List the most common leaks

[zamora]

About a year after i started playing, i am now begginning to understand some of the aspects of the game /images/graemlins/wink.gif.
I am consistantly beating the levels i am in (3-6 and 5-10) but there is obviously a lot of flaws in my game.
Therefore i have begun to examine my leaks and i intend to try to plug them one by one.

I have started with my river play. I think that i am pretty awful at the river and have so far almost been a student of “the river plays itself”- school. I have found that i often bet when i should check and check when a value bet is clearly in order. Sometimes i don’t know what the heck i am doing, i just do what the little autopilot tells me to.

This may not be the most costly error i make but it is a start, it is fairly easy to adjust, and i think my bb/hr rate will go up significally.

What other leaks are the most common for players that are not flat out beginners but also not anywhere near expert or advanced?

[lunchmeat]

It took me a long while to realize I was playing way too tight out of the blinds. I see otherwise good players make this same mistake all the time at 3/6 and 5/10.

[TwoNiner]

Playing too tight out of the blinds would probably be one of the last things i would think of as common leaks, what are some examples of things you used to do which you thought were too tight?

[Allan]

The most common leaks found in LL poker revolve around calling when you should fold and calling when you should raise.


Allan

[PocketRocketsBF]

Could you please give some examples since I find the quite the opposite to be true in the B&M 3-6 games that I play. I see way too many people who will ALWAYS call another bet from the BB regardless of what they hold.

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
It took me a long while to realize I was playing way too tight out of the blinds. I see otherwise good players make this same mistake all the time at 3/6 and 5/10.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think one thing that is probably true is that players don't consider the position of the PFR enough in deciding whether or not to defend their blinds. But that can lead to play that is either too tight or too loose, depending.

[steveyz]

I'd say a common leak, that I'm guilty of, is staying in too long with overpair when it's fairly obvious that I'm beat.

[PocketRocketsBF]

I agree with the other poster that the biggest leaks in the low limit games are calling too much and not raising enough which is why these games have the reputation as loose-passive

Other leaks I see all the time in the low limit games:
- Inability to lay down big cards
- Going on tilt and trying to run over another player
- Poor all in play. Low limit players tend to play their last remaining chips pretty poorly. Most would be better picking up and buying some beers.
- Inability to get a good read on other players' hands (although I will admit this can be next to impossible for some of the maniacs at these games)
- Poor play against maniacs

BTW: My observations are against low limit B&M players. I don't have any experience in the online $ games.

[PocketRocketsBF]

I would add that you can only use the PFR position information when it is from a decent player. I would estimate that well over half of the players in the 3-6 B&M games that I play factor in position for their raising decision, so you can't really gain any information from it.

[Norm]

One of many related links (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=micro&Number=414032&Forum= All_Forums&Words=3862&Match=Username&Searchpage=2& Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=414032&Search=true#Post 414032)

[lunchmeat]

[ QUOTE ]
Could you please give some examples since I find the quite the opposite to be true in the B&M 3-6 games that I play. I see way too many people who will ALWAYS call another bet from the BB regardless of what they hold.

[/ QUOTE ]

I should have been more specific. I was referring to online games at those levels. In live games I also find that most players are loose in the blinds and everywhere else too.

[ QUOTE ]
what are some examples of things you used to do which you thought were too tight?

[/ QUOTE ]

The things that come to mind are:
1) Folding suited cards from the big blind in big pots
Eg.: EP raises, 3 colds callers, I'd fold Q4s from the big blind even though I was getting over 9:1 on the flush draw alone.

2) Against an obvious steal-raise I'd play correctly for the most part pre-flop, but after the flop I'd muck if I didn't flop a big hand.
Eg.: Playing 2/4 Folded to sb who raises, I call with QhTc.
Flop: Ks 9h 3h
SB bets, I fold

There was another biggie too that I can't remember at the moment.

One mistake that I never made but still see all the time is when the button or CO open raises and the sb just calls instead of reraising.

BTW, players playing weak-tight in the blinds like I used to is one of the main reasons I find the super-tight games at places like Poker Stars profitable.

[smudgex68]

You should ask the Welsh, they're famous for their leeks /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[DiamondDave]

The most common leaks found in LL poker revolve around calling when you should fold and calling when you should raise.


Amen.

[Hallett]

Another Amen.

I really think this is vital. As an example, before I would hold K-4 in an unraised pot, as the BB. I get a K on the flop, and check, call the inevitable bet, call the turn hoping for a 4, call the river and lose to K-X.

Now, I might check, watch for the position of the inevitable bet, and either fold to an early position bet with a number of callers, or check-raise if the bettor is late, and there are potential callers after me. Changed my results like you would not believe.

H.

[alfman]

Laying down KK or QQ when an A flops.

[scotnt73]

playing Kxsuited. once i took this hand completely out of the picture unless im in the blinds things started running better for me.

[spike]

[ QUOTE ]
You should ask the Welsh, they're famous for their leeks

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you know there's a secret anti-Welsh society called the Leekists? Their leader is Anne Robinson. You may have noticed that at the end of each TV show she gives a subtle wink to the camera. This is a sign of encouragement to all other Leekists.

It's called the Leekist Wink.

[ordnaryjam]

I think your going about this entirely backwards. YOu are starting with the fewest possible number of hands to adjust, meaning it will take a lot longer to get reliable results on weather or not you are makeing the right adjustments.
Start with your preflop play. This affects every single hand you are delt (obviously you dont really have to change how you play AA or 72o preflop) but good preflop play makes flop, turn and river play easier. You can improve all aspects of your game through this action.
Blind play was a problem for me, at first i was to tight, then i losened up and lo and behold i went to far. I am a lot better now, though it still needs work.
Preflop i would also raise four limpers with AQo. Always, constantly- this was bad and i do it a lot less often now. Basically it took me a long time just to realize that you want certain hands against few opponents and others against many.
Damn, there are a lot of mistakes i have made, still make and will continue to make for a while yet, but the big one was game selection, and game recongition.
if the table was tighter than normal but the players were still bad i would sit, but i wouldnt make any adjustments. That is bad, but not as bad as the 30 min rule "if you cant spot the fish in the first thirty mins then you are the fish"- except that usually there are multiplel fish at the tables. You need to be better than at least 6 players at a 10 person table just to beat the rake. (they dont all have to be fish, you just have to be better than them).
anyway, now that you have gotten me started on my flaws i will have to schedule an appointment with my shrink, fortunatly he plays 5/10 so i can chat with him between hands for free.

[scotnt73]

i think the easiest way for a beginner to learn is to learn to play REAL TIGHT and then slowly loosen up as you get better and know when to take your shots from experience.

[SoBeDude]

The biggest leak must be preflop play.

This is :

1. Playing too many hands
2. Playing too many hands for the given position.
3. Calling too many raises.
4. Not raising enough.
(in that order I think)

The second biggest mistake is playing too many hands from the flop onward.

Fix just those two things and you'll beat most small/mid limit games.

-Scott

[Brian]

5 things LL players should "unlearn" (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=smallholdem&Number=321 233&Forum=smallholdem&Words=clarkmeister&Match=Use rname&Searchpage=0&Limit=1000&Old=1year&Main=32123 3&Search=true#Post321233)