I wouldn't say this is necessarily a mistake, but more an evolution in my game.....and that is not being aggressive enough. I was not taking the lead in spots where I take the lead now. As I played more, I worked on picking spots where being aggressive would pay off.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Here's a situation from the Full Tilt freeroll from the previous Sunday (Feb. 21st).
We were three handed, and I had the chip lead. I might have been the small blind at the time but the button (2nd in chips folded), and I had pocket 6's in the SB with the short stack in the big blind. I made up my mind that if the button folded, I was going to shove for a couple of reasons.
1. My hand stands to be ahead of the short stack's range in that spot and I would rather shove than call with that hand.
2. Even if I lost the hand, and became the shortest stack, I was still in fine position to chip my way back into it. I had already done so previously so I had the mindset that I could afford it. If I won, I was going into heads-up with a big chip lead and liking my chances to win.
As it turned out, the BB called with pocket 3's, my hand held and I got to heads-up, which I eventually won. I wouldn't have played my hand the same way in the past, but seeing the bigger picture and understanding the table dynamic, I calculated that my play there was optimal.
Again though, sometimes that doesn't work out. Of course, I'm always trying to figure out ways to improve my game, which is something we all really should do as nobody ever REALLY masters this game.
Good luck at the tables.