Common Texas Holdem Mistakes
I think, and some would likely agree with me, that one of the most common mistakes a new or inexperienced Texas hold em poker player makes is calling too often. I see it all the time when playing on the lower limit online poker tables. These players will get in every hand, call down every bet, and then fold at the river, completely wasting their money. Most of the time I figure they are chasing a draw of some kind, and even when they hit it once every seven times or so the one they win doesn’t offset all you lose from all that calling, and then folding . One of the first, best, and hardest, lessons I learned is the value of raising and playing aggressive. It seems scary at first, you think you might be losing more money than if you simply call. But if you play smart and don’t involve yourself in every hand, you may lose one pot by making an aggressive play at it, but you’ll lose a lot more money by calling down five other pots and folding. And furthermore, when you do raise and play poker aggressively, you win a lot more money when you do win pots than if you play passively. Now, that’s not to say you should never call, sometimes the pot odds are in your favor to try and chase a straight or flush. But remember, raising and folding should be the primary things you do.
