In my last article I talked about some of the most common boo boos that newbies at the poker table commit. This was done with the hope that potential poker players or even those who are already playing but are relatively new to the game will be made aware of these practices that should be avoided as much as possible, if not totally at all. We ended with a short discussion of the etiquette at the poker table and how this should be followed.
Something related to poker etiquette would be playing by imitating another player. It is not exactly unethical, but it is neither a very sound practice. If someone were to make a study on how people learn to play poker, the results would probably show that a large majority of people learn through observing other people play. Maybe they have friends who play poker and they sit around the table and say, all right we’ll play a few hands, you can watch us and then join in once you get the hang of it.
Others spend hours watching poker on TV – of course the ubiquitous World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour – and glean all their techniques and strategy from these shows. A really really bad idea. First of all, you never know if the player you are watching is a good or bad player. As a beginner you won’t be able to tell if his strategy and grasp of the game is sound. There is nothing worse than learning from a bad player. Secondly, TV poker is simply not the best venue to learn for a beginner. Professional players have advanced techniques which may not be applicable to a beginner’s game. More so, what they show on TV may not be the whole picture, and is highly situational. Thus how the player makes his calls may not be how you should make yours in a real-life situation. The best way to learn would be to grasp the fundamentals of the game.
Taking superstitions too far is an obvious mistake in most any card game. We all have our own brand of superstitions and all gambling has some degree of luck thrown in. However, you would be setting yourself up for failure if you depend on luck to get you through a poker tournament – or even a single hand. As many experienced poker players will tell you, luck and skill is what makes up poker.
Lastly, do not place too much value on your hand. A prime example would be when a beginner gets a suited hand. Simply because it is suited doesn’t mean you should play it. If it’s a pair then by all means do so. If not, then you have to do some rethinking. We’ve got a lot of info about starting hands on this website.
There you go. Hopefully, these two posts have opened your eyes to some of the most common poker mistakes and that you’ll be able to avoid committing them in the your next game. Good luck!
