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Poker Beginner's Mistakes
Playing the wrong starting hands: This is the most common mistake for beginners - they play poker without knowing the starting hands, and very often this will result in them playing too many hands, and from the wrong positions. If players take a little time to study this, they will have a much better chance of winning.
Playing at the wrong limits: Most beginners play way too high compared to their skills. This means they won't win often enough to learn the game.
Not knowing the pot odds: When players have to decide to call a bet, or fold, it’s very important that they know the pot odds. Most new players don’t pay attention to this.
Running out of patience: Most beginners don’t have enough patience, and will play hands in wrong situations. They will very often play too many hands when they have lost some money.
Playing out of position: If players don’t know the importance of position play, they will make very many expensive mistakes. Positions are everything in poker, and most beginners undervalue this.
Playing on tilt: Many new players play when they are on tilt, and don't play very well. This can often happen if players have lost games, are tired, lose their rhythm or have bad cards. This is very important to avoid – shut down and go for a walk, or go to bed 
Having too much ego when you win: Some new players are very lucky when they start, and they think they are born poker superstars. Their ego will never allow them to cool down and focus on the essentials of being a good poker player, like learning math, discipline, study and 100 other things.
Not quitting when you lose: A lot of players will play on and lose their entire bankroll when they have a bad session with many unlucky losses. It’s very important to take a break, and avoid losing too much of your bankroll.
Playing too many tables: Novice players very often want to play many tables. This will affect their results, because they will make too many automatic decisions. It’s much better to play 1 or 2 tables, and have everything clear in your mind so that you can maximize profit and minimize loss.
Playing when drinking alcohol: Alcohol has a very bad impact on your poker game. Your decisions will be bad, your playing style will be inconsistent, and in the long run you will lose if you mix alcohol and poker.
Playing too much: When beginners learn to play poker, they often play too many hours, and will lose their concentration without realizing. Take a break, sleep an hour, or walk around for a few minutes.
Playing predictably: If you play the same way every time, your opponents will very quickly read your style, adjust their play accordingly, and you will lose money. When you have good cards, they will fold, and when you have bad cards, they will jam you. So try to think about varying your game, so the other players don’t know what kind of hand you have.
Ask the better player for help: It’s very hard to play perfect poker without getting help from others. Try to find a winning player who can spare a little time to discuss the game and teach you some tricks. If you can get him to look at your hand history, or you can sit behind him when he plays, you will learn a lot. BUT please remember he's helping you, so don’t disturb his play or try to be clever, because then he will NOT invite you again.
Bluffing too much: The bluffing aspect is a little overvalued in the poker world. Most new players think it’s all about bluff. IT IS NOT. New players will often put their money in the pot on a bluff that the better players will see right through.
Superstition: Very many players believe in this, and think they can change their luck factor. This is impossible; you can only take good decisions and hope this is enough. If you believe in luck, and that leads you to take a seat on the left side of a player, even though his playing style says you should prefer the right side; you will make a costly mistake in the long run. TOP PLAYERS DON’T BELIEVE IN LUCK, THEY BELIVE IN SKILL.
Bluffing a weak player: DON’T try to bluff a weak player, he will never fold.
Emotional feelings: If you have some problems in your life away from poker, be very careful not to let this affect your poker as well. It can be very hard to give the game full attention when other things are preying on your mind.
Playing with much stronger players: If you play offline poker, be aware there are some very good players out there, some of whom are playing for a living and will keep raising the stakes. It can be very difficult to quit when other players are okay with a higher limit, and suddenly you're playing twice as high as you can afford.
Don’t go after one player because he has upset you: This can just cost you more money. If you don’t like a player, just keep your cool - don’t go after him. Instead you should focus your energies against the weakest player by the table.
Suited Hands: Don’t put too much value in suited hands. Very many new players want to play mostly suited hands, and this will be costly. If you play the suited marginal hands, you should do so from the late positions.
Blinds: Don’t try to protect your blinds with marginal and bad hands. You are in a very bad position, and in the long run this will cost you money. When a player has raised in early position, he probably has a very good hand, and a second pair can be very expensive here. Take care.
