If you don’t learn from your mistakes at the poker table, you’re doomed to be a losing player over the long term. Here are some common mistakes that new poker players often make that are easily correctable when they’re playing no-limit Texas Hold’em (NLHE).
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You’re Too Smart for Your Own Good
When your ego gets in the way, it’s a recipe for disaster. Even smart people make dumb mistakes. Overthinking a situation is just as bad as not putting enough thought into your actions. NLHE is also a feel game and instincts are vital to survive over the long run.
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Bluffing Too Much
One of the biggest mistakes newcomers make is bluffing too often. Bluffing is an artform and timing is paramount. You must pick your spots and know which opponents are prone to a well-timed bluff, and know which players are calling stations and impossible to bluff. Bluffing is also a perception issue because newbies overlook how they’re perceived by their opponents. If you have a loose table image, it will be more difficult to bluff.
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Playing Scared
Lack of confidence is a huge issue for poker newcomers. No one wants to look bad, but that’s something you have to quickly overcome and you have to accept that you’re going to lose pots. You have to be willing to lose all your chips on any given hand if you expect to thrive in NLHE. Once you overcome that fear, you’ll become a more well-rounded player.
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Overvaluing Marginal Hands Post-Flop
Beware of situations when you’re card dead and you get desperate. You finally catch a piece of the flop, and perhaps it’s top pair with a weak kicker. Maybe you improve to two pair on the river, or even make a baby flush. But you end up losing the pot to an opponent with a much stronger hand. If you’re unable to determine your opponents’ range of hands, then this is a leak that could cost you dearly.
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Misplaying Early and Late Position
Position is often more important than the hand you’re dealt. Playing too many hands out of position, or not playing enough hands in late position are common mistakes for newcomers. You need to tighten up in early position, especially under the gun. But don’t forget to loosen up in late position, especially at the cutoff and hijack.
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Playing Too Many Hands
Patience and discipline are tough attributes to master for new players. Playing hands with low kickers is a shortcut toward multiple rebuys and bleeding your bankroll dry. In Las Vegas, locals call Ace-Seven the “Tourist” because many tourists are so excited to play any non-straight Ace (which is A-6, A-7, A-8, or A-9 and can’t help you make a Wheel straight or a Broadway straight). Avoid these trouble hands. Otherwise, you’re weak Ace will lose to a superior kicker like Ace-King or Ace-Queen.
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Convinced Your Opponent Is (Always) Bluffing
You bet the river, and your opponent raises. You’re suspicious and hold a marginal hand, but think they’re bluffing, so you call and lose the pot. Standing your ground is important in poker, and no one likes to get bullied at the table. But if you’re paying off too many of your opponents’ winning river bets, then you’re overvaluing your hand and not putting a proper read on your opponent.
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Using Outdated Strategy
Education is important in poker, especially because strategy tends to change every couple of years. Strategy is constantly evolving, so take time out to brush up on the game every few months. Even if you think a certain new technique or style might be overrated or is a fad, your opponents might think it’s their ticket to success so it’s important to understand different strategies to gain insight into your opponents and how they think.
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Emotional Poker
Players on tilt will spew their chips. It’s profitable when you’re able to leverage a situation like that. On the flip side, you must control your emotions at all times. Always keep your emotions in check, and if you’re starting to stew over a bad beat, then take a break until you calm down. Never play poker when you’re angry, or in a bad head space. Nothing lures you over to the dark side faster than trying to seek revenge on an opponent who put a bad beat on you. Suckouts are a part of the game, so you must put those bad beats out of your mind. Forget the past and stay present in the moment.
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Knowing When to Quit
When you’re tired, you’ll likely make bad decisions at the tail end of a long poker session. Greed will tempt you to keep playing instead of banking a winning session. Sometimes fate is out of your control and variance rears its ugly head and you lose a couple of big pots or get stacked in your final orbit. I could probably fund a vacation to Hawaii with all the money I lost because I should’ve cashed out earlier in a session, but I foolishly stayed to play longer.
