Lack of Strategy
So there you have it, a strategic game plan in Texas Holdem is all that stands between you and bust or booms on the river. Playing too many hands is one of the biggest traps. Just picture it: 7♠ 3♦ in first position. Checking is a common way to see the flop but good players give it up. They fold, sparing their chips for better draws.
A common mistake is ignoring positional importance. For instance, you are on the button with K♣ J♠. From here near the end of the round, you can loosen up a bit as you’ve seen how everyone else played. On the contrary, if you had the identical hand in an early position, you need to be patient.
Now, think about the propensity for people to overvalue suited connectors. Hand 8♥ 9♥ appears to be enticing, but the probability of getting either a straight or flush has declined. The odds of hitting a flush by the river are only around 6.5%, as per this data. Poker legend Doyle Brunson said, “Why do they play No-Limit? You end up playing marginal hands from difficult positions as you will see with this particular piece of advice.”
Another mistake involves improper reading of opponents. Here is a situation: You play heads up and the board adapts A♠ Q♦ 5♣ 8♠ 2♦. Q♠ 10♣ and your opponent makes a big bet on the river. Those of you who have been paying close attention will remember they slow played before, indicating they may indeed have a stronger hand such as AQ or perhaps a set.
It is a commonly overlooked issue but bankroll management can be key. For instance: Let us consider you are sitting at a $1/$2 table with a full stack of $100 (50 BB). The chances are that if you lose a few hands, your stack is gone before you know it, and this will impact the way you play and dictate the decisions that need to be made. The experts will say that you should have 20-30 buy-ins for your chosen stakes if you want to be effectively immune to variance.
Consider the art of bluffing. Judge a book by its cover: If all you end up using is an overplayed bluff, you will fail and should not be surprised. Assume you’re in the world-class gambling den of late position with 6♣ 4♠ in a $1/$2 game, and the flop comes J♦ 9♣ 2♠. Even if you opt to represent a big hand and raise, experienced opponents will soon peg your presence of bluffable hands. Famous poker pro Phil Ivey once remarked, “You cannot bluff someone who is not paying attention.”
Playing Too Many Hands
One of the most common pitfalls is playing too many hands. Patience is a virtue in Texas Holdem, and being able to fold is key.
For example, say you’re dealt 9♣ 5♦ (a hand you find yourself getting a lot of in early position). This is likely to give you that feeling that the flop is just so close you might be able to hit a little of it. Yet, the fact is that you will not win very often with marginal hands like these. The chances are you do not hit on the flop (31%), and when you actually hit, your hand is no good against your opponent and his possible overcards.
However, J♠ 10♣ may not be played with regularity, and this will nonetheless be among the common faults. They’re attractive hands – at first glance they seem great, but in reality, they will most likely lose you money. If you call holding J♠ 10♣ and this flop lands K♦ Q♥ 3♠, you have an open-ended straight draw but you are up against KK or QQ. Continuing to chase these draws can cost you thousands, since your straight will only pick up to 16% of the time by the river.
Understanding starting hand selection is the first step. Poker legend Phil Hellmuth drives it home: “If you are playing more than around 20-25% of your hands, you need to scale back.” In short-handed games, it is important to get involved with big hands like A♠ K♦ or not even bother in early positions, for example, Q♥ Q♣. Once you move to later seats, your range can widen, but exercise caution.
Playing too many hands leads to tough post-flop decisions. For example, if you hold Q♣ 9♦ and the flop arrives as 8♠ 7♠ 6♦, you are on an inside straight draw for a 10 high straight. This is roughly an 8.5% shot to stack off by the river. Bet too many chips on those draws, and your stack is going to go down the drain like Ypsilanti Wakeman.
Factor in your table image if you play many hands. It raises awareness of what you are doing. If your opponents see that you play a lot more hands than the average, they will adjust by calling your raises with a wider range and playing back at you much more often.
Here is another example: You hold A♠ 6♥ in middle position and raise. A player in late position calls, and the flop is A♦ K♣ 8♠. You flop top pair, but your kicker sucks. You lose to A♣ Q♦ or even A♥ 10♦.
Overvaluing Hands
One of the biggest mistakes that many players make is over-valuing hands that will often lead to unnecessary losses. Underestimating the strength of your hand with respect to the community cards and how your opponents are playing can be very expensive.
For instance, say you have A♣ J♦ in early position. You check-raise, and two players call you. The flop comes J♠ 8♦ 4♣. It looks like you probably have the best hand with a really good kicker. This opens you up to being vulnerable to sets, overpairs, and even straight draws. It is already in a dominant situation if an opponent has 8♠ 8♣, and if it does not trap with Q♠ 10♠, it actually has an open-ended straight draw with significant equity against your hand.
