4 Lethal Mistakes Beginning Poker Players Make

May 18th, 2008

Poker is not a science. It can’t be boiled down to a series of events and reactions. It’s an art. The best players learn to roll with the punches and come back swinging. Things go wrong. Cards land badly. Bankrolls dip desperately low. But, each time, a veteran poker player will consider his odds, keep his cool and sometimes, come back to fight another day. On the other hand, novice poker players make a ton of rookie mistakes. And when they do, the veterans on the table move in for the kill. Below, you’ll find 4 of the most lethal (and common) mistakes that novice players make.

Mistake #1: Getting Emotional

The pros make it look easy. But, keeping your cool when your luck turns bad is a learned skill. Beginning players often don’t control their emotions. But, on the table, luck turns quickly and small things start to annoy. Great hands get buried. The player next to you distracts and irritates you. But, when you get angry, you lose your focus. And when that happens, the sharks on the table smell the blood and come to feed.

Mistake #2: Bluffing Too Often

New poker players make this mistake all the time. And trust me… experienced players notice it quickly. The problem is that rookies watch movies or a poker cable channel and think they can get away with murder on the table. What they don’t realize is that there are 2 problems with that. First, veteran players have seen it all and can smell most of it a mile away. Second, beginners are usually bad bluffers. Combine those 2 dynamics and you have a novice who’s bankroll is about to get pummeled.

Mistake #3: Not Understanding Pot Odds

To be fair, even experienced poker players often neglect to figure out the pot odds of a hand. There’s no excuse, but it happens. That being said, rookies often don’t even understand the odds. That can make them call too often, bumping against maximum bets with poor hands. For the savvy player who keeps the odds in his head during a hand, the rookie is just fresh meat.

Mistake #4: Imitating Other Players

This happens a lot. Most beginners learn poker by watching more experienced players. That’s fine because it’s a great way to learn strategy. The trap most novices fall into though, is simply copying what other players are doing. They don’t understand poker strategy. Here’s the problem. If you’re imitating a great player’s moves without knowing why he’s making them, you’ll begin to follow a trend that others will pick up on. You’ll be predictable. If you copy a poor player’s move, you’re setting yourself up for failure. It’s a common rookie mistake, but it can be deadly on the table.

Becoming A Better Poker Player

If you’re a beginner, understand that nobody is a “born poker player.” The professional players that you see on TV or in tournaments developed the skills they need to win. Everybody makes mistakes. A lot of pros have made the mistakes I’ve described above. The difference is that they learned from them. If they bluffed badly, they fixed the problem. If they angered quickly, they developed control. If you want to be a proficient poker player, understand the game. Identify the mistakes you’re making and fix them.

By the way, the 4 mistakes above are just a quick sampling. Beginner poker players make a ton of others. So, we’ll be coming back to this soon. Stay tuned.

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Entry Filed under: Beginner Poker Tips, Strategies & tips