What are the most common mistakes?

[SoBeDude]

I for one, totally agree with Tommy (for whatever my opinion is worth here).

The more I learn about this game the more I realize the line between winning and losing is mighty thin. And a player who plays right 95% of the time WILL LOSE to the player who plays right 96% of the time. I think the gap is that small.

I don't know about the best and worst gap - per se, but I think on a table of skilled players, the gap between the table big winner and the big loser could be as small as 3 or 4 wrong plays over the night.

-Scott

[PokerBabe(aka)]

I also disagree with Tommy on this one. The gap between the best and worst players is not only large, but obvious. Sure, on any given day, a good player can make a mistake or two. But a bad player will make lots of mistakes day after day. LGPG, Babe [img]/forums/images/icons/heart.gif[/img]

[Mikey]

i'll give you some advice for river value betting,

Bet if you are raised fold.

Dynasty says it all the time... "you wouldn't believe some of the crap they'll call you with."

[Tommy Angelo]

"I'd love some advice on how to fix it."

Try this. Practice in the car on the way to the casino. You bet the turn with one pair. One player calls. Oooommmm. No matter what comes on the river I will bet . . . no matter what comes on the river I will bet ... no matter what comes on the river I will bet.

Now do the same thing with TWO opponents calling you on the turn. Scarier, yes, but this is when most of the missed bets happen. You bet the turn with one pair. Two opponents call. Doesn't matter what position you are, or what the river card is, because you practiced this in the car and nothing can stop you from betting that river.



Tommy

[tiger1]

I know that I make mistakes...but sometimes you don't know those mistakes until the turn or the river. A mistake can be not raising AQ offsuit UTG and have 49suited make a straight on the river with a A25 flop (heads up!). Is it my mistake or his?
Another mistake was in a 20-40 game where I mucked AQ offsuit (in middle position) when a tight old guy raised UTG. He had JJ and bet it all the way with a caller all the way on a QQ8 flop.
Then...I play AQ offsuit on the button when a maniac raised in middle position and another player 3bets in the cut-off. Flop is 4710, I have a runner runner flush draw. I muck when a blank K comes on the turn. The maniac check raises the middle position player (I can guess now he has JJ or somthing like that) and wins with AK. The ace comes on the river too. I would have been trapped. I may have even popped it on the river. I still gave him 2 extra bets I could have saved by folding before the flop.
Anyway, there's a lot of bets to be made or saved in poker. But don't play so tight that you might as well be playing your cards face up.
During the past 2 session I played a horrendous 20/40 session and cashed out +$450 with one big pot. The other session was 4/8 and lost $180 when I played perfectly when the 3-6 outers kept getting there heads up. What I learned...don't give away extra bets on bad beats.
I keep reminding myself that I'm running bad on those days and take what the dealer gives me. I'd rather play bad and win then play good and lose.
What does it mean to play good or bad? Is mucking AQ offsuit before the flop a good play or bad play? Obviously it is not if you had the best hand and mucked it. It's a good play only when the flop misses you? Is there anyone here who is psychic and that's why they play so good? How about 3-4 offsuit in the BB in a raised 5 way action flop A24 and catch a 5 on the river. In the good old days I would have mucked pre-flop.
Anymore, it seems that I make money from other people's bad play more than my good plays. What is the % of luck vs. skill in poker? According to the book I am playing correctly and better but my hourly rate is severely suffering. I think I am having a bad streak of cards with the board pairing on the river against my straights and flushes. And the 3 outers getting there on the river when I'm leading and firing all the way (which means I have the best hand and everyone mucked except for the moron... [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] who catches his miracle card. Maybe these people think it's Texas Get Really Lucky and cash out before I find them in the parking lot.

[astroglide]

don't look at the river card if your hand is good?

[AmericanAirlines]

What's a TOM?

Sincerely,
AA

[cybertilt]

Tight Old Man

[glen]

"Another mistake was in a 20-40 game where I mucked AQ offsuit (in middle position) when a tight old guy raised UTG. He had JJ and bet it all the way with a caller all the way on a QQ8 flop." This is not a mistake. Tight old guys raise with premium hands and this time he happened to have one on the bottom of the spectrum. It's not going to be worse than AQo. Your thinking is results-oriented here. Throw away AQo to TOM raises. Calling is a big mistake!

In the next hand, I don't really like the cold-call here. If you know the player would make a isolation raise here with loose standards, I would cap if I decided to play and take command of the hand. The thought of calling three-cold doesn't sit well with me. . .and I would never limp with AQo UTG. . .

The whole luck vs. skill argument is a little fuzzy to me. Yeah, you make money from your opponent's bad play, but that is always proportional to your good play. Good play makes bad players pay more for their bad play. Reminiscing about flops that would have hit you if you didn't play correctly won't help you improve.

[Tom W.]

I notice that some people play too predictable, without varying there strategies, and I think that can be very costly in mid to high limit hold-em. In the lower limit games, players don't seem to play with as much focus, cause they are often there just for entertainment. I play alot of 20-40, and the players here are watching and scrutinizing your every move, so you need to use more deception on the more observant opponents.