Continuing in a good starting hand: Even if you had a very good starting hand, if the flop does not fit your hand and the action is getting heavy, fold your hand, otherwise you will pay too much in pots where your chances of winning are very small.
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Edited by Administrator (19 October 2009 @ 12:56 GMT)
Joined: Jan '09
Location: Italy
Age: 53 (M)
Posts: 3871
Don't take it personal. Sometimes happens u get angry with an oppo and start playing against him; or you want a revenge for a previous lost pot. this is a big mistake: try always to play your best poker without taking it personal patience is the key
Playing the wrong starting hands: This is the most common mistake for beginners - they play poker without knowing the starting hands, and very often this will result in them playing too many hands, and from the wrong positions. If players take a little time to study this, they will have a much better chance of winning. ------------- I see way too many people playing the wrong starting hands and out of position. Especially calling pf raises with the wrong hands/position. If they win it's because of a very lucky flop or get lucky on the turn/river. They may win a hand playing like that, but in the long run I see them busting out
Joined: Mar '09
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 62 (M)
Posts: 86
Playing at the wrong limits: Most beginners play way too high compared to their skills. This means they won't win often enough to learn the game.
when i first started i was told never to play at any stakes unless you had a minimum 200 buy in. and to play short stack strategym:- buy in with 20bb then leave the table with 25bb. no less than 7 players and no more than 2 players with min buy ins.
to be honest with you all & myself after winning a few hands & increasing my bankroll i disregarded this advise lost about 50% of my bankroll. now i am back to following this and my bankroll has crept back up.
Joined: Mar '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 6714
Playing when drinking alcohol: Debatable Ask the better player for help:Yep over time iv had some tips that changed my whole game.(never be afaid to ask even if its a dumb Q) Superstition: Damn why did you put that in there now ill never win. Don’t go after one player because he has upset you:Hmm I do this but with good reason. Blinds:True but dont let them bully them off you.
Great tips.
Over betting a good hand: This will also cost you as you want value for your AA etc. Playing too many hands: Anouther common error its not about any 2 cards can win, not for now anyhow.
Both of these fall in to above topics but thought id give them there own heading.
Anouther quick 2 that poped in my head.
Using a two-color deck: Use a four-color deck is a simple way to stop yourself from making stupid mistakes.
Imitating other players: your not Durrrr dont try and play like him.
Last one: Use in forums so thoses willing to pass on tips continue to do so.
Joined: Oct '09
Location: Canada
Age: 33 (M)
Posts: 18
You're right when u say dont play all the hands because probably the number one mistake beginning poker players make is that they play far too many hands. When you're just starting out playing poker, you want to play poker, and that means staying in hands that aren't very good just to be part of the action. But playing more doesn't mean winning more, it usually means losing more. If you find you're staying in half or more the hands you're dealt, you need to upgrade your starting hand requirements. Also, i agree with the fact that playing drunk is a bad thing. Countless nights have I sat across a table from someone & watched them get plastered silly and throw away their entire stack of chips. I've been that person too - and there are nights where you're just playing with friends for low stakes and it's more about the fun than the poker - but if you're in a casino, watch the alcohol. The truth is, while you may be more relaxed after 2 drinks, it may lead to you playing looser and less sharply, even if one's not 'drunk.' thanks for the post!
Joined: Mar '09
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 62 (M)
Posts: 86
roadmap The starting point for your poker career is $50. With this money you start playing NL10 (0.05/0.10).
You play NL10 (0.05/0.10) ■ The big blind is $0.10. ■ You sit down at the table with $2.00. ■ You play this limit until you have $150.
You play NL25 (0.10/0.25) ■ The big blind $0.25. ■ You sit down at the table with $5.00. ■ You play until you have $300.
■ If you start losing and your bankroll drops to $60, you move back down to NL10.
You play NL50 (0.25/0.50) ■ The big blind is $0.50. ■ You sit down at the table with $10.00. ■ You play this limit until you have $600.
■ If you start losing and your bankroll drops to $150, you move back down to NL25.
