Mistakes done in Online poker tournaments
I am writing of the mistakes which i have generally seen while playing online poker. It is these mistakes by your opponents that can be profitable to you. Some of the mistakes are rather obvious while others a little more subtle. If you can minimize these mistakes in your game you are well on your way to being a profitable player. Realize that in Texas Hold'em, most of the profit that you earn is from the mistakes of your opponents...not by your brilliant play, so be sure not to reward your opponents by making some of these common mistakes.
I am writing of the mistakes which i have generally seen while playing online poker. It is these mistakes by your opponents that can be profitable to you. Some of the mistakes are rather obvious while others a little more subtle. If you can minimize these mistakes in your game you are well on your way to being a profitable player. Realize that in Texas Hold'em, most of the profit that you earn is from the mistakes of your opponents...not by your brilliant play, so be sure not to reward your opponents by making some of these common mistakes. Mistake #1: Playing Too Many Starting Hands
This is rather straight-forward. Everybody knows that starting hand strategy is the building block to an overall profitable strategy. Yet very few players demonstrate the knowledge and/or patience to play good starting hands. Why is starting hand strategy so critical to Texas Hold'em?
Playing less hands than your opponents gives you the advantage in the long run. Think about this, if your opponents play 40% of their hands and you are only playing 20%, you will have the advantage in the majority of the hands that you play. You'll win a lot more pots with the best kicker. When you hit pairs, they will be less vulnerable to overcards. Your straights will beat lower straights. Your flushes will outkick your opponents' flushes...and so forth. By playing fewer hands you will continue to put yourself in the best position to win the hand.
Another criteria in starting hand strategy is whether or not the game is aggressive or passive. Many hands become unplayable whenever the pot is raised. This is a simple concept but many players fail to understand this very important point. A raise indicates that your opponent has a strong hand . Be very selective in the hands you play once the pot has been raised.
Mistake #2: Drawing to Outs that Won't Help You Win
Many players make the mistake of assuming that if they improve their hand they will win.Most players complain about their bad luck when they improve on the turn only to lose on the river. Borderline draws on the flop which on the surface appear to be close to break-even should often be folded for the possibility that you will lose on the river.Calculate your outs and pot odds and decide whether it is profitable to chase the draw or not. Also check out the opponent whom you are drawing too.
Mistake #3...Miscalculating Odds with Two Cards to Come.
A lot of players make decisions based on the probability of improving their hand with two cards to come. On the flop, you can calculate the probability of improving your hand on the next card or you can calculate the probability on improving on either the turn or the river.When using odds with two cards to come you sometimes commit yourself to seeing the river no matter what happens. This can be a mistake as the pot can be raised, the turn will change the context of the board which may counterfeit your outs. Donot over commit yourself only to loose your stack.
Mistake #4: Calling Raises Too Often on the Turn
Calling raises too often on the turn is another common mistake made by many players. One problem with calling raises on the turn is that you often end up calling the river. With a goal of earning one big bet an hour, you would wipe out two hours of earnings in one hand by making the mistake of calling the turn and river when you shouldn't. When calling a raise on the turn, think about whether or not you will call the river if you don't improve. Paying two big bets significantly decreases the pot odds you are receiving to see if you will win the hand.
Many opponents wait until the turn to raise their really strong hands. A lot of players are also reluctant to make semi-bluff raises on the turn, especially at the lower limits. For these reasons, you need to be very careful about when you call raises on the turn. Most opponents who raise the turn almost always have at least top pair with a good kicker, and they often have two pair or better; therefore, you should often fold pairs when raised on the turn. The main exception to this is in tight aggressive games where some opponents will raise the turn on a semi-bluff, especially in heads-up situations, so you sometimes need to call with a mediocre holding such as a pair depending on the circumstances.
Let's look first at a couple of situations where folding to a raise with a mediocre holding such as top pair is relatively straightforward:
1) Your opponent is the type who never raises the turn on a bluff or semi-bluff.
2)An opponent has raised after two players have already called the turn.
In these two situations, I would need at least top pair with top kicker to call, and often an even better hand depending on the type of opponents I am against.
Unfortunately, in tight aggressive games, turn play is not this straightforward most of the time. You will find yourself in a lot of heads-up situations where it is difficult to get a good read on your opponent's hand. In heads-up situations, some players will raise the turn with many types of hands such as top pair, middle or bottom pair, flush and straight draws, and of course two pair or better. When these types of players raise, sometimes you should fold top pair with top kicker, while other times you might be reraising. You might even need to call with bottom pair and possibly even ace high in some situations. Calling in these types of situations often depends on the type of board and how your particular opponent might play that board.
One final situation to discuss is when you need to call a raise cold, forcing you to pay two big bets to see the river. In almost all cases, one of your opponents has a very strong hand, unless he is trying to protect a vulnerable medium holding. The other problem with calling in this situation is that the original bettor could reraise. To call a raise cold, you almost always need a very strong hand or draw. For draws, the pot will need to be quite large to justify calling a raise cold.
