Common Mistakes

Phil Gordon

Everyone makes mistakes. The thing is, a good player will learn from them while a bad player will make the same mistake over and over again. And poker players that can exploit these mistakes will win.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that bad players make and my usual methods for exploiting them:

A player doesn’t bluff enough. When these players bet or raise, I usually give them credit for a good hand. When they check, I will usually bet to try and take the pot.

A player overvalues top pair. The “average” winning hand in Hold ‘em is two pair. Yet many players are willing to take tremendous risks with top pair. When I have a hand that can beat a player who overvalues his top pair, I will over-bet the pot and put them into a position to make a big mistake. I go out of my way to play small pocket pairs against these players because I know that if I flop a set, I’m likely to get paid off in a huge way.

A player under-bets the pot. It is incredibly important, especially in No Limit Hold ‘em, to make bets large enough to punish opponents for their draws. When a player under-bets the pot and I have a draw, I take advantage of their mistake by just calling the small bet. When I think I have him beat, I’ll make a raise.

A player calls too much. I will very rarely bluff against a “calling station.” I will, however, make value bets throughout the hand.

A player tightens up under pressure. Most bad players “squeeze” too much in the middle stages of a tournament, or when they’re on the bubble. They tighten up and wait for a huge hand. Against these players, I will play a lot looser, looking to steal a larger share of the blinds and antes.

A player telegraphs the strength of his hand with “tells.” I am always observing these players, whether I am in the hand or not.

Playing perfect poker may be nearly impossible for most players but, by recognizing your own tendencies – and those of your opponents – you’re much more likely to limit your mistakes and capitalize on the weaknesses of others at the table.

This lesson is from Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book of No Limit Hold’em Simon Spotlight Entertainment, Sept 2005.

Don’t Play a Big Pot Unless You Have a Big Hand

John Juanda

I’m at Foxwoods playing the $2,000 No Limit Hold ‘em event. We all started with $3,000 and now I’ve got $15,000. At my table is Richard Tatalovitch, a player whom I’ve competed against many times.

I raise pre-flop from middle position with K-J offsuit and Richard calls from the big blind. The flop comes 9-6-4 with two diamonds on the board.

Richard hesitates for a moment before checking, and I put in a pot-sized bet. Richard thinks for a while and calls. All of a sudden, I don’t like my hand — so much.

Imagine my relief when a non-diamond J hits the turn. Now I have top pair and a pretty good kicker. Then Richard comes out betting. Uh-oh.

Now, let me back up a moment and mention that when someone hesitates before checking, it’s usually a huge tell. But Richard is the king of delayed action, so I ignored his tell and bet the flop anyway. And his bet on the turn just screams, “Raise me! I dare you!”

I go into the tank and my thoughts go something like this:

1. He flopped a set. That explains the smooth call on the flop – he’s trying to trap me into staying, hoping I’ll bet the turn, too.

2. No. If he had a set, he’d have checked the turn and waited for me to hang myself right then and there, or let me catch something on the river. He can’t have a set.

3. The jack helped him. I don’t have the jack of diamonds. Maybe he does, and he called the flop with a jack-high flush draw. If so, I like my kicker and my hand.

4. He’s betting on the come with a flush or straight draw and is hoping to buy the pot right there.

I run through these possibilities and reach no conclusion.

Normally, I would just call here. We both have a lot of chips, and I don’t want to put them all in with nothing but top pair. Then, I have the misfortune to remember a hand from a month earlier at Bellagio:

Richard had been running bad and was complaining about a string of horrific beats. I saw him check and call with top boat because he was afraid of quads! A guy that afraid of monsters under the bed isn’t going to check-call top set on the flop with a flush draw out there.

“All in!” I declared.

Oops. This is now a Big Pot. And rest assured, top pair doesn’t even resemble a Big Hand.

In the four years I’ve been playing with him, I’ve never seen him call so fast. I am drawing dead to his perfectly-played 9-9.

Sometimes, we all forget that big cards don’t always equal a big hand and that the smart move can be to play conservatively instead of going for the quick kill. As for Richard – he had the good sense to be in a Big Pot with a Big Hand, and the patience to make it pay off.

Good Player? Stop Losing!

Card Sense by Ashley Adams filed under Strategy on 2009-07-08 [Originally appeared in the July 6th, 2009 issue of Poker Player]

I’ve changed the name of the column to embrace players of all poker games—not just stud. Accordingly, here’s a column that applies to good poker players of all games, at all levels.

Good players lose money playing poker. Often. And I’m not talking about variance—the natural swings of profit and loss that cannot be avoided due to the vagaries of chance. Good players lose money because of avoidable and therefore correctable mistakes in judgment. Let me highlight the five biggest reasons good players lose and provide some suggestions for remediation.

They play in games with too many good players. Good players often sabotage their profit while stroking their egos in games that are needlessly tough. There is no special award for losing the least to the toughest opponents. With so many games available in person and on line, game selection is a key part of consistent winning play. Seek out the softies, take pride in winning their money, and leave the toughest games to the experts.

They try to bluff the donks. How does a good player show off his expert skills when playing against rank amateurs? To make a quick impression, the good player can’t rely on the boring tactics that require waiting for strong starting hands. But a player can surely raise it up to show he’s in command. And that’s what they too frequently do; they push too hard, betting or raising when a call or fold is called for. Bad players, generally, are bad because they call too much and otherwise overvalue their hands. So bluff less against bad players and earn more.

They exhibit TPS (Tricky Play Syndrome). The “stop and go,” the “trap,” the “check-raise bluff,” and “calling with air,” are all excellent plays against opponents who are sophisticated enough to be deceived by misdirection. But against bad players they often fail in direct proportion to their cleverness. Just because you are good enough to execute a slick move against a smart opponent, doesn’t mean you should. Play straightforwardly against bad players and make more money.

They play when tired. Your best game may be world class. But if you only play your best game for the first four hours of play, then slip into severely sub-optimal play for ten hours thereafter, you’ll end up losing. Sadly, a good poker player can easily convince himself to stay in a game long after his skills have diminished; destroying his bankroll in the process.

Some poker theorists tell players to stay in good games as long as they are good. Unfortunately, the ability to recognize ones diminished skills also evaporates after too many hours of play. So in your weary state, how can you be trusted to evaluate the nature of a game—and whether you still have the best of it?

I have this admittedly artificial prescription. Get into the habit of taking at least a fifteen minute break after four hours of play, and then a brief break every couple of hours thereafter to think about your play and whether you’re really playing your best game. Afterwards, if you even suspect that you may occasionally stay too long, set a stop loss limit and/or a time limit and stick to it.

They grow impatient. Good players know which hands to play and which to avoid. They know that they need to wait for good cards and good situations to exploit weak opponents. But all too often, their better judgment gets submerged beneath a desire for action. Waiting isn’t fun. Betting and raising is. To avoid the natural tendency to fool around after a long period of inaction, get into the habit of leaving the table for a minute or two any time you’ve folded a lot of hands in a row. This will help you resist the temptation to fool around as well as give your bad opponents time to forget that they should avoid you when you enter a pot.

Ashley Adams is the author of Winning 7-Card Stud and Winning No Limit Low Limit Hold’em. He hosts the radio show House of Cards, broadcast Mondays at 5 – 6 p.m. in Boston, MA, on 1510 AM, and on the Internet at www.houseofcardsradio.com. Contact Ashley at asha34@aol.com.