My Top Ten Poker Mistakes

#10) Playing To Often/Playing Too Long

I get much better results after a break. A real break like one or two
days. After some time off I come back ready to play; excited, clear headed,
just into it. Not bored, removed, or unconcerned.

Same is true for marathon sessions. I do much better taking a breaky every couple of hours.


#9) Fancy Play Syndrome

Solid poker gets the money (and keeps the money) so much better than any of my "creative" plays.


#8) Calling


I've started a bad habit of calling people down. No idea where it came
from. Raise or put down. Is it costing you anything to raise instead of call?


#7) Allowing Distractions


Sure I can cook dinner while I'm playing in this tournament.


#8) Reading "Hold'em For Advanced Players" First


To much quantifying not enough qualifying? I don't know. It just gave me
too much of a grinder mentality. Maybe. "Hey, I'm going to spend eight hours
staring at my computer screen 'cause I'm in a +EV situation."


#7) Playing Micro/Low Limits

If you're going to spend 9 hours doing something make sure that said
activity has atleast SOME potential to change your life for the better. It's
a good way to learn but once I learned I should have saved every dime to get up in limits.


#6) Playing Tired

I had been playing LHE for eleven hours and then decided to move over to
the No-Limit game. An hour later I donked all my chips off in one hand. I
honestly believe that subconciously (sp?) I blew all of my money so I could
leave. Seriously. My brain was like, "**** You, we're going home."


#C) Not Knowing The Rules

I love this story. First time in a card room, I'm playing 5-10 LHE. I
wind up getting my kings-full of aces beaten by four aces. Three of us had
capped it every round. In my newbie nervousness I muck my KK after dude
shows his AA. The next night I come back and for the first time read I the
"bad-beat" jackpot sign. $3500 fo Jacks or better fullhouse beaten by a four of a kind. I almost threw up.


#4) Playing Drunk

It's not so much the lost money that bothers me, it's knowing that I
lost it because I was drunk. It feels great trying to explain it to the wife
too. "See honey I had a flush, which is like, a really good hand and..." she
interupts "Have you been drinking?".


#1) Playing Above My bankroll

I'll never do it again. Being broke and out of action because you played
above your head? I can't take the abuse I dump on myself for making this
mistake.

I don't have 10, but I'll add a couple of my rookie mistakes:

1. Thinking I'm being bluffed. It's been the biggest loser for me, but I'm slowly correcting it.

2. Getting too excited when you see two Q's, K's or A's in front of you. Been beat with them enough times that I'm working that one out too.

3. Overbetting

4. Losing at lower stakes, getting pissed off and going into higher stakes games to make it up. Yes, there is at least one person that is stupid enough to do that. Bit me HARD the other night, too.

5. Following flush draws too far

lol, i think not being able to count down from 10 should be another 1

what happened to #5, #3,#2?

i think the easiest bad habits to fall accustomed to are :

Playing Drunk,
Calling down solid players who are obv. value betting u.
Playing someone with agg image in a pot and losing and fearing playing them again in a big pot.
Playing above ure br
Overbetting/Underbetting ure value bets.

Playing drunk is really bad for me. Thank god I come home late anymore and just pass out, instead of sitting here and not being able to stare at the screen.

I think not enjoying life is one big mistake for me to. Playing way too much and not going out/having a life. You begin to think about how much you are missing out because you are always playing poker, so it gets to me.

Definitely overbetting/raising and not getting value out of my good hands when I actually do wake up with them. I lose ton of value from just playing them way to much and pushing out way to much money, making it not profitable for an opponent to call me in the situation.

Wow

These reasons are extremely accurate! I've noticed the same problems with myself.

yes sounds all too familar - my biggest problem is still using my fingers to count to five and check if I have a straight, lol I only play online figure it would be too much of a tell, playing live.

#1) Playing Above My Bankroll...

This one is a common mistake in many players, me also had this mistake before, but now I know the important thing that is to play in the bankroll.

#6) Playing Tired...

I do not play more that 6 hours; I believe that if I it do, level of my game turn low.

