Syndi N Poker: TEXAS "Holdem" STYLE

I know I have made these mistakes in the past and more than likely still do on occasion. Like I said I’m not a professional… but I do try to learn from my mistakes. Perhaps telling you about these common mistakes just might help to make you a better poker player or at least help you to win some money.

• Playing to many hands: This is the biggest mistake I keep making myself… Don’t play every hand. Most beginners might think that the more hands they are in, the more money they can win. This is actually not the best strategy to take. Although one might think that... it is actually the opposite. It usually means one is losing more money. One would end up losing more because they find themselves chasing more often and not catching what they need. Therefore, you are merely throwing/giving away your money. I know being a beginner that you want to play more hands just to be involved. See the Starting Hands requirements and try to stick with them. That should help improve your game and chip stack more efficiently.

• Bluffing: Beginners often mistakenly believe they need to bluff to win. Nothing could be further from the truth! We all see the pro's bluffing on TV, but what the beginner often does not see is why the bluff was used. Pro's know how to set up a bluff and can spot tells that beginners never see. The truth is, inexperienced, random "just for the sake of bluffing" is a sure fire way to give away your chips. A beginning poker player should focus on playing solid hands.

• Playing to Play: Which brings me to my next mistake…staying in a hand just because you are already in it. What I mean by this is that you have already invested x amount into a pot. So you feel you need to stay in because you have lost that much money already. Well, once you put your money in… it’s already gone! You can’t win it back by staying in a hand that you know can’t win. Sometimes pot odds warrant a call, but if you know that you are beat…FOLD! Make up your lose when you are in a better position to win.

• "Keeping opponents honest": Next mistake commonly made is that we want to call on the river when we already know we are beat. Some might say, “I know you have me beat, but I’m gonna "keep you honest”. That just makes NO SENSE to me at all. Why call off your chips if you already know you lost. It would be different if you’re not sure, it doesn’t cost too much, and you are doing an information call. Then, it’s not that bad. But, NEVER just give away your chips to an opponent when you have the answer you are already looking for. That’s just insane! Those bets will eventually add up and you will end up broke fast.

• Paying to much attention to your own hand: I find that beginners also pay too much attention to what they have in their hand and not what might be out there. By this I mean… Suppose you have a pocket pair of A’s. You end up with tunnel vision. You fall so much in love with those A’s that you don’t see that there are 4 low card hearts on the board and you are holding a spade and a club. There is a possible straight, straight flush, or even just a flush. All these hands can beat you, but you can’t see pass those Aces. Pocket Aces are a good starting hand but the flop, turn, or even river can bust those Aces at any given time. Aces are cracked all the time. So pay attention to other possibilities and what is on the board. As hard as it may seem fold those Aces if you have to! It’s easier to get over a good fold than a bad beat!

• Paying attention to the opponents: Following the afore mentioned, is to pay attention to the players as well as the cards. Beginners tend to pay more attention to the cards and not enough to the player. I feel that the cards don’t really matter a whole lot if you understand how your opponents play. The best time to pay attention is when you’re not in a hand. At this time, you can really focus on the table and people play... rather than trying to do that as well as manage your own hands. Watch the reactions of the other players as the cards come out. This way you might find out someone's tell. Poker has some luck involved but there also is a lot of skill. The skill is more or less just reading people and their behavior, knowing the appropriate time to bluff, and being smart with your chips. Mostly it is reading people and their behavior. I truly feel one should play the player not the cards. It does help if the cards come along for the ride though, LOL!

• Playing for to long: Sometimes we find ourselves sitting at a table for way to long. Perhaps we are tired, bored, stressed, mad, sad, or even depressed. Perhaps our cards are no longer falling our way. This usually means we are on tilt. When we go on tilt, we tend to play with our emotions and not with our heads. Most people wear their emotions on their sleeves like a big sign. The sign is saying, “Come and get my money/chips, I’m not playing smart right now”. This is a good opponent/target for you to take advantage of. Just don’t become that target. Sometimes we keep playing like this because we think we can get back those chips we lost. Honestly, if your head is not in the game, your just gonna give your money away. If you just took a few bad beats, get up walk around and calm down. Then once you have calmed down and realized it’s just the ups and downs of poker, return to your seat and play on. Let’s say that you have been sitting at a table for hours on end and you are truly exhausted AND LOSING. This is the time to call it a night. Go home get some rest and start fresh. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day. Finally, NEVER PLAY DRUNK! That is a disaster just waiting to happen.

• Play your limit based on your skill: The last thing that I can think of that we all make the mistake of doing…. would be playing with higher limits than your skill. With the higher limits, comes the better skilled players. If you are winning at one level, stay with it. Don’t try to fix something if it’s not broken. See Bankroll for this.