Common Mistakes Beginner Poker Players Make

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Nicolas Lacerda

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Many new poker players struggle not because of bad luck, but because of repeating the same fundamental mistakes. Avoiding these errors can significantly improve your results, especially in MTTs.

Some of the most common mistakes include:

  • Playing too many hands: Entering pots with weak hands, especially out of position, leads to long-term losses.
  • Ignoring position: Not adjusting your range based on position is a costly error.
  • Overvaluing weak hands: Top pair with a weak kicker or small pocket pairs can easily get you in trouble.
  • Calling too much: Beginners often call instead of betting or folding, which reduces profitability.
  • Bluffing without a plan: Bluffing players who don’t like to fold or bluffing without proper board texture.
  • Lack of bankroll management: Playing stakes that are too high increases the risk of going broke.
Poker is a game of small edges, and fixing just a few of these mistakes can already make a big difference.

Which of these mistakes do you think affected your game the most when you started?
 
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Nicolas Lacerda said:
Many new poker players struggle not because of bad luck, but because of repeating the same fundamental mistakes. Avoiding these errors can significantly improve your results, especially in MTTs.

Some of the most common mistakes include:

  • Playing too many hands: Entering pots with weak hands, especially out of position, leads to long-term losses.
  • Ignoring position: Not adjusting your range based on position is a costly error.
  • Overvaluing weak hands: Top pair with a weak kicker or small pocket pairs can easily get you in trouble.
  • Calling too much: Beginners often call instead of betting or folding, which reduces profitability.
  • Bluffing without a plan: Bluffing players who don’t like to fold or bluffing without proper board texture.
  • Lack of bankroll management: Playing stakes that are too high increases the risk of going broke.
Poker is a game of small edges, and fixing just a few of these mistakes can already make a big difference.

Which of these mistakes do you think affected your game the most when you started?
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This is, in my opinion, a very good way to start to look for leaks. Let me add some thoughts.

1: Playing too many hands: It is kinda self explanatory. This is also a question of position. You play tighter UTG and looser OTB, but SB/BB are a very dynamic position, which you need to let table history and betting patters greatly influence your play.

2: Position: A topic in itself. If you don’t understand why, do something about that. Great info here in the forum.

3: Overvaluing weak hands: This is a dynamic rule, as a strong hand PF can be very weak OTT or whatever. Again, a chapter of its own.

4: Calling too much: Only call if you have a reason to do so. Never (!!!!!) call because you are not sure what to do. Calling is part of a plan or it is a potential grave mistake. Raising or folding should probably be your main action as a beginner.

5: bluffing without a plan: Self explanatory.

6: Lack of bankroll management: Only worry about this (IMHO) if you are playing poker to make a profit. If you are playing for recreational purposes, don’t worry about this and just keep depositing.

As OP, I was short and generic. This is a good place to start. But real poker analysis only starts here. Understanding poker dynamics in the game is as important as understanding hand strength. I urge all beginners to get involved in hand analysis discussions:

https://www.casino.us/cardschat/cash-game-hand-analysis-50/

https://www.casino.us/cardschat/tournament-hand-analysis-51/
 
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My mistake was not knowing anything about bankroll management, which just led to me losing more and more. When I finally got fed up, I started looking at the game differently, started reading, started learning poker, and only then did things change and I stopped wasting my time and money.
 
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My biggest mistakes were:

- Calling too many hands.
- Chasing flushes.
- Overvaluing mediocre hands.

Whenever I manage to stay focused and eliminate these mistakes, my game improves that day.
 
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Probably my beginner mistake was playing too much and studying too little. When you start, it feels like playing would be the best way to learn, but without studying I was probably just repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Less play and more study should had been the way to go.
 
The most commons I see:
  • Calling big bets hoping to hit that card.
  • Bluffing in the two first streets to check in the river because the opponent could call again.
  • Calling shoves with nothing just because you have a big stack and can loose chips.
  • Playing A2 as a premium hand.
 
Beginners often play most hands, and this is their mistake. Beginners want to participate in every hand, and this ultimately leads to chaos. Unfortunately, beginners do not understand that they should actually fold 80-85 percent of the time.
 
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