Let me introduce some numbers. Versus a range, you’re just shy of 11% on average to get there (according to PokerStove). It is hard to fold top pair good kicker, but knowing this will keep you in the game.
Another example is playing pocket pairs too much. For example, you are holding 9♠ 9♣ in middle position. You make a raise, and the player on the button calls. The flop comes K♦ Q♥ 6♠. The chances are that your pocket nines are in front on this board. Most of the time it is due to how many players are playing with ace rag as well, so I then feel like I have to play my pocket pair. Two over cards virtually kill your hand’s value. The chance of your opponent having a king or queen is great, especially if they call pre-flop. In the long run, you will only improve (if behind) about 30% of the time by the river as per those stats.
One other frequent mistake is to overvalue suited connectors. With 7♦ – 8♦, you might even be reasonably happy with the situation, especially if you hit anything on the flop. These hands, however, are traps in truth. As an example, if the flop is 6♦ 9♠ 2♣, you have an open-ended straight draw. But you will make a straight on the river only 31.5% of the time.
Even premium holdings such as A♠ K♣ can be turned into bluffs when needed. Let’s say you have (A♠ K♣) and the flop is K♦ 10♠ 3♣. Congrats, you have a strong top pair, top kicker. However, an aggressive opponent might have a set or even two pairs, so you have to adjust for that as well. As Phil Ivey cautions, “Be constantly vigilant as to the strength of your hand versus what is possible.” When the turn is a 10♣ and your opponent bets, you may need to re-evaluate how good top pair actually is this time.
To do this, you also need to know when to fold hands that appear good on the surface but are actually losing against a raise and re-raise. Holding A♥ Q♠ on a flop of Q♦ — 8♣ —3♠, if the opponent raises or re-raises, it is possible that they already have a set, two pairs, or a better kicker.
Inadequate Knowledge of Odds and Probabilities
This is why learning the odds in Texas Holdem starts off your decision-making process and provides a framework for making winning decisions. Players without this awareness often fall into the trap of making bad calls, not betting for value or doing it too little, or even bluffing when they shouldn’t.
Firstly, we shall talk about pot odds. The ratio of the current size of the pot to that same contemplated call is known as pot odds. For example, say you have 10♠ 9♠ on a board of A♠ 7♣ 4♠. The pot is 100bb, and your opponent now bets 50bb. The current pot size is $150, and you have to call $50. Pot odds: 150:50 => 3:1. You then need to decide if your odds of getting a flush on the turn and river are better than these odds. When Player A has two hearts and Player B has another two (one in their hand and one on the flop), there are nine more heart cards available that can come on the turn or the river, or about a 35% chance – or roughly 2:1 to hit flush by the river. Calling is a mathematically correct play because your pot odds, 3:1, are better than your odds of getting a flush, 2:1.
Then we come to implied odds, which are the additional stacks you can win on future bets if you hit your draw. For example, if you have 8♥ 9♥ and the board is 7♣ 6♣ 2♦, you have an open-ended straight draw. If the current pot is $80 and your opponent bets $20, then you have a total of $100 in the pot and it will cost you $20 to call, making 5:1 pot odds. You have about a 31.5% chance (2 in 1 against) of hitting your straight by the river.
Expected Value (EV) is another integral concept in a poker player’s arsenal. The average amount the bet expects to win or lose is called EV. Suppose you have to decide whether to call a $50 river bet, holding a hand that will win the pot 25% of the time. Let’s say in a $200 pot, we can calculate the EV that way: 25% of the time you win ($250 ($200 pot +$50 bet), and 75% of the time you lose $50. EV = (0.25 * 250) – (0.75 * 50) EV = $62.50 – $37.50 EV = $25.
Think about the number of outs you have (the cards that will make your hand better). Let us take an example where you have J♠ 10♠ on a K♠ Q♦ 5♣ board. You have 8 outs (4 Aces + 4 Nines) by any Ace or Nine that would give you a straight. You can follow the Rule of 4 and 2 to calculate the chance of getting one of your outs on the river. Take the number of outs you have, multiply them by 4 to get a rough chance of hitting by the river (8 outs=32% example) or multiply your outs by 2 for the next card (8 outs=16%).
Bluffing probabilities are also extremely important. For example, if you bluff $100 into a pot that is up to $200, the pot will be $300 when your opponent folds. You need your bluff to be successful 33% of the time in order to break even ($100 / $300).