There are three mistakes that bad players make and all three are correctible.
Here they
are listed below and then provided ♠ with a simple plan of correction.
1. They Play Too
Many Hands
Their starting high range is too broad – from all ♠ positions. They came to
the poker room to play; and by golly, they are not about to fold a hand ♠ that could turn
into a winner. This fact is valid in all positions and on all betting rounds.
Here are
some ♠ examples:
Pre-flop middle-position. A couple of players have called theR$3 large
blind. They have Tc 8d, Ac2s, Qc8c, 4d3d, or Jh3h. ♠ They routinely call too.
Flop. Late
position.They called an unraised hand pre-flop with Ks9s. The flop is Ah9h6s. An early
position ♠ player betsR$20. One caller. They are last to act and call.
River. They are in
early position with AhKs. They raised ♠ toR$12 pre-flop and got two callers. They
donk-bet the flop and the turn, forR$20 andR$35 respectively and got two callers ♠ each
time. It is now the river. The board is QdJc6s6dKd. They betR$35, get called, and then
raised toR$70. They ♠ call, figuring they are pot committed.
Simply put, they need to
tighten their range. Be bold at first. Tighten severely, just ♠ to get an entirely
different perspective on how to play the game. In early position, narrow to JJ+ and AK,
♠ and only play for a raise. In middle and late position, add a calling range of 22+ and
suited Aces.
Do ♠ not expand it any more than that and see how your game changes.
2. They
Play Too Passively
They are calling and ♠ not raising. Even with premium holdings, even
when they think they have the best or better of it, they are ♠ calling and not raising –
and seldom initiating the betting. This play is undoubtedly an error for at least two
♠ reasons.
Mediocre players are not getting maximum value out of their best hands.
And
they are letting in opponents who would otherwise ♠ fold -- increasing the chances that
they will be outdrawn.
Here are some examples of when they should be raising instead ♠ of
calling.
Mid and late position, pre-flop with a premium pair, and with the pot raised
in front of them. They ♠ hold QQ. UTG+2 raises toR$10. They just call.Instead, most of
the time they should make itR$25 orR$30.
Early position, pre-flop with ♠ a premium pair
and an unraised pot; they should raise. They hold JJ under the gun. They call
theR$2.They should ♠ make itR$10 orR$12.
Late position with a strong draw and a few
callers in front, they call when they should raise ♠ (at least a fair percentage of the
time). They hold AhTh and two players call theR$2 big blind. They call ♠ too. Instead,
they should make itR$15. They have a few ways to win. They may get all of their
opponents ♠ to fold or win with a bet on the flop. They may improve and win on the turn
or river. ♠ They will probably see a flop.
On the flop, late position, with a strong
draw, when it is checked, they too ♠ check. Instead, they can bet to win the pot or
semi-bluff, with a chance to win with improvement on the ♠ turn or river. They have KcQc
in the cutoff. After the flop, they are in last position. The flop is ♠ 9c9dTc. It is
checked to them. They can bet 50-60% of the pot, representing at least two pair and if
♠ the rest of the field folds, good. If they get a call or two, they still might improve
to a ♠ straight or a flush, Kings up or Queens up, and move ahead.
3. They Fail to
Concede When Likely Far Behind
There ♠ is a time-honoured motto in sports: “Winners never
quit, and quitters never win.” While it is a positive way of ♠ motivating people on a
sports team, it is too often embraced by weak poker players – who fall in love ♠ with
their hand and refuse to give up. Instead, they need to learn the skill of quitting
when they are ♠ behind.
Here are two examples of that.
They have an effective stack
ofR$300 in aR$1/2 game and start in late position with ♠ AhAc. A few opponents call the
big blind, and they raise toR$12 and get a couple of callers. The flop ♠ is Ks 9s 2c. The
action is checked to them, and they betR$25. One opponent calls. The turn is the ♠ 2s and
their opponent betsR$60. They think about folding but conclude that their opponent may
be bluffing. And so, they ♠ call.
This play is almost always an error. Unless the
opponent is a maniac or had them pegged as extremely tight, ♠ why would they betR$60 on
the turn unless they either hit their flush, trips, or a full house? The better ♠ action
is to recognise that they were ahead on the deal and possibly the flop with AA, but now
they ♠ are almost surely behind. With only two outs available to draw a winning hand,
they should fold.
They have an effective ♠ stack ofR$150 in aR$1/2 game. Holding AhKh in
mid-position, they raise the blinds toR$10. They are called by a player ♠ in late
position, raised toR$30 by the button and then re-raised toR$75 by the big blind. The
game has not ♠ been especially wild and aggressive, so they call, figuring their AhKh is
one of the three best hands in Hold’em.
This ♠ call is almost surely an error too. While
it is true that AKs ranks exceptionally high on a chart listing ♠ powerful pre-flop
hands, under the specific circumstances of this hand, it is likely to be dominated by
an opponent. While ♠ the initial raiser and the 3-bettor may have a pair lower than
Kings, and thereby might only be a slight ♠ favourite over AK, the odds of the 4-bettor,
the 3-bettor, and the raiser all having hands QQ or worse is ♠ relatively small.
Add in
the fact that one of the raisers may well have an Ace or a King, would kill ♠ an out or
two for the AK hand. There is also the relatively short stack available after the flop
if ♠ the hand does hit, and you have a recipe for conceding to the 4-bet.
There are many
other mistakes that bad ♠ players are likely to make. But if they focused on correcting
those listed above, they would be well on their ♠ way to winning play.
