Poker Mistakes(2)

Mistake: Letting the weakest players feel left out.

            When new recreational players come to your game, make them one of the group. From their perspective, they feel uneasy - and are less likely to gamble - if you talk only to other regular players.
Mistake: Discussing strategy with opponents.

Mistake: Discussing strategy with opponents.

             This might make other opponents realize that there is strategy. Nothing makes weak foes less willing to gamble poorly than making them think you might be critical of their decisions.I never talk real strategy in a poker game. I babble, I mislead, I amuse, I laugh at jokes. I never, ever want opponents to think that they're being scrutinized. I want them to have my "permission" to play poorly.

Mistake: Check-raising a timid player on your left.

            This is like crawling into a cave and waking up a hibernating bear. Why do it? The person on your left has a positional advantage, and as long as he remains timid, he isn't using that positional advantage to its full potential. Check-raising is often seen as an act of war. Why start it?The truth about check-raising is that it is compensation for the disadvantage of having to act first. It should be used, but it should be used sparingly.

Mistake: (Hold 'em) Just calling the blind in a late position when everyone before
you has passed.

             Despite what I've taught you about the pitfalls of playing very small pairs in hold 'em,this is the time you really can play them profitably, and the most profitable way is to raise. Then players often will check to you on the next round, and you can take control. The additional chance that you'll chase potential winners out, plus the chance that you might win right now, make raising the right play most of the time.Additionally, you should know that a small pair is often significantly more profitable against one opponent than against two opponents. If you flop three-of-a-kind, you probably want the extra opponent. But if you don't, you can sometimes win heads-up with that unimproved pair, whereas you would have been much more likely to lose
with that pair against two or more opponents.

         If you play a small pair from early position (which, by the way, is not always a good idea), you should be hoping either for a lot of callers or just one (or, of course, none at all). You should not be hoping for two callers. That's why the correct play - if you do decide to play a small pair - is usually to just call from an early position and invite players into your pot. But in a late position, you want to either win the blind money right now or end up against just one opponent, not two. So, a raise is often the better choice.