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The most common mistakes made by beginners in NLH
We assume not. You can learn the basic rules of poker in just 10 minutes, which is why this game is so popular. But nothing is as easy as it may seem at first glance, and this is best summed up in a quote from poker legend Mike Sexton: "Poker takes five minutes to learn but a lifetime to master."
The beginnings probably weren't rosy for any of us, and if we could see our past selves now, we'd certainly shake our heads at the many mistakes we made. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to learn from their mistakes, and many players honestly carry the bad habits learned in their early days throughout their careers. If you're one of them, or if you're just starting out, here are the top 5 mistakes NLH players make.
1.Playing too many games
The classic beginner's mistake. They think it's a good idea to invest a small amount of money even with an average hand to see if they hit the flop. However, this approach has 2 major problems. The first is the fact that with a full table of players, there is a fairly high chance that someone will have a really strong hand and may raise our bet. In that case, we have a choice between throwing away our average strong hand, which means we have lost the money invested in the game and we haven't even seen the flop. Or we can call, in which case we're playing for a big pot against a stronger hand, which is even worse. The second problem is that even when an average hand hits the flop(which happens less than half the time) it rarely helps it make a really strong hand. Most of the time it will still be just an average hand that will be very difficult to play after the flop. E.g. J7 on a flop of AT7. As long as we regularly get into these situations, no matter how well we play after the flop, it won't be profitable for us.
2.Passive play
In most cases, beginners not only play a lot of hands, but in addition they play them passively. For example, they call a preflop raise with a weak hand, only to see the coveted flop. Even if they have a strong hand, they are afraid to bet more chips unless they are almost unbeatable. But conversely, if their opponent bets, they like to call. The main problem with such a game is that they allow the opponent to control the size of the pot. This allows the opponent to win a large pot with a strong hand while not getting adequate value with their strong hands. Passive play also makes it impossible to bluff an opponent, and when a passive player finally gets a nearly unbeatable hand, and decides to bet, it is easier for a perceptive opponent to throw away his less powerful hand than against an aggressive player.
Limping, that is, just calling the big blind before the flop, also falls into this category. This gives players in the blinds a free or very cheap look at the flop. Either we consider our hand to be valuable, at which point we want to build the pot by raising from the start, or we don't consider it to be valuable, at which point we should fold. Professional players choose carefully what cards they enter the game with, but then play them aggressively.
3.Underestimating the importance of table position
Experienced players are well aware that the strength of the cards we hold in our hand changes significantly with position. Beginners are generally aware of the power of their hand, but the importance of position is largely unknown to them. As an example, consider the K9 offsuit hand. If we are first to express and have 8 players behind us, there is a good chance that someone behind us will have a stronger hand that dominates us. Additionally, if anyone other than the blinds enters the game they will be expressing after us for the rest of the game, giving them an informational advantage. In this case, it is therefore correct to fold.
On the other hand, if we have the same card on the button, there are only two players behind us, so the chances that one of them will have a stronger card are significantly less than in the first case. Moreover, we are guaranteed to be the last to speak for the rest of the game, which puts the information advantage on our side. In this case, it is correct to raise. By analogy, we can deduce that an opponent who raises from first position has stronger cards than someone who raises from the cutoff, and therefore we also need stronger cards to dock/raise.
Late position therefore gives us a big informational advantage over our opponents, allowing us to play our cards in a better way. If we act last, we have the opportunity to see our opponents' actions, which gives you the opportunity to control the pot, take a free card, bluff more effectively, and much more.
4.Constantly calling, playing too many hands to the end
As mentioned before, new players tend to be passive, which means they call and check too much instead of betting or raising. Such a strategy is expensive and wasteful in itself, but the worst is when it moves from preflop play to the later streets. Beginners who preflop then tend to call on the turn and river, feeling that their opponent simply wants to bluff them out, or waiting to see if a miracle card comes on the river.
The main reasons behind this scenario are:
- The misconception that poker is about getting to the showdown at all costs
- Overestimating the chances that a card will come on the turn/river that will help us
- Inability of the ego to accept the fact that from time to time we will get bluffed
- Seeing poker more as gambling than as a strategic game
5.Having predictable betting patterns
This is one of the most common mistakes that every beginner has probably gone through. The same style of playing similar hands is easily detected by opponents and they know how to react appropriately. The most common examples of such patterns are:
- Limping with medium hands (trying to see the flop cheaply)
- Strong bets and raises with premium hands
- Checking draws and betting completed hands
The problem with such a game is that it gives the opponents too much information about the strength of our hand. Therefore, we recommend to raise preflop with the same sizing regardless of the strength of the hand. After the flop, it is better to use the same sizing for bluffs as for value bets.
