Five Beginner Traps
Learning the many strategies and tips to help you master poker can be a very
long and trying process. It is good to get a handle on the basics, but you are still going to be a complete novice when it comes to playing really well.
Sometimes being a beginner, you end up feeling like you are stuck in a rut as far as how you are playing, continuously making the same mistakes over and over. You might not even be able to recognize what you are doing wrong.
Well, don’t worry – keep reading for some insight into the five traps that many new players often get stuck in, as well as find links to some very sound advice on how to fix them.
1. Playing too many hands before the flop. This has to be one of the biggest pitfalls. New players often end up playing way too many hands pre-flop. There are certain requirements that need to be considered when choosing a hand to play before the flop.
Make sure you are only playing 19 – 24% of your hands and folding with the rest.
2. Letting hands go too far past the flop. This carries on from the previous trap. New players don’t only play too many hands – they also end up going too far with them. Many players will actually take any pair or any draw to the river. Generally, you only want to be continuing with top pair or better, or else a strong draw.
3. Letting their play be affected by “feeling” rather than by the cards, numbers and situations. Too many new players play hands because they have a certain feeling – this is never a good idea. Poker is a game of number and mathematics, and everything that happens is due to odds.
You should only ever play a hand because it has good odds to win – not because you believe you are due to win or that you are feeling lucky. Only play a hand because the situation indicates that by doing so, you are going to make money.
Another critical mistake made by poker rookies – letting decisions be clouded and affected by emotions.
4. Letting their emotions get the best of them. Poker can be a very stressful game, and you can start making some bad decisions if you end up letting your emotions get the better of you after losing a few hands.
Poker depends on good decisions – so you want to be approaching the decision making with a clear frame of mind in order to make the best ones.
5. Only thinking short-term. Too many players make a correct play, then second guess themselves if they lose the pot. They start thinking things like “He ended up making a straight so I should have folded pocket aces.”
You can’t do this. As long as you get your money in good, it is the right play, no matter whether you win or lose. Poker is a long-term game, so even though you may make all the right decisions you can still lose many times over the course of a day, week or even a month.
There is a lot of short term luck involved, but in the long run, bad players will still lose more often and the good players will win.
Final word
So to recap: Be sure you bring the number of hands you play before the flop under control; fold while it is still good to do so; use concrete factors to make your decisions; keep a hold on your emotions; and look long term when assessing potential plays.
Keep all of these basic poker concepts in your mind and you will learn how to play like the pros without needing to break the bank.
