This article is aimed at beginner poker players who often make avoidable mistakes in their initial enthusiasm to participate in as many games as possible in order to gain experience at the tables. If you are one of these too, read on and learn which mistakes to avoid for becoming a smart poker player – and notch up your pot wins.
The number one mistake beginners make (and which you must avoid) is playing one too many hands, but this is nothing short of a cardinal mistake, especially if you have got a hand like J 4. So learn about hand selection as listed in many top poker websites and play only recommended hands for making a profit with poker plays.
The second biggest mistake beginner poker players make is exceeding their poker bankroll due to mismanaging their finances or becoming greedy. The smart way out is only by mentally fixing a figure for the bankroll you will play for a game and sticking to it, especially if the competition gets stiff and you could lose it all. Thus, play only low limits consistently, with money you can afford to lose – when you are a beginner at poker, then improve your skills and learn to beat others before moving on to high stakes!
Another mistake beginner poker players make is getting emotional about losing in a game or getting hassled by irritating opponents. The solution is to never let emotions get the better of playing smart poker as this can affect judgment at the tournament table.
Mistake number 4 that beginner players make at poker games is not learning the concept of pot odds, which should be used for helping decide the next card to call for the board. One should also avoid calling too often and learn how to use a pot odds calculator as offered by many reputed online poker rooms to give an edge to their poker game!
The next common mistake beginners tend to make is utilizing a double color deck of cards, because they think of cards in terms of black and red. However, using a four color unconventional deck allows an online poker player to clearly detect a unique color for every suit so it becomes easier to avoid misreading the hand (as is the case with the traditional two-deck variety, which is known to mislead players into thinking they even have a flush sometimes – when actually they don’t).
Mistake number six that beginner poker players tend to make is related to using proper game etiquette, especially in live poker rooms, when they cannot seem to differentiate between speaking intentions out loud for making a raise and knowing that the first action will be regarded as their final one.
Finally, mistake number seven is to blindly follow other players at the table without exercising any discretion about imitating others only because they ‘look like pros’ similar to the ones they may have seen on TV! This is simply stupid – not to mention fatal for a beginner playing a cash game!! Imagine if you were only going by appearances and a player looked cool but played a poor game; if you were imitating his actions, you’d end up picking up a host of bad poker habits and have a recipe for disaster on your hands (no pun intended!) So, keep in mind that players you see on TV have hands that are highly situational and these may be the reason why their tactics will likely have little or no applicability to your poker game.