I think my biggest leak is...

[BigEndian]

Just ordered your book today, looking forward to it.

I think your post is missing something though: a leak is only big if it's a significant money loser with regularity against your opposition. You play in relation to your opponents is what makes money, not your play unto itself.

In low limit games, where there are frequently players so bad they can be 5-10BB/hour losers. This provides awesome overlay and cushions your mistakes in a way that can stifle learning.

I think what's lost most often is simply the understanding that, in these games, you don't have to play rocket-science poker - or even firecracker-science poker. Over thinking costs you money more often than not because it can lead to that fatal mistake of laying a hand down in a huge pot. All those well laid plans and hard thought plays that might gain a fraction of a bet once every month can lead to mistakes that loose you 10-20BB pots once a week.

About the AKo, AKs thing that was brought up. It was AKs that was the loser, AKo was the winner. And I didn't have near as many hands in my DB as I thought I did - a complete brain lock after having not played in a while.

I did however have a very bad habit of playing my AKs like a made hand. Problem "fixed".

- Jim

[StellarWind]

Excellent post. We do spend too much time on the same old preflop subjects that barely matter. Any regular on this forum could assemble a top-10 list.

There is a third dimension to the leaks question, in addition to cost and frequency: effort. How much work is it to fix the leak? Example:

Leak 1: I used to coldcall AJo from LP versus an EP PFR. That leak was fixed the same day I realized it was wrong. I'm not sure how exactly serious that leak was, but fixing it was time well-spent because so little effort was required.

Leak 2: When someone raises my river bet, I automatically crying call without thinking. This is a moderately costly mistake that occurs with moderate frequency. Certainly it costs me more than my occasional AJo mistake. The effort for me to fix this is very large. It's been an identified problem for two months and it's still leaking.

That's why I am happy to read occasional threads about novel or little-discussed preflop situations. If I learn one good idea it's worth a few minutes on my time, even if it doesn't come up very often.

[Nottom]

I don't know what you are talking about ... my biggest leak is definately my preflop play of AJo from UTG.

[Tosh]

Hmmm, I have mastered the AJo play, now I find KQo from UTG is my biggest leak. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[pudley4]

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm, I have mastered the AJo play, now I find KQo from UTG is my biggest leak. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you guys are advanced - I'm still working on JJ from the blinds [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[ArchAngel71857]

Excellent post, Ed, as always.

I agree with what you say, and I'm glad you wrote this because I know that many people (like me) are posting their questions, because they don't know that either: a mistake is costly or how frequently it occurs. I, for one, feel that I get KJo UTG or UTG+1 every f'n orbit. Its not true, but for some reason, its all I think of whenever I get it. It doesn't happen with much more frequency than getting A5s in MP (only because A5s is suited(I think)). So while this post is extremely helpful, I can't answer the questions because I don't possess enough statistical knowledge about the game. In order to do that, you have to play many many many hands. I am up to about 30K, and I am just starting to understand some concepts.

Another problem is I cannot always exactly calculate the cost of my mistake. Calling when I should raise in some parts may be costly, sometimes not, and I post hopefully to figure out if it is very costly. So I think some people are posting hands to try and figure this out (although they may not know it, I know i was not aware of it). Thanks for the insight.

I would ask you what you think the big leaks are, but then you would just say

BUY MY BOOK
BUY MY BOOK
BUY MY BOOK

-AA

[brick]

Enjoy.

[TheLance]

Thanks for the bump, brick. This was priceless for me.

Ed, sir, this is phenominal. The fact that you are out here supporting everyone who reads your book is amazing to me. This one post alone took you over an hour to draft, easy, (When you could be out crushing big games). I very much appreciate it.

- Lance

[DesertCat]

I already bought the book, and without paying another cent, I get like another chapter, for free! Is this a great country or what! Thanks Ed?

[Freudian]

So why can't misplaying AK after a missed flop be the biggest leak? It's fairly frequent and can definately be costly.