In my experience, I have seen so many different kinds of poker players. You have Loose-Aggressives (LAG), Tight-Aggressives (TAG), Weak-Tights (TAG-Fish), Donkies, Fish… the list goes on and on.
Most fish (aka total beginners/n00b) can easily transition to a TAG-Fish (yes, I get that might not be motivating) by plugging their *major* leaks. Once you get to this “basic stage”…then poker becomes extremely complex.
Keep in mind that this list is geared towards No-Limit Hold’em, although many of them can be applied to other forms of poker as well.
1. Play TOO MANY hands
This is not a new concept, and everyone is screaming the same thing. Much of the problem here is that beginners tend to watch poker on TV and try to play it the same way they’ve seen it. The problem here is that on the one hand you’re watching some of the top pros and there’s a lot of method to their madness and 2… most of what you see on TV is final table poker tournaments, when you just you have a small stack, it makes sense to go all-in, all the time. This is not how we play deep cash games.
2. Defend the blinds too liberally
The small blind and the big blind are the worst positions post-flop. It’s hard to get people out of position and it’s even harder to get called even when you have a big hand. It just isn’t worth defending/playing from the blinds unless you have a strong hand or a strong read on your opponents. Especially for beginners: it’s a very safe bet to limit the number of hands you play out of position.
3. Limping preflop (simply calling the big blind)
This is a play you should almost never make unless you are a very advanced player and it is part of your “balancing act”. Limp is very weak and can easily be exploited by an observant opponent. Also, it gives others the opportunity to take the betting lead, and those who are more aggressive will win more often. Bottom line: if you’re going to get into a pot, open it with a raise.
4. Not playing aggressive enough in position.
When you are in the cut-off (seat to the right of the dealer button) and on the button, you are in position relative to the other players at the table. These are the positions where you will earn most of your money. Being in position is very advantageous as everyone involved in the hand will have to act before you for the entire hand. This concept is the reason why a casino has an advantage over a player in BlackJack: players will check all the time because they can’t see what the dealer has. They have to guess what the dealer has. Apply this concept to poker and you will win more money!
5. Call with drawn hands instead of betting
When you have a flush or straight draw, or any other draw, you will usually be behind a player who is betting for you. When you call your opponents’ bets, you hope to hit your draw. The problem with calling is that you won’t get your draw often enough for your call to be profitable; in the long run, you will lose more money calling and missing than calling and hitting. This is why it is important in many cases to bet your draws instead of calling. When you bet your draw, you can get better hands to fold and have two ways to win instead of one.
6. Thinking hands are better just because they are suited.
Just because your hand is suited doesn’t mean it’s good: the chances of getting flushes are very low (in the 1% range). In general, you’ll want to play hands that can make both straights, flushes, straight flushes, and big pairs. When you play a hand like 9d 5d, you can only really hit a flush to make a big hand, you can’t make a straight, and you can’t make a big pair. Simply toss these rubbish hands and wait for a suitor connector that is much more valuable.
7. Not paying attention to your opponents
If you are just playing your cards, you will inevitably lose your money. Poker is a negative sum game; which means there are more losers than winners. This is because the casino takes commission from every pot – the casino ALWAYS wins. Since everyone gets exactly the same amount of luck in the long run, you’ll need to use other methods to ensure you stay ahead. We do this primarily by paying close attention to the tendencies of our opponents. If you’re playing against a caller with really weak hands, make sure you don’t bluff this player. If you’re playing against a player who folds all hands except monsters, make sure you bluff this player a lot. Most players fall somewhere between the extremes, so it’s important to pay close attention to your bet/payout/raise frequencies.
8. Playing under the influence of x
This doesn’t just mean alcohol, drugs or any other substance, just being distracted/influenced by a TV in the background when playing online, or concentrating on the really cute waitresses running around the casino – these factors will reduce your concentration and in turn affect your I play on the table. Poker is a very complicated strategic game that requires a great deal of brain power – make sure your brain is fully focused at all times.
9. Believing you know how to play poker
Poker is an easy game to play. The rules are simple. It’s very tricky in the sense that you can play amazing and lose all the time, and also play horribly and always seem to win. Those in the latter category tend to overestimate their own abilities, while those in the former tend to underestimate them. Underestimation can be good: it forces you to think, evaluate, study and apply our thinking. Overestimating will get you into a lot of trouble, a sort of red herring that doesn’t go away until you’ve lost all your profits and probably more. If you ask any real professional poker player, they will all tell you that they have a lot to learn. Poker is a game that cannot be mastered no matter how hard you try. It’s so dynamic because the variables are people. You can read dozens of books and still not know as much as many players. Never fool yourself into thinking you’re good because you’ve booked some winning sessions.
10. Not having a good RakeBack or Bonus Plan in the Casino (both online and physical)
Rakeback can save your bankroll when times are bad and boost your bankroll significantly when times are good. RakeBack is very similar to getting paid for playing poker: the higher the stakes, the higher the rakeback. If you don’t have a deal like this, you’re throwing away tons of money.
