]] aliens to materialize from nowhere. Then the climax [[Broken Aesop|completely undermines this message]].

* In Meredith Ann Pierce's ''[[The Firebringer Trilogy|Firebringer Trilogy]]'', the greatest and most legendary figure in the history of the unicorns is the princess Halla. Four hundred years before the events of the books Halla's people's lands were invaded by wyverns, first in secret, then in open warfare. When it becomes clear that the wyverns are too dangerous to continue fighting (they have poisonous stings and what amounts to armor under the skin), Halla orders the unicorns to withdraw and leave their lands to the wyverns until the time comes that the unicorns are capable of meeting them in more evenly matched combat. The main character of the Trilogy's been raised on her story all his life, but still can't quite stomach the part of the legend where Halla orders the retreat for the sake of survival.

* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Owen Orzell in ''Home Free'' knew that he had no chance of winning once the Vigilantes caught him. As bonus points, he reveals that he gambles, tries to be very careful not to get addicted, and so he would clearly understand this trope very well.

 

* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''

** Garak tells it to Bashir during a [[James Bond]] simulation on the holodeck, reinforcing his status as a [[Magnificent Bastard]].

** Star Fleet abandoning the Deep Space Nine station.

** Likewise when the Dominion abandoned the station.

* Oddly, ''[[Full House]]'' once used [[An Aesop]] very similar to this. Stephanie works hard to prepare for a school [[Spelling Bee]]. She doesn't just lose, she doesn't even get her first word right ("mnemonic"). Not willing to admit to being second-best, she challenges the winner to a private match. She loses again, on another word with a silent letter ("sarsaparilla"). The Aesop: "It's okay to lose, because no matter how good you get at something, there will [[Always a Bigger Fish|always be someone else who is better]]."

** And that words with silent letters are tricky.

* The episode of ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' where Reese gets driving lessons. The A-plot involves Reese's annoying co-student not letting him have any time behind the wheel - and when he finally gets his chance, someone rear-ends him by mistake. He assumes he caused the crash, panics, and ends up being followed by the police. The B-plot consists of Francis coming up with increasingly paper-thin excuses to get himself out of trouble. When Reese calls Francis for advice, Francis at first encourages him to keep looking for a way out - then, as everyone he's lied to marches into the room, he admits that sometimes the best you can do is end things "with class". This inspires Reese to return to the driving school, complete the obstacle course flawlessly, and then give himself up.

** [[Moment of Awesome|It was awesome]]

* This frequently happens on ''[[Pawn Stars]]'' to both the customers and the pawnbrokers alike when they're negotiating on a price for the customer's item. One of the parties will make a final offer when it comes to how much they'll pay or accept for the item, and then the other party has to decide whether to accept this final offer or simply break off the negotiations without making a deal.

 

 

* [[Brains Evil, Brawn Good|Most]] [[heel]]s, when faced with a situation they can't overcome, will try and employ some method of escape such as intentionally getting themselves counted out or disqualified.

 

* A possible Aesop in the classic play, ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', where Willy Loman is told in so many words that he should give up his misguided dream of being a popular salesman and find a better life. This is further reinforced by the fact that the play makes it obvious he would have been far more happy and successful as a construction tradesman.

* In ''[[Electra]]'', the main character is told by every character but Orestes to give up her mourning, to behave meekly and submit to the will of stronger people because she is only digging a deeper grave for herself. Instead, by the end of the play she becomes determined to kill her step-father herself rather than accept death with no hope of salvation.

 

* In many ways the [[Fatal Flaw]] of the villain of ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', being a [[Deconstruction]] of [[The Determinator]].

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'': {{spoiler|[[The Brute|Lord Bulbin]] eventually realizes that he can't beat Link. He explains he [[I Fight for the Strongest Side|always fights for the strongest side]] (with the implication that Link is now that strongest side), before he hands Link a key and leaves. Particularly surprising, as Bulbin had been the definition of a [[Recurring Boss]] up until that point.}}

* [[Portal 2]]: {{spoiler|1=GLaDOS decides that she is so sick of Chell that she doesn't want to kill her anymore, just get her out of her life. So she grants Chell her freedom in the hope that she never comes back.}}

* Parodied in [[Poker Night At the Inventory]]. When [[Team Fortress 2|The Heavy]] is knocked out of the tournament, he will occasionally reference a well-known song from [[Glorious Mother Russia|his homeland]]: "You must know when to hold on to your cards, and you must know when to burn them in fire. Because if you lose, you bring insufferable shame to Republic, and are sent to a work camp in forest."

 

** The [[Sunk Cost Fallacy]] is the one that binds Redcloak. He refuses to give up, however many times he suffers personal losses and enables far more evil villains to prosper. If he did it would all be for nothing.

** Redcloak's younger brother Right-Eye figured this out too. He went so far as to renounce the goblins' god the Dark One, believing that the god's plans for revenge and blackmail aren't worth the deaths of so many of their people.

* ''[[Goblins]]'' - When [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04262011/ facing] [http://www.goblinscomic.com/04292011/ down] [[Eldritch Abomination|Mr. Fingers]], [[Fail O'Suckyname|Dies Horribly]] is [[Lovable Coward|perhaps better equipped]] to make a [[Oh Crap|strategic]] [[Attack! Attack! Retreat! Retreat!|determination]] than [[Honor Before Reason|Grem.]]

 

 

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' does this a lot:

** The Gaang convince [[La Résistance]] after Omashu fell that living to fight another day would be better, and they help get the civilians out of the town.

{{quote|'''Tressa''' ''(daughter of said queen)'': I failed as a warrior and as a daughter. My friends were fighting to protect the queen. And I froze with fear!

'''Layla''': Well, fear is a part of courage. }}

* ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' plays this card a few times:

** "Phoebe Takes the Fall" has Helga making Phoebe throw the qualifier for a citywide academic bowl so she can get a chance to one-up her much-accomplished sister for once. After long and hard studying, mostly with Phoebe, she has a nightmare where Arnold confronts her during the quiz to ask her why she's competing instead of Phoebe. She [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] the dream before dismissing it... but ends up feeling guilty for nipping Phoebe's chances in the bud and has Phoebe compete anyway. {{spoiler|Despite being training-free, Phoebe wins, and on the very same question Helga's sister had missed, too.}}

** When in a non-stop contest against his wife. Coach Jack states he first got to date his now wife by forfeiting the game and letting her win. He later does this at the end of the episode and they get back together.

* [[Transformers Prime]] gives us Silas, head of the terrorist organization M.E.C.H. He's made no secret his desire to obtain Cybertronian tech for his own ends. However, if it looks as if the tide of battle is turning against him, he has no problem ordering a strategic withdrawal, happy to use what information he's gleaned for the next encounter. It's notable that Optimus Prime compares him to Megatron.

 

* Invoked by Sarah Palin during her speech explaining why she was resigning as governor of Alaska.

** At that point as well, most of them had been left in the desert with dwindling ammo and supplies and ordered to fight to the death. They weighed their options and decided being a POW was a far better choice than starving to death in the desert or getting shot for a cause that was already lost. American soldiers reported them jumping over their defensive walls, waving white flags and thanking them while ''kissing their boots.''

* This trope is the reason [[The Thirty-Six Stratagems]] even exists. Some dude in Ancient China was not doing well in battle, so his strategist tells him: "Of the thirty six (i.e. various) strategies out there, a tactical retreat would be the wisest course of action", appealing to a (then not really existent) list. Later generations would go on to speculate what the other thirty five might be.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Aesops]]