Joined: Aug '09
Location: Chile
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1353
Playing on tilt: Many new players play when they are on tilt, and don't play very well. This can often happen if players have lost games, are tired, lose their rhythm or have bad cards. This is very important to avoid – shut down and go for a walk, or go to bed 
How easy to read and how hard to do it.
Please guys really pay attention at this. Try to know when you are on tilt and get out of the tables. I made my biggest mistakes playing upset and when you are losing you enter in a vicious circle: losing-tilt-more losing- more tilt.
I would also add: Never play Black Jack or Casio Games with your poker' money.
Joined: Nov '08
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 2194
Some good advice here i've made all the mistakes before but i love the little bet on the river.... I learnt a long time ago that All in on the river usually means a bluff but a small bet gets lots of people out of a nice size pot . LOVE DOING THAT hahahaha but the time line tips are difficalt to quantify as sooooooooooooo many people are multi tabling these days weather it be cash/open or SnG I always open the serounding tournys to see if / what players are multi tabling and always make a note if they are. they will be the tight aggressive type (in my experiance) defo at / near the start of SnGs and MTTs
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 34 (M)
Posts: 95
Don't show your cards. Unless you have a really good reason. If someone says will you show me, and you say yes, don't show them.
One of the big ones is chasing draws without getting the right odds.. For example.. never chase inside straight draws.. you will rarely hit them, and even if you do you may not have the best hand.
The worst mistake is obviously playing too loose preflop.. this one i think comes from experience, as recently i noticed how i wasn't playing certain hands that i used to think were quite good.. A6suited, KQoff, 45suited etc.
Never bluffing is a problem for some players. Always bluffing is a problem for some players.
Giving opponents the right odds to draw can be a big one.. If there are two suited cards out there, or 3 cards to a straight, its often a good idea to bet, so that your opponents aren't getting the right odds to draw to a straight or flush.
Worst mistake I've seen is people telling each other their EXACT hands.. don't do this.
Don't muck your hand until you've seen your opponents hand. And it has you beat. Even if you were bluffing with 6 high, see your opponents hand first before folding.
OH and the most important one is.. DON'T PLAY BASED ON RESULTS. If you make a questionable play and it works, consider yourself lucky, and don't make the same play again. If you fold and you would have hit, don't decide to play every hand because they can all hit. If you make a call when you have good odds, and you suspect you have many of your opponents possible hands beaten, and your opponent has some really flukey hand to beat you with, don't be afraid to call them in the same spot again.
Joined: Aug '09
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 48 (M)
Posts: 3
Nice topic, concise and easy to read. I have 2 points to make and welcome comments (please!)
"Common advice" re C-Bets is you should.. however here in the final point on that list, you say don't do this. I believe I should C-Bet sometimes but not always, taking into account position, players (and their calling ranges) Is this right?
I would like to suggest "Stack Protection" or "Avoiding Big Risks" esp. in MTT as another item. Esp. focusing on ALL-INs pre-flop...
From my own (short) experience (and thorough reading) it appears throwing all your chips, preflop, behind AA, KK, QQ, AKs for example, early in a tournament can lead to an early exit and/or 'bad beats'. Is this a risk a newbie should take?
Sure AA is probably a good bet but I've experienced losses even with them... so now I feel I have turned a page (even though it's hard to through down KK or QQ for example) and I am progressing much further into tournaments. My decision is based on if I'm in Early position, with many possible callers behind me... I try not to lead ALL-IN very early as you have so many random callers etc.
Summary; especially earlier in the tournament, out of position, and if someone goes ALL-IN pre-flop AFTER your large raise, it's not worth ALL MY CHIPS and thus my tournament life...
This is a good list. Hell even seasoned players make these mistakes from time to time. Another mistake that I don't see is playing Ax to strongly out of position. I see way too many people push from utg or early mp1 & 2 with this range and get busted. Good for the players that call it.
Joined: Nov '09
Location: Spain
Age: 47 (M)
Posts: 44
It's a very good and a very hellpfull post. I'm very new in poker and I need guides like this to learn how to star playing Texas Holde'm. We need more post like this to progress and be good poker players.
in forums so thoses willing to pass on tips continue to do so.