Mistake #5: Automatically Betting or Raising the River When They Think They Have the Best Hand
The river is a different type of betting round than the flop or turn since all cards have now been shown. Most players make quick decisions on the river without thinking through the various possibilities. Betting correctly on the river is important as these are big bets and each bet made or saved can significantly add to your earnings rate.
A common mistake made by many players is betting or raising the river whenever they think they have the best hand. Do not make this same mistake! Only bet or raise a good hand on the river against a lone opponent when you have at least a 50% chance of winning when your opponent calls. The key part of this concept is that you win more than your fair share when your opponent calls. Many times you will bet the river and your opponent folds. That bet hasn't gained you anything.
Let's look quickly at an example. You hold Qh Qs with a Kc 5c 2h 4d 8h board. You bet out on the flop and turn and are called each time. You determine that the most likely holding for this opponent is a flush draw. Should you bet the river? The answer is no since your opponent will fold if he was on a flush draw. Betting will gain you nothing. A better option would be to induce a bluff by checking.
Many opponents with a busted draw may see your check as a sign of weakness and won't be able to resist betting as a last chance bluff to win the pot. In this case, checking gains you a bet while betting out probably gains you nothing.
On the other hand, if you are against an aggressive player who tends to call too often with weak pairs then it is probably correct to bet. It is unlikely your opponent holds a pair of kings since an aggressive opponent probably would have raised either the flop or turn. He most likely would have raised a flush draw also at some point. In this situation, betting could be correct since you will win over 50% of the time when your opponent calls with a weak pair. The reasoning however is different. You check if you believe your opponent was on a draw, and you bet if you are reasonably confident that your opponent will call with a weaker hand than a pair of kings.
There are two reasons to try a check-raise with a strong hand on the river:
1)To induce a bluff.
2)To gain more bets when you are confident that an opponent will bet and call your raise.
There are a lot of different considerations to work through on the river. I suggest that on the river that you always take a little extra time before acting to give yourself the time to consider all of the options available rather than the one that appears most obvious.
Mistake #6: Not Paying Attention
Everyone likes to talk about reading your opponents, playing your opponent, etc but how can you do this if you are not paying attention to the action at the table? A very common online mistake is not paying attention. This mistake can lead to numerable mistakes in important strategic decisions.
Let's first look at some of the common distractions which tempt online poker players:
1)Reading email
2)Talking on the phone
3)Watching television
4)Playing two tables
5)Surfing the web
6)Talking with your partner, friends, children, etc
One critical step to improving to an advanced level of play is creating an environment where you can focus on the action and your opponents. Identifying your opponent's tendencies and playing accordingly is not an easy skill to learn and constantly requires your full attention.
It is very easy to play with a robotic playing style where you simply play your cards. You can even make money this way which is what many players do when playing multiple tables. However, this type of play will not mazimize your winnings nor will it help you grow as a poker player to give you the experience in making decisions based on each opponent's tendencies. So create an environment which is conducive to improving your game. The consequences of not paying attention can be the difference between mediocre and advanced play. Pay attention to the action and first learn how to identify basic tendencies of your opponents. Eventually you'll be able to focus on more complex tendencies such as which opponents like to checkraise, which opponents like to slowplay, and which opponents like to semi-bluff.
Mistake #7: Bluffing Too Much
There is nothing more glamorous and exciting than making a big bluff at the poker table. For the poker player, it doesn't get much better than raking in a nice size pot with the worst poker hand. For the poker player, satisfaction comes in knowing that you have outplayed your opponent.
Unfortunately, many poker players get themselves in trouble by bluffing too often. This is even truer on the Internet than in live games. Bluffing a lot is just not a profitable endeavor on the Internet, especially in the low-limit games where you frequently have hands go to showdowns.
There are two main reasons to try a bluff in poker. The obvious one is the immediate profit you gain on your successful bluffs. When playing observant opponents, it is also necessary to bluff occasionally so that you will get action in the future when you have solid hands. This is one of the key reasons for Gus Hansen's success. He wins and loses a lot by all of his bluffs. It is those payoffs he gets when he has a real hand that makes him such a successful player. If you never bluff you won't get paid off very often while a frequent bluffer will often be challenged. So it is the combination of the immediate profit gained and the advertising value you receive that makes bluffing profitable when done in the right spots.
Realize however that the Internet game is very different than live play. Bluffing on the Internet doesn't have the same advertising value online as it does in a live game. First, many players don't pay as much attention to the game online as they do in a casino and won't even notice your bluffs. They might be playing two tables, watching television, or reading email. In addition, you rarely play with the same opponents very long on the Internet to take advantage of your "loose" image. You might try a bluff online and then 15 minutes later there are four or five new players sitting at your table. Of course, sometimes bluffing is needed in games where the players don't move in and out of the game a lot or you are against regular opponents, but this is the exception rather than the rule on the Internet.
The bottom-line is that bluffs on the Internet generally only derive value from the particular hand you are playing. Since the advertising value of bluffs goes down, bluffing in general is less profitable on the Internet than in a live game.
