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Here we will concentrate on some advanced, but common mistakes made by players in the modern game. Recognizing and eliminating mistakes from your game should be important to you, if in fact you are looking to improve. One of the biggest mistakes that a large number of players make is thinking that they are indestructible when they start. This is more than likely not very close to the truth. Realizing that there is a lot of skill in the game will likely be the first good move that you make and this will likely ignite your appetite to go out and learn. Well you made it to this page, so your on the right track. Here are the top advanced mistakes made by players.
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 Paying Attention - Missing Free Information |
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This is a common mistake among poker players at all levels. You may think that this is an elementary mistake, however it is very common amongst the experienced. Furthermore, beginners often don't know how to interpret the information at the table that is at hand. Experienced players fall into the trap of playing too many tables simultaneously and generally multi tasking when playing as they have so much confidence in their play. Information given by opponents is key to maximizing your ROI as this information can be used to make key decisions that instinct alone might not be able to make. In truth, missing information might not turn a winning player into a losing player but it will certainly reduce the profit that that player will make over time. Read this more detailed guide into the power of information in poker.
Bluffing can be a very easy way to increase your stack when on a drawing or marginal hand. In fact, there is probably no better feeling in the world than to take down a pot with the stone cold nuts but realistically, if you wait for the nuts every time, you will run out of chips or money trying. You can't afford to wait for the best hand every time and to keep building your stack or at the very least maintaining your stack from the reduction through blinds, you need to pick up pots with marginal hands.
So bluffing is a must to be a winning player, so what is the key to pulling off a successful bluff? Well fist and foremost you should be bluffing at the right time and no excessively. To be a successful bluff, you need your opponent to believe he is up against a better hand and fold so it is very important that you build the right image at the table. Additionally you should not try to bluff out of turn or when there are more than a couple of players in the pot. On top of that you need to be making bluffs where the board supports the suggestion that you are trying to make. If you just bet out trying to bluff a large pot and there are no draws or potential danger, you increase the risk of getting called. If you have built up an image of being a tight aggressive and your opponents believe that you play premium hands, you can find it easier to bluff out when there are big cards or draws on the board.
Making irregular bets in the hope that your opponent will fail, is a recipe for disaster. Equally important is that you choose your moments. Bet when the pot warrants a bluff and not just for the sake of it.
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Opportunities to Value Bet |
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Value betting is a key component to winning strategies in poker. Value betting is the skill of betting the most money that you think that your opponent will call. This is particularly important when you have the best hand and you know your opponent has a lesser hand. Being able to read an opponent to put him on a range of cards is important so that you know how much to bet. For instance, your opponent raises and you call with 10 K. Now you know your opponent is fairly passive and likes to play any big ace. The flop comes 2 5 A. This is a very good flop for you as you have your nut flush and your opponent likely has top pair. This is where value betting is so important. Let's assume that your opponent checks so the action is on you. How do you play the hand? I have seen players just push all in here and their opponent knows they are behind and fold.
Let's look at the hand more closely. There are only a few hands that could get you into trouble. 3 4 would give your opponent a straight flush but you know he is not on this as he is fairly passive and restricts his action to premium cards. Similarly any other straight flush draws are unlikely due to your knowledge of their range of starting hands. So you are likely good but you want your opponent to call any bet that you make. Too big and he will fall, too small and you will not earn the pot that this hand warrants. The answer, value betting. It is the art of determining how much to bet to get your opponent to call, and this takes experience. Let's assume that the pot is $50, so how much would you bet? Well a lot depends on the information you have on the player. To get the pot moving, you make put in an under strength bet, perhaps to induce a bluff, say $9. You could maybe get a call betting more however you don't have much chance of losing so you need to take care that you don't scare him out of the pot. You could argue that you might want to check here as if you believe he has an ace, he will bet out trying to protect his hand. This would not be a bad play either.
There will also be times that you hold a strong hand going to the river and the river brings possibilities that might give your opponent the best hand. There are times when a player will simply check rather than value bet the hand. If the pot is substantial, lets say $200. Lets say you have top 2 pair but the river has brought a straight possibility which you think your opponent might have hit, given his range of hands, how do you play it? Making a value bet, say $65 would ask the question and if he missed, he will likely fold. The power of value betting is such that you continue to ask the question. After all you are betting $65 into a $200 pot so the value is there.
Tilt is a difficult one to overcome, especially when you feel like the world is against you. You should by now know the ground rules to help control tilt, not playing when your angry, stressed, bored or generally not feeling good about yourself. These factors can lead to prolonged sessions of tilt which can heavily impact your bankroll. You know poker is a game of swings and roundabouts. The fact of the matter is that good play will pay off some times and other times it will cost you, simply factoring in the run of the cards. To be a successful player you need to control your frustration which means you need to stop blaming the cards, stop blaming your opponent who calls his whole stack on a 3 outer and catches it on the river, just move on. Understand that this happens and no matter how well you trap your opponent, you will get out drawn from time to time.
Turning your frustrations into positive thinking is the key. I heard a few years ago Daniel Negreanu getting busted out of the WSOP and in his interview saying, "I played the cards well and got my chips in with the best hand, the cards just didn't fall the way i needed them. What you going to do, that's poker". This is something that you will hear a lot of pros saying when they bust out. As long as they make the right play, they are happy enough. They know they played the best they could and just didn't get the cards coming they needed. To succeed, you need to control your emotions and understand that making a good play or trap is sometimes not enough to win the hand, but in the long run, you will come out on top (in profit).
As an advanced player, you should now be moving away from just playing the cards. You now are a master at gathering information at the table and you should be using this to play your opponents, not just the cards. A handy way i found to do this was to sit at a table and cover my cards with a piece of paper. Just play the player and make your decisions based on his speed, size of bet etc. You will be surprised how much information you pick up when you have to.
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