When trying to do something for the first time - skateboarding or carpentry or well, anything really - it's best to learn as much as you can in order to properly understand it. This goes double for the game of poker.
I love to play the game, but at one time I knew nothing about it and boy did I make some mistakes! Have a seat, sit back and have a laugh or two as you read the 5 dumbest things I ever did at a poker table, and hopefully it will save some other newbie from making the same stupid mistakes that I did.
Dumbest Move #1 - I sat down at a poker table at the casino and had my $50 ready to play, and half way through the first hand I was broke, busted couldn't even make the bet! Why? Because, stupid me, I didn't realize that poker tables have different table limits, and I happened to sit at a 5 card stud game that was $10/$20 limits!
I had enough to ante-up and that was about it. The thing was: I had a great hand, with three kings and an ace. The kind of hand that, with sufficient cash, I could have won by strategically raising. But I learned my lesson and always check the table limits before I sit down now.
Dumbest Move #2 - Do you know what the 'muck' option is at online poker sites. Yes? Well, I didn't and spent ages showing everyone else my losing hands. Consequently, they knew when I bluffed and when I was playing straight. Unsurprisingly, I got killed on every hand from then on. Lesson? Use the muck option and don't show the other players your hand.
Letting your opponents know what type of player you are is the dumbest move you can make in poker! The game of poker is a skill game, and you must use strategy and by giving away how you play your cards, you're just handing over your money.
Dumbest Move #3 - Playing every single hand! A lot of new poker players and some old bad poker players feel the need to play out every single hand instead of folding, sitting out and biding their time until they have a hand good enough to stay in with and have a decent shot at winning.
Put simply - I know that poker is a fun, exciting game and you want to be involved in the action. But, believe me, by playing every hand - regardless of whether it's a good one - it will be over a lot, lot sooner. Try not to get swept up by the atmosphere and play smart. You could even end up winning.
Dumbest Move #4 - Staying in the game "just because". Some players feel the need to finish the hand whether or not they have a chance of winning just because they already put money in the pot. Are you kidding me? I did this when I first started playing because I was excited and felt there is "always a chance I will pull it out and win. Yeah, right.
For example, if you have a pair of twos but nothing is coming up for you and someone else is raising over and over, then fold. Cut your losses and wait for the next hand. If you know you aren't going to win, don't throw good money after bad. Save your money.
Dumbest Move #5 - Know the Game! I can't say this enough, the worst goof up I ever did was when I joined in am Omaha Hi/Low tournament. Now I had never played the game before, so I read up on how to play before the tournament started and thought, ok, I understand the basics of the game and the rest I will learn as I play.
As you can imagine, my first experience of Omaha Hi/Lo was not a good one. I kept losing when I felt I would have won; and I won when I thought I should have lost. I had literally no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I had enough good fortune to get me through to the intermission. At that point, I wen and re-read the rules of the game!
That's when I found out how you are really supposed to play Omaha Hi/Lo. I discovered I was even folding great hands, like 1,3,5,6,7. I suspect I would have won a lot of money, but I didn't really understand the game. So I got pretty much what I deserved. I'll neve again act like I know it all and play a cash game I've never actually played before.
So, those were my five dumbest mistakes. I'm sure you'll agree that they were pretty dumb so hopefully if you are new to playing poker, you won't make the same errors. Make sure you know the game, the rules and the table limits and you won't go too far wrong.
I love to play the game, but at one time I knew nothing about it and boy did I make some mistakes! Have a seat, sit back and have a laugh or two as you read the 5 dumbest things I ever did at a poker table, and hopefully it will save some other newbie from making the same stupid mistakes that I did.
Dumbest Move #1 - I sat down at a poker table at the casino and had my $50 ready to play, and half way through the first hand I was broke, busted couldn't even make the bet! Why? Because, stupid me, I didn't realize that poker tables have different table limits, and I happened to sit at a 5 card stud game that was $10/$20 limits!
I had enough to ante-up and that was about it. The thing was: I had a great hand, with three kings and an ace. The kind of hand that, with sufficient cash, I could have won by strategically raising. But I learned my lesson and always check the table limits before I sit down now.
Dumbest Move #2 - Do you know what the 'muck' option is at online poker sites. Yes? Well, I didn't and spent ages showing everyone else my losing hands. Consequently, they knew when I bluffed and when I was playing straight. Unsurprisingly, I got killed on every hand from then on. Lesson? Use the muck option and don't show the other players your hand.
Letting your opponents know what type of player you are is the dumbest move you can make in poker! The game of poker is a skill game, and you must use strategy and by giving away how you play your cards, you're just handing over your money.
Dumbest Move #3 - Playing every single hand! A lot of new poker players and some old bad poker players feel the need to play out every single hand instead of folding, sitting out and biding their time until they have a hand good enough to stay in with and have a decent shot at winning.
Put simply - I know that poker is a fun, exciting game and you want to be involved in the action. But, believe me, by playing every hand - regardless of whether it's a good one - it will be over a lot, lot sooner. Try not to get swept up by the atmosphere and play smart. You could even end up winning.
Dumbest Move #4 - Staying in the game "just because". Some players feel the need to finish the hand whether or not they have a chance of winning just because they already put money in the pot. Are you kidding me? I did this when I first started playing because I was excited and felt there is "always a chance I will pull it out and win. Yeah, right.
For example, if you have a pair of twos but nothing is coming up for you and someone else is raising over and over, then fold. Cut your losses and wait for the next hand. If you know you aren't going to win, don't throw good money after bad. Save your money.
Dumbest Move #5 - Know the Game! I can't say this enough, the worst goof up I ever did was when I joined in am Omaha Hi/Low tournament. Now I had never played the game before, so I read up on how to play before the tournament started and thought, ok, I understand the basics of the game and the rest I will learn as I play.
As you can imagine, my first experience of Omaha Hi/Lo was not a good one. I kept losing when I felt I would have won; and I won when I thought I should have lost. I had literally no idea what I was doing. Luckily, I had enough good fortune to get me through to the intermission. At that point, I wen and re-read the rules of the game!
That's when I found out how you are really supposed to play Omaha Hi/Lo. I discovered I was even folding great hands, like 1,3,5,6,7. I suspect I would have won a lot of money, but I didn't really understand the game. So I got pretty much what I deserved. I'll neve again act like I know it all and play a cash game I've never actually played before.
So, those were my five dumbest mistakes. I'm sure you'll agree that they were pretty dumb so hopefully if you are new to playing poker, you won't make the same errors. Make sure you know the game, the rules and the table limits and you won't go too far wrong.
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Find out which websites I recommend for new poker players by taking at look at our recommended poker rooms or check out the top online casinos around today.
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