Like any game involving cards, poker does involve a lot of luck, but if you are new to playing Texas Hold ‘Em, then you are also playing a game that takes a lot of skill. This is the hot game in America right now, and as such everyone wants to play. If you’re new to the game, then you should know that there are many common mistakes that beginning, and even intermediate, players make. Avoiding these mistakes like the plague will help improve your game dramatically.
#1 Mistake: Playing way too many hands.
This is the most common of all mistakes and costs rookies the most money. This can be understandable. When you sit down at a card table, you want to play. The problem is you need to know hand strengths. J-10 off-suit looks like a good hand. It isn’t. Not enough if you have to pay to get in, or if you are playing at a full table. Too often players will play anything with an ace. If you have A-2, what do you think your chances are when another player holds A-K? Card rankings exist for a reason, and while you can get lucky in the short term, in the long term no one is immune to the math.
#2 Mistake: Playing for more than you can afford.
This should be a basic, and yet it happens. This often happens after several bad beats, or they just become greedy. If it is because of bad beats, remember, you get better players at higher tables. Even though this might mean less eight person hands, it also means that at the end of the day these guys are more likely to take your money than the others. Only play in games you can afford, only ones that match your skill level. If you can’t dominate a lower table, you are not ready for a higher one.
#3 Mistake: Emotions.
Emotions are good for most sports, but they have absolutely no place at a poker table. Bad beats will happen. Losing sessions will happen. Annoying opponents running their mouths who don’t know how to play but get insanely lucky to the point where everyone else at the table wants to break their neck will occasionally clean you out. 1,000 to 1 mathematical bad beats will happen. Deal with it, but don’t get emotional. If you do get emotional, leave immediately and do something else until you get balanced out again.
Avoid these very common mistakes at the poker table, and rookie or not, you will be well ahead of the pack and on your way to success at the gaming tables. Don’t give in to temptation: follow these rules and play solid poker. In the long run it will pay off.
