The Ten Biggest Mistakes a Poker Player Makes

[Zybomb]

I need some help from everyone, for a list

The Ten Biggest Mistakes a Poker Player Makes.

Now I know typical answers are : Plays too many hands etc, which is true... but Im talking about a more advanced player, one with a solid understanding of concepts and strategies, who knows whathe's doing. Maybe a player like yourself... what mistakes do you think you make, or others similiar to you make?

For example ''Plays too many hands, could turn into 'plays too many trouble hands' (in multiway pots / out of position / to raises....whatever) for a more seasoned player, who knows something like K8 is trash.

Well thats the first one I'll add

- Plays too many trouble hands

My two personal answers of the biggest two would be

- Undervalues the Gap Concept (I think it's a big flaw in a lot of players play including my own...especially in tournament play)

- Does not play position correct (either by playing hands from earlier position which aren't strong enough, opening with questionable hands early, NOT opening with weaker strong hands late, not stealing enough blinds, not using the button postflop enough etc)

I've thought of one more as well

- Does not extract as much money as he can with his winning hands (either by slowplaying when a bet would be called had he bet, not value betting the river, not betting a larger amount which would have been called etc)

So, based on this post, so far I have four on the list ( in no particular order )

1. Plays too many trouble hands
2. Undervalues the Gap Concept (calls too many raises)
3. Does not adjust play for position enough
4. Does not extract as much money as is possible with winning hands
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

5-10 are blank.... I'd like suggestions and thoughts on this matter. If the general topic needs an explanation, please explain after it

Afterwards, once we get a top ten list going (NOT yet...once there is an official top 10, some of my ideas may wind up being bumped off for all i know) , I'd like people to rank them in order from 1-10 (right now it is just random order).

[Boobie Lover]

Bankroll management
Emotional control

[Aequitas58]

Q: Is this for your ebook, or an article? Maybe a sticky for the forum?

Off the top of my head:

-For all types of NLHE, you can't win if you're not aggressive, so I'd say, "not being aggressive enough."

-Tournament NLHE: Chip stacks. It's really important to know how to play your stack in relation to not only the increasing blinds and antes, but also other players stacks.

-Ring Game: Always keeping your stack at max buyin.

What do I know.

[Aequitas58]

Good one. If you take a beat, fuck it, say "nh" and move on. It's only money. If you can't afford to lose, then you're playing the wrong limits.

[sjay2k]

- Assigning their own thought processes to other players (e.g. "I bluffed the turn because the way I played it he must think I'd have a set)

- Not finding easy tables

- Underplaying made hands in NL

- Continuation bets in limit with underpockets on Broadway boards

- Mistaking bad luck for bad play

- Letting ego control take control when coming across a better player

[Zybomb]

Yes, an addition to the e-book (which Im hoping will be completed/editted/"published" by the end of the summer). But a sticky for the forum would be cool, especially if this gets a lot of contribution and good responses... and every one can for the most part agree which 10 belong in the top 10

[PunkyChikn]

I know my biggest problem is maintaining focus and staying aware of the table. You can't move beyond Level One poker if you're not paying attention to your opponents.

A closely related one would be playing for periods of time longer than your ability to maintain focus.

[Zybomb]

So far the ones that stand out so far that have been mentioned

- Emotional Control (Big time)

- Not playing aggressive enough (which has to be clearly distinguished from playing reckless)

- Assigning your own thought process to other players (also giving players too much credit or not enough credit)

- Not paying enough attention to your opponents (Not picking up on tendancies, habbits and playing styles of your opponents)

This is goin off good (for the middle of the night) lets get some more comin in when normal people wake up

[Robbie Robb]

This could be in the "plays too many trouble hands" but something along the lines of "plays too many 'favourite' hands". Sure, we've all got the hands that we like, that have done well for us, but dude, there comes a time when you've gotta lay down that KJo....

[Robbie Robb]

Just thought of another one - more geared towards beginning players. This may also generate a bit of discussion:

Making the mistake of not initially focusing on, and becoming proficient, in one type of game before tackling some of the others. We all know Mike Sexton says that Hold 'Em takes a minute to learn, a lifetime to master; but I think it's important to be able to have a pretty good idea of what you're doing before taking on other formats such as O8, Razz, HORSE/HOSE, etc.

[melioris]

wow, great thread and comments.

If this is for live play, I add not being aware of your body, or self-aware, or however you want to say it. One should be aware of not just how they appear to other (which is really important), but also one's posture, body language, etc.