Double-A said:

#10)#C) Not Knowing The Rules

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Yeah. I learned the hard way that BOTH HOLE CARDS MUST PLAY in Omaha. I watched a few duckets go away when I thought I had the winning boat. Thought the computer kept screwing up. Ha........

switch0723 said:

lol, i think not being able to count down from 10 should be another 1

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i can definitely relate to a few of these. especially the playing while tired, playing about my bankroll and playing too often. i will often play when i get home from work and should just get to bed. as far as playing too much i have kind of gotten that under control, since it is summer and there is so much more to do than play cards and i cant seem to shake that whenever i take a few bad beats i always seem to want to level up and make that money back, anyway these are my faults and ill just have to keep working to cut them down to make my game better.

these are all things you should worry about, especially the bank roll one. people tend to take a lot of unnecessary risks with their roll, but i gotta say that it has worked well for a lot of my friends!! they tripled up and played poker ever since! god i hope the same happens to me one of these days!!

There are the

#7) Allowing Distractions: Sure I can cook dinner while I'm playing in this tournament - Listening music is not a distraction too?

#6) Playing Micro/Low Limits - The best to create a bankroll

#4) Playing Drunk - Hey friend a beer during the game is permitted..

"I had been playing LHE for eleven hours and then decided to move over to the No-Limit game"
I get a 40 hour stretch once every few weeks! Man, you are ready to throw your laptop into the drink by hour 30. I take about 5 hours to get right, then play well for about 10. After that, it's just pain.

This is me after 30 hours:

shiver said:

yes sounds all too familar - my biggest problem is still using my fingers to count to five and check if I have a straight, lol I only play online figure it would be too much of a tell, playing live.

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Bwahaaaaaaaa! Thanks- I needed that laugh. Hilarious.

What works well for me is to waaaay overbet when I have the nuts- believe it or not, I get a ton of callers because I raise quick disguising it as a bluff! Zero to hero QUICK.

Also, I' ve been playing alot less hands- but every hand I play, I play HUGE.

The mistake i made a lot is the 7.
Not concentrating in my tourney.

Ditto on 7.
When I play online I tend to do a million other things online and talk to anyone who enters the room. I guess that's why live play is alot better for me haha.

HAHA, omg, I just saw what you wrote UNDER 7.



Sure I can cook dinner while I'm playing in this tournament.

I just did that last night. So funny.

PredAtor10Erat said:

#4) Playing Drunk

If i go to a casino and get a few drinks after a few more, I make the mistake of playing drunk. Its alot of fun at a huge price

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(-: This is precisely why I go to the casino late on Fri. and Sat. nights.

Along about 1:00am, one of em will start an "all in blind tournament." Like a wildfire, it spreads throughout the hall. The regulars just hang around. Like Groupers in a cave. Waiting for the inevitable feeding hour. I tell you, it's a beautiful thing. This is where poker was born friends. Taking money offa drunk, happy people, who laugh when you drag their chips away. Two or three of em in a pissing contest. Pushing blind on every hand. It's just like my prayers have been answered. Oh......... thank you, thank you Lord.

All's you gotta do is wait till you get a monster and call. (of course I look. Whatdoyathink, I'm drunk? ) Bam, there's another 2 or 3 hundred. And this goes on till they run outa duckets. Gotta love the drunks.

Imma have a whole crew of em as my pallbearers.


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Haha, these mistakes are well known by me, apart from the drunkplaying..
Although I've noticed I play better when distracted. I need something to take my mind of poker because I go crazy after a while and that's worse than playing too long..

you made some good points, the one i liked the best was getting away for awhile, i'm just learning that i need to brake away and do something else when my game is off, but i don't have any booze in the house, so i'll try the getting drunk and playing if you send some over

I would have to agree that the number one mistake alot of people make playing poker is playing drunk or buzzed. Sure you feel good but poker is a game of making good sound choices based on the information you get from the players and your cards. You cant decide very well when your impaired. For this reason I prefer to go to a live game after 10pm because people will be drunk and you can take advantage of this.

Probably the biggest mistake i forgot to mention is trusting pocket pairs to much online. Offline they work perfectly, but online they've proven to be a burdon!

I have to say #1 is usually what causes my demise. Trying to play in limits beyond my bankroll is the easiest way for me to go broke. Patience is the most important lesson here.

Your right a lot of people make that mistake. This happens a lot if someone gets hammered on their normal level. And then they try to make it up fast in higher limits. It is in my book the worst bankroll destroyer.

Those are all very great mistakes to remember and learn from! I know I've been guilty of those many times. That bad beat jackpot is the worst! Thanks for sharing