The Biggest Mistake I Made in Poker

I used to think playing more hands meant winning more money. In reality, I was just losing chips faster. Once I became more selective and patient, my results improved a lot. Poker really rewards discipline more than action. What was the biggest mistake you made when you started playing poker?

Houbi37 said:

I used to think playing more hands meant winning more money. In reality, I was just losing chips faster. Once I became more selective and patient, my results improved a lot. Poker really rewards discipline more than action. What was the biggest mistake you made when you started playing poker?

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Pretty much the same.
I thought the more flops I saw the more likely I was to win. It was like "72 suited, theoretically, that could be a straight flush if I get the flop, turn and/or river"

verry formilliar this issue

Spot on, man. That’s a huge milestone. Learning that "tight is right" when you're starting out saves you so many chips.

My biggest mistake when I started was overvaluing top pair, weak kicker.

I used to think that if I hit a King with K−5 suited, I had an absolute monster. I would play a massive pot, call down three streets, and get completely stacked by someone holding K−Q or A−K. It took me way too long to realize that kicker problems will absolutely bleed your bankroll dry.

Honestly, I think the biggest mistake I've made is believing you're going to get rich from this. It's a game that requires time and talent to see results. I play tournaments with buy-ins under $22, and that's as far as I've paid out. I play satellites with buy-ins under $3 to get tickets for $5, $11, and $16.60, and that's how I gradually win prizes. As they say, little by little, the pot fills up.

Great reflection. Playing too many hands (being overly loose) is definitely the ultimate beginner trap. Poker really is a game of discipline and patience rather than non-stop action.When I first started, my biggest mistake was not knowing when to let go of a big pre-flop hand. If I was dealt Pocket Aces or Pocket Kings, I would refuse to fold them, no matter how dangerous the board texture became (even with obvious straight or flush possibilities for my opponents). I mistakenly believed that because my hand was huge pre-flop, it was entitled to win at showdown.It took losing a lot of chips to realize that a great starting hand can quickly turn into trash by the river. Learning to fold big pairs when clearly beaten was a massive turning point for my game.