Every poker player’s journey is a winding road with potential pitfalls around every bend. As such, mistakes are inevitable. However, learning from those mistakes and avoiding making them in the future is how you become a profitable player. As such, throughout this article, we’ll be identifying some of the most common mistakes online poker players make, and we’ll also be providing some advice on how to avoid them to help you play more disciplined poker.
Arguably, the most common mistake amateurs make when playing online poker is playing too many hands. With frequent action and more hands available per hour, you can easily fall into the trap of getting involved in far more hands than you ought to play. For example, in Texas Hold’em, only about 20% of starting hands are considered playable. Yes, you may have noticed a certain opponent is playing particularly loose, but you should never be afraid to fold weak cards. Doing so will help you avoid ending up in situations where you potentially stand to lose a large chunk of your stack.
Playing disciplined poker is about understanding the importance of position, especially before the flop. The mistake of ignoring position often goes hand in hand with playing too many hands. It’s important to remember that playing hands from late positions holds significant benefits, including acting last post-flop which gives you the opportunity to win more hands uncontested. However, playing more hands from early to middle positions can complicate things. This often leads you to be out of position (OOP) and facing multiple players post-flop. Therefore, you must always consider your position to help you gain control over your hands more effectively. If you think you could end up OOP or being part of a multiway pot, bear this in mind before committing chips pre-flop.
Another mistake often problematic to less experienced online poker players is overvaluing and overplaying weak hands post-flop. It’s easy to get attached to certain hands, such as small pocket pairs or suited connectors, especially if you’ve already put money into the pot. The issue is that once the flop comes, your previous equity can drastically reduce, and over-committing in these scenarios can quickly lead to large losses. This is even more prevalent in online poker. The speed of play often doesn’t give you the appropriate time to think through the best possible course of action. So, to avoid this mistake, you should always objectify your hand while considering the potential of cards regarding the community. When your hand could be weak, it’s better to fold early rather than chase low-probability outcomes.
If you want to evolve as a poker player and eventually move up to higher stakes, managing your bankroll is essential. By this, we mean measuring your current poker bankroll against the level you’re playing at and making sure you have an appropriate number of buy-ins for cash game or tournament-style play. For example, we recommend a starting bankroll of 20 buy-ins for cash games or 100 average buy-ins for tournaments. Essentially, the biggest mistake you can make related to improper bankroll management is advancing to higher stakes prematurely, as it can entirely wipe out your bankroll. That said, you can take a calculated risk by playing at higher stakes as long as it’s within reasonable limits.
If you’ve played poker before, whether in person or online, you’ve likely experienced tilt. This is a term for a state of mental and emotional distress that often follows a big loss or a bad beat. When this happens, it almost always leads to suboptimal strategy-based play, resulting in overly aggressive actions and subsequent losses. So, maintaining control over your emotions at the table is a vital skill to learn. It’s something that comes with experience, though. It isn’t an ability you’ll master overnight. Our advice is to take a step back following a loss, reflect on the hand, and try to analyse what happened. Once you’ve taken the emotion out of the equation, it’s easier to identify any potential mistakes you made and avoid making them again going forward.
Say hello to Ajit Raghavan, the poker-savvy dynamo behind Magazine Poker! Ajit is a whiz when it comes to the virtual felt, sharing his wisdom on everything from Texas Hold’em tactics to mastering multi-table tournaments. His articles are like a well-shuffled deck—full of excitement and always delivering a fresh twist on the poker scene. With an approach as engaging as a high-stakes game, Ajit infuses each piece with the thrill of the draw and the joy of a well-played hand. Whether you’re bluffing your way to a big pot or aiming for that royal flush, Ajit’s insights ensure your poker journey is both fun and fulfilling. Ante up and enjoy—the game’s just getting started!
