Poker has grown these past few months, the Coronavirus pandemic has push countries into lockdown and pushes people to stay at home.
Poker was one of the alternatives that most people chose to earn some money during the pandemic. Some players are doing good but there are players who are not doing so well.
“Poker is an easy game” was what people thought and now they are stuck with it. but if you are on the losing end. Are you committing this common mistake? maybe it is time to acknowledge it and change it.
Letting ego take control
Ego is a very dangerous partner in poker. from “this game is so easy” to “I am better than that player”.
Players sometimes will call, bet, or raise rather than fold or check because they don’t want to appear weak, even when they know that it would be the worst decision but would let ego take control.
Ego has no place in poker, every time you step on the table your only goal is to win. Maybe folding would make you look bad or weak, or your opponent will deliberately show a bluff to get you to react.
Understand that you are in control and you are there to win.
Not studying enough
What country are you living in? If your country has a good number of players chances are that certain players are always seen on the final table or becoming champions. It is not based on luck that they win a lot. they actually have played and learned the game.
Last year when we ask Flo Campomanes on what is his advice to new poker players.
First of all, keep studying, this is something that Filipinos should do more. Filipinos have natural talents but the general population does not study as much. if people want to use me as motivation. what they should think about is that I have been playing for 13 years and it only now that I have won it.
It was during the APPT main event that we ask him the question after he won the event. He went on to win the Red Dragon Main event as well both for more than 10 million PHP.
Although poker is easy to learn, becoming a winner is not that easy. You are competing with people who aspire to be crown the winner as well.
There is no system that is 100% that will make you a winner. But what it does is it gives you an edge against your opponent.
Some theories and studies are very effective in a general scenario while some have natural talents. but raw talents can be polished.
Doyle Brunson’s Super System, The Raisers edge by Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Daniel Negreanu’s MasterClass, and the GTO poker strategy are some of the basic things you can look into.
Practice
Like any other Competition and even mind games like chess, practice is important.
Executing the things that you have learned is not easy. a lot of the educational materials speak about certain scenarios and how to act upon them. skills like player reading or even betting on the hijack position or bluffing is not easy.
Example: your bluffing on the river with nothing but you have tells broadcasting your bluff that experienced players can read will often have bad results.
You can start small or play with your friends or join some tournaments so that you can polish your skills.
Bankroll Management
The best way to explain this is with examples.
– Not having enough affects a player’s mindset. “If I lose this hand I will not be able to play anymore”. it put the player in a scared money position and even if he might think he could win he would fold or play (call, raise or fold) wrongly.
– Wasting too many bullets. We have witness players who would re-buy so many times that the player to be on the top 3 to break even. There is always another game and there is always another chance. wasting your bullets on a game to break even is a huge mistake.
– Burning the money when you win a big amount. Examples would be gambling the winnings in hopes of winning big.
You do not need a huge bankroll but at the same time, you must not waste the bankroll that you have. In its essence, it is also the same on the next common mistake of a poker player.
Play within your budget and slowly grow it steadily.
Pot Control
There are some players who are just married to a hand. Quite recently we have noticed some players who would overbet the river on cash games with the nuts. While there were some who would overbet on the river with a bluff.
This is a very good example of this common mistake. One of the best ways to see the skills of the player is pot control.
When you may not have the best hand in a pot, make sure you control the pot that you would need to spend more that you would want to. At the same time when you have the best hand, make sure your opponent pays for it.
Minimize the chips you lose on losing hands while maximizing your profit on your winning hands.
Mindset and discipline
Playing but expecting to lose, sticking on a bad table, playing hands out of position even when there is a raise, playing too long, playing drunk, or playing on tilt.
These are the mistakes that should be avoided if you want to be a winning player. the mindset you have must be clear that you want to win. A few of the best players we know have great discipline, from not eating on the poker table to never ever playing when you got a single drink of beer.
Poker most of the time is a marathon and not a sprint unless it is a turbo tournament. pacing yourself and having a winners mindset is important.
Do you have any suggestions or opinions on the common mistakes players make? we would love to hear them as well.
Stay safe and hope to see you soon poker playas!
