Common Mistakes of the Advanced Poker Player

Mistake #1: Missing Value Bets

Being able to value bet is one of the determining factors that separates a good poker player from a great poker player. It is easy to know how to bet when you are holding the buts but it is another thing entirely to get the maximum value out of the rest of your hands. Being able to squeeze each and every dollar out of your mediocre hands is part of what makes great players great.
Making decisions on value bettering depends greatly on what the situation is and what game you are playing. For example, when you are playing a game like limit Hold’em, you should approach betting very aggressively because there is a limit to the amount you can raise and the size of the bet relative to the size of the pot is quite small. As such, other players will often call your bet with extremely marginal hands.
When you are playing no-limit Hold’em, however, making a value you bet takes on a completely new level of complexity. Getting a good read on what kind of hand your opponent is holding is the first step. If you cannot peg your opponent to a hand you will have difficulty in determining whether or not you have him beaten. Additionally, knowing what your opponent is holding helps to give you a good idea of how much to bet. In addition to being able to read your opponent, you should take into consideration the play style of your opponent. When you are playing against a less skilled and more casual player, that player will make calls based on how strong he thinks his hand is. As such, you should not bet too aggressively if you are much stronger as you are trying to make your opponent call.
If your opponent is a more serious player, however, you know that your opponent is also taking into consideration what you may be holding as well. Because your opponent is a more serious player, he probably has a read on you as well. This will force you to make a bet based on both what you think your opponent is holding but what your opponent thinks you are holding. If you think that the only hand your opponent can beat is a bluff, your bet should appear to be a bluff by either over-betting or under-betting.
Because so much of value betting depends on who is sitting at the table, it cannot be taught really be taught through mathematical concepts. Instead, the only way to learn about value betting is to play the game and develop a feel for reading players and situations.
Mistake #2: Tilting for a long period of time

Typically, an advanced poker player is going to be able to avoid going on tilt or mitigate the damages that result from going on tilt pretty well. With that said, there are times that even very good players will start to tilt like crazy as a result of a big string of bad beats or a long session of poor play and bad luck. After losing confidence in their abilities at the table, these periods of tilt can go on for days or weeks and they have been known to knock out a player’s entire bankroll. Sometimes these periods of tilt last for so long that the player will lose all the good habits that they built over time. A natural continuation is for these players to move to higher stakes games in an attempt to get back their winnings. Noticing when these periods start to happen is imperative in order to preserve your bankroll. If you think you are going on tilt or you are starting to fall into bad habits, you should step down a level in the stakes and go back to basics. Going back to basic, tight, and conservative poker will help to reestablish a winning record and rebuild that much-needed self-confidence.

Mistake #3: Lack of focus

This is not something that most people would think is an issue for advanced poker players but it is much more common than you think. It is especially common with players who think they have completely mastered the stakes at which they are playing and that they no longer need to play attention to what is going on at the table. As an experience player, they have played tens of thousands of hands of poker and have a good understanding of what to do in a given situation. This nonchalant approach to the table can be very costly.
Much of the time, this person will still win because they have a great deal of poker experience. With that said, failing to pay attention to your table will result in a lower expected value and can quickly become a bad habit. Your awareness falls considerably and you have much more difficulty in reading what your opponents are holding and making good decisions because you are not paying enough attention to get good information. One reason that players will lose focus is that they are playing more tables than they can handle or they feel overly confident and start to do things like drink while playing or watch tv or play video games at the same time. If you are playing poker to win you should play to win and focus on not only making as much money as possible but improving at every opportunity.

Mistake #4: Making poor game selection

Choosing the right game is one of the most important aspects of being successful at poker. This can be a problem for players from novice all the way up to advanced and making a bad game selection can end up being a very expensive mistake. Being overconfident and thinking that you can beat any game is a surefire way to lose a lot of chips. You should never sit down at a table that you cannot handle both as a player and from the standpoint of your bankroll. There is nothing wrong with not being able to play in a certain game and knowing where your limit is will help to prevent losing your bankroll. It is always better to play at a game that is less difficult where you will make more money than to move to a higher stakes game where you are unable to compete and will lose both money and self confidence.

Mistake #5: Playing high stakes at different games

Dabbling in other game variations is a great way to spice things up and familiarize yourself with other forms of poker. It gives you a new perspective on the game and can help with your strategy and other aspects of the game. With that said, many advanced players will jump into a different game at a level similar to the one at which they normally play. This can be a very dangerous trap to fall into. Instead of moving to stakes similar to your primary game, when going to a new game it is important to start at or near the bottom and work your way up. Each poker variation is different and come with a whole host of different rules, statistics, and play styles. While your progression from the start to higher stakes will probably take less time considering you have already mastered one form of poker, it does not mean you should jump right into a $2/$4 PLO game just because you have the $2/$4 NL game down pat.
Jumping right into a different game where your understanding of the rules and strategies involved is weak will almost always result in a major loss of cash. As such, it is important if you are going to try a new variation of poker to take your time learning the same way you learned your first poker game and work your way up.

Mistake #6: Poor free card play recognition

Making good free card plays is an important part of advanced poker strategy. Getting the most out of your hand even when it is bad can be the difference between winning a hand and losing a hand. Making sure that you position yourself to have the option of getting a free card when you might need it is quite handy. For example, if you are last to act and flop a flush draw, you should make a bet with the hope that your opponent will call. Typically, your opponent will probably check the turn which gives you the option to check behind if you do not hit your flush and get to see the next card without having to put any money into the middle. Being able to get free cards when you need them will help to improve your average return and it can take hands that would be folded and turn them into possible winners.

Posted by Joel on Jul 13 2010. Filed under Poker Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry