I love the fact that it's easy to learn how to play poker, but it's hard to be a very good poker player. Players who think correctly and dig deep into their strategies are rewarded with easier decisions and higher profits. Nevertheless, poker gives us many opportunities to make mistakes.
Since pre-flop play is so important in poker, I think it's important to discuss the 12 most common mistakes made by beginners and pros alike. I always notice when players make these mistakes, and almost all of them can be corrected by changing their game a little.
1 error - liming
Starting the game in limbo when no one else has limped or raised before you is a bad strategy, for many reasons:
- You have no chance to win the pot pre-flop
Unlike raising, limping is a passive action that does not give you the opportunity to win the pot pre-flop. There is already dead money in the pot (big blind and small blind), but by limping you are not trying to take it yourself.
- Your licking makes life easier for your opponents
Your limp puts your opponents, who will act after you, in a very good situation. The pot contains an additional blind, which encourages the player to at least call or raise, and to play for the pot with a positional advantage and the knowledge that you are not holding the best cards.
As the number of players in the pot increases, the chances of winning it decrease. This is certainly not the situation you want to find yourself in. In addition, limpers will often get aggression from other players who will take advantage of the fact that you are not playing with the best cards, or will raise their bets because they have been dealt a hand that they would do the same with whether you limp or not.
Even if you balance and include not only the weak hands but also the best hands in your limp range, you will get less value than you expect. It is better to try to squeeze out as much value as possible pre-flop with strong hands, while the choice to limp strong hands for balance often results in a very unexpected outcome.
Note: licking can sometimes be justified. It is acceptable to limp when another person is limp against you and you are holding a hand that is too weak to raise but too good to fold. It is possible to limp with hands that play well in pots with lots of people, and which can catch the strongest hands post-flop.
Mistake 2 - Lack of understanding of the positions
The second mistake that is often seen is that players do not associate positions with rank. Your position should influence which hands you play.
The more players that follow you, the narrower the range you have to play. The probability of encountering a strong hand increases with the number of players who take action. Also, if you open from early position, you are much more likely to play without a position advantage, which further reduces the chances of winning the pot with a hand of questionable strength. If you open too wide from an early position, it will be difficult to defend yourself and you will be vulnerable. Your range should widen as you approach the BTN position. Late position players have an advantage over blinds, who often defend against late position openings.
Mistake 3 - Playing too passively before betting raises
Passive play before openings, with only calls and very few 3-bets, may be the biggest and most common mistake in low limits. It is hard to believe how often players just call with strong hands instead of 3betting. Whether you do it to trap your opponent or for fear of playing big pots, choosing to just call instead of 3betting with a strong hand is a mistake for a number of reasons:
- Only by answering do you miss values
3betting with strong hands will extract more value from your opponents by blowing the pot early in the hand.
- 3betting prevents post-flop play against multiple players
As shown in the example with AK below, strong hands equity decreases dramatically when many people are involved. 3betting often knocks players out of the pot, and post-flop is a two-player game. Therefore, you will protect your equity and increase your chances of getting the best hand at the end of the hand. Let's look at the example of AKs/Ako (click on an image to enlarge it):
Against three players, AK has 30.41% equity. So, in a multi-player pot, AK is only 30%, so that this hand will be the best hand when the cards are turned over. How does the situation change if there are only two players in the pot?
After two players have been ejected from the match, the AK equity rises to almost 60%. So, playing against only one opponent who raised and called a 3bet from MP2, AK is well ahead with 60%. The example perfectly illustrates the pros of 3betting and shows why only calling with strong hands can cause problems.
There are a few things you need to know when 3betting pre-flop. Your 3betting range should not only consist of the strongest hands. If you 3bet only the strongest hands, you will be easily predictable and your opponents will only respond with their best cards. In your range including the hands you bluff with (hands that have a lot of equity against an opponent call range), you will make it harder for your opponent to fight against your strategy.
Remember to relate the strength of your opponents' rank to their position when 3betting, being careful to determine if you are really 3betting for value.
Only responding with a wide range can sometimes be a wise decision when you are in late positions, especially on BTN. More on this under Error 7.
Error 4 - Too narrow a play from BB position
Most players defend the big blind too infrequently, especially against SB openings. This position allows you to be the last to act before the flop and very often you get extremely good pot odds see the flop. You can play much wider from this position than from others.
Let's look at a specific situation:
$5/$10 cash game, effective chip count $1000.
Our hero in BB position.
Everyone up to SB folds, SB raises to $25, what should the hero do?
Before the 2.5x opening, we need about 30% net equityso that we can continue playing profitably. Add to that the fact that we will be playing in position before the SB post-flop, and we can (and should) defend the BB very often.
Mistake 5 - Betting with too wide (or too narrow) a range in BTN position
BTN is the most valued position in poker. When you're in this position, you're always the last to act post-flop, which gives you an advantage over other players because you have more information. Also, from this position you can press BB and SB when all the players in front of you decide to fold, thus stealing dead money from the pot. However, many players tend to raise with too many hands or too few hands.
The new poker strategies include aggressive play from SB and BB positions. Thus, too frequent raises from the BTN can provoke blind 3betting. This or similar gaps in your game will slowly but steadily erode your profits, so be careful not to abuse open betting from the BTN. (Note: This is a problem more common in online, live poker, where players are not inclined to play aggressively from the SB and BB.)
The reverse is also possible, with some BTN players playing too narrowly. Because of the positional advantage and the ability to pick up dead money, both opening from BTN and 3betting another player is very effective. If you don't take advantage of these situations, your winnings will definitely be lower.
Your opening percentage should be around 40% to 70%, depending on the number of players currently in SB and BB positions. The wider and more frequent the 3betting blinds, the narrower you should open. If the blinds are not aggressive and are playing low hands, do not defend, be more aggressive and chase the money they put in!
Mistake 6 - playing too narrowly from the SB when players are down to you
When all the players before you fold, you often have to raise your bets. Many players make the mistake of not doing so, due to the unfavourable position of SB (we don't have a position advantage over BB). Nevertheless, there are two main reasons why this strategy is profitable:
- You have a good chance to steal dead money in the pot (1.5 bb), and with SB, it costs you very little (approx. 2.25 - 2.5 bb), and you can do it very often until the BB starts 3betting you. This strategy is particularly profitable for live poker players, as players play too narrowly in blind positions.
- You reduce the possibility of playing the hand without position.
Many players choose to limp from the SB or play very narrowly against the BB. Against some opponents this is a sensible choice, but raising frequently is a more effective strategy.
Translated from: https://www.upswingpoker.com/7-poker-mistakes-to-avoid-at-all-cost/
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