Poker Pitfalls to Avoid

Of course, no one plans on losing, there would be no point to do that, but still here are some things to do if you plan that. Or better said, things not to do ever in poker if you don't want to lose a lot of hands.

Select hands poorly – If you are playing too many hands and they are mostly played when they shouldn't, then you have a big problem. Many players do this mistake and they should correct. Do not try and hold on to a hand that practically stands no change to a draw or a pot. Calculate the odds, the pot odds and the implied hand odds and also pay attention to the persons you are playing with. If everything is against the hand you are playing then you should fold. Also pay attention to position and game limits. The bright side of playing too many hands is not when you are the one that does that, but the others are. There will always be players that do this mistake and they have to be spotted and used accordingly.

Gutshots – draw like this and you have so little chances to getting the hand and actually winning that you can say from the start that you will lose your money. Drawing a gutshot means there is just one card to make your straight draw. For example you hold a hand of A and K and the card on the flop are J and Q. Everyone automatically draws for the straight in this situation. But, they should first calculate the odds before playing that much to go on the river because they are 1:11 to hit on the turn and 1 to almost 6 against to hit on the river. Low chances when you come to think about all that money you are playing to see the cards and considering the fact that you might not be the only one that draws for that nut straight. You might find yourself hitting your draw but losing the pot.

Backdoor Flushes – these are worse than the gutshots. If on a gutshot you have some chances close to 10 on the turn and 5 on the river, here your chances are 1:20 against. A backdoor flush means that you need the perfect two cards to complete your hand and they have to be of the same suit. if you really want to draw to such a hand then you must see if there are extra outs cause if not, chance you will win are very low.

Small pairs – incredible but there are some that play hands like small pairs just because they have a pair. These hands are great but only in loose games because there you will have a very strong hand if you hit, meaning you get extra cards of the same amount. If you have two 5, then you expect to get at least one more. But if you don’t then your hand remains very low and chances that you don't hit are on the flop about 1:8, and after it they become 1:23. So drawing to this pairs isn’t such a good idea unless there are other motives.