I am not suggesting acting, just aware of the nature body language you are communicating.

For online, I add playing too many tables. Finding the number of tables that maximizes your $/hr rate. Also, and along these lines, with online I think a mistake that good players make is not spending enough time analyzing your game with all the software that is unavailable to do this. For both NL and L pokertracker is not just to use against your opponents, it is to use for you to improve your game.

[thrash1294]

1 bankroll management (playing above your bankroll)
this is the biggest issue for most beginers I think

[PShabi]

As SJay mentioned:

Table Selection

Many good players think they can just pop open any old table at Party Poker and make a profit. While this is still probably true for the best players, they are in no way maximizing profit.

Failure to maximize profit through good table selection.

Print it.

[PShabi]

Are you saying people do this too much or not enough???

Seriously.

[Zybomb]

I agree 100%

The reason I left it off the official list is because it's online dependant and not applicable in live games (for the most part at least) and Im trying not to distinguish between the two... but yea i think it should fit somewhere nicely

[Zybomb]

Q8s (especially in hearts) = RAISE RAISE RAISE

[ashmc2]

Here's a few I need to work on.

- Betting the river, when the only time you'll get a call, is when you're beat.

- Going for the draw even without the odds, just because you feel it.

- Calling on the flop because of a scary board, in stead of raising to see where you're at. Basically giving a free card.

[kkirk1329]

When to slowplay, i see people all the time giving free cards with 2 suited cards on the flop, with possible straight cards.

[PShabi]

Not with the level of statistical sophistication I use online, but Vegas pros definitely scout games while waiting and know when to get on a list for a table change.

[PShabi]

OMG, stop it.

[ashmc2]

Sorry limit boy. Just setting it up for weds night. lol

[ashmc2]

Another few

- Being too impulsive (not putting your opponent on a range of hands before making a decision.)

- Not betting the right amount (to achieve what you wanted from your opponent. Did you want him to draw or not?)

[Nikita]

Not being aware of what type of opponent you are against. For example don't bluff a calling station or be cautious when in a pot with a rock who raised preflop.

[Akverno]

Worrying about the wrong player in a hand. There have been times when I've been seated perfectly, just to the right of the donkey, and I'll be raising his bets on fourth street when out of nowhere the CO or Button raises my raise and I wasn't paying enough attention to know where I'm at. Maybe this is just a rookie mistake, but the other day I lost a few big pots while holding a strong hand not thinking as much about the "other" guy in the pot and I cost myself quite a few BB over the course of an hour or so.

[Zybomb]

So far the ones that stand that have been mentioned

5- Emotional Control (Big time)

6- Not playing aggressive enough (which has to be clearly distinguished from playing reckless)

7- Assigning your own thought process to other players (also giving players too much credit or not enough credit)

8- Not paying enough attention to your opponents (Not picking up on tendancies, habbits and playing styles of your opponents)

9- Not adjusting your play according to reads you have on your opponent (This goes beyond, dont bluff a calling station and don't call down a Rock...it goes to things like, this player pays people off big time=start playing more suited connectors, one gappers, small pairs, suited aces and other hidden hands even if [maybe especially] this player has open raised. If you have AK and flop an ace, he's likely to pay off with ace jack, don't check the river when he's called your first two bets, value bet etc)

10- not putting your opponent on a range of hands before making a decision (playing too much level 1 poker and not enough level 2)

These can fill the empty 6 spots, and I plan on having 1 bonus which will be on Table Selection.

are 7 8 and 9 too closely related is my first question

Are there any of these (and my original 4) listed that someone feels is not that big of a common mistake?

Is there anything I could be missing?

TP, JD, (and others) feel free to chime in also.......

The bankroll issue is important, but Im focusing on the actual part of the game here more than the overall picture. Some of the responses were too basic (i.e the slowplaying one) and some were too specific to be top ten overall mistakes.

I also thought of another which would make 11 (if accepted) that has to do with losing too much money drawing against a made hand. (even with odds but low implied odds, not taking turn bets into consideration when calling on the flop, drawing with a medium sized draw etc)

Do you think this one would trump any of the 10 I have listed?

Or something about Betting proper amounts and understanding the different reasons for betting (isolation, value, bluff, denying odds etc) and adjusting your betting amounts accordingly

Would either of these two rank up there?

All responses are appreciated

If there are no objections (or additional mistakes, which Im still looking for) within the next day or so, Im going to start a poll up in a new thread asking people to rank in order these mistakes based on certain criteria (how commonly it occurs, how big of an effect it has, etc)