Common Beginner Mistakes

As with any skill based game, new poker players make a lot of mistakes when they are starting out at the game. Many of these mistakes will hold the players back from making and a profit and in this article we will go through the most common mistakes and how to rectify them.

Making the transition from play money to real money

When players finally move onto real money after spending time getting a feel for the game on the play money tables, many think the play will be of the same standard. Real money games are of a much higher standard then play money for the obvious reason that they have something to lose and also something to win. Players will be nothing like what you see at play money tables and you have to quickly realise those tables should only be used as a learning resource and not to prepare yourself for the real thing.

Playing too many hands

Many new players don’t have any knowledge of which hands to play and from which position so they choose to play almost every hand dealt to them. This is a major mistake and will lose you bucket loads of chips if not stopped. Learn which hands to play from which position and all about pot odds to sharpen your skills in this area.

Bankroll Management

All players have to apply a strict bankroll management and stick to it. Inexperienced players will happily dive into a game with their whole bankroll and moan when they have taken a bad beat and have $0.00 left in their account. You have to make sure you are protecting yourself from going bust and to do that you must learn how to manage your bankroll. You can do that by seeing our other article tilted “Need of Bankroll and Money Management”.

Attaching yourself to certain hands

Sure when you see pocket aces dealt to you, you should be excited and expecting to win. However you have to be prepared to let them go if the dealer presents a scary board. If you are facing a large bet and the community cards are 5 6 7 8 10 you should easily be able to make the fold but, it is surprising how many players will call as they don’t believe aces should be beat. It is a very risky way to think and just because you are dealt a great hand pre-flop doesn’t mean it is going to stay so great once all the cards have been dealt.