Advanced Poker Player's Mistakes

Poker is a really tough game and there are no two ways about it. It is almost irrelevant how good a poker player is, he is still bound to make mistakes during play. Sometimes these mistakes are the by-product of certain unfavorable circumstances and, at other times, they are the result of a player's lack of attention to the game. Even the most seasoned traditional and online poker players admit that making an incorrect move here and there is simply inevitable and it is a poker player's inability to accurately calculate each and every of his future moves what makes this game so terribly exciting. In fact, part of the challenge that poker poses is to cope with the mistakes you make and to learn from them.

To make things easier, however, we have gathered a list of the most common advanced poker player mistakes:

1. Lack of attention. Although not being attentive during play seems as something a poker novice is likely to do, this mistake is actually quite common among advanced players as well. After playing thousands of hands session after session, many good players tend to believe that they already know it all. However, this is far from being correct. Although there are many occasions on which experienced players are still likely to win even without paying close attention to the game, they are certainly failing to exploit their winning potential to the fullest. And that's a promise!

2. Incorrect poker game selection. This is yet another very common but highly inappropriate mistake that advanced poker players commit. Many a times experienced poker players think that they have mastered the game in all its forms and versions. But, this just isn't the case. A player who is very good in Texas Hold 'em is not necessarily as good in Omaha. Also, if you are great in heads-up games no one can guarantee your success in multi-player games, and, of course, vice versa. What you need to do is keep tabs on your game statistics and go for games that you have the highest chances of winning.

3. Extended tilt during play. Controlling their emotions during play is a goal most poker players, regardless to their level of play, are successful in achieving. However, our experience at the tables has shown us that sometimes it is the most experienced players who went on the most extended tilt. We have no idea what triggers this phenomenon but it sure does look bad. We guess that such an extended tilt is the result of a long bad streak which totally breaks a player's confidence in his gaming skills.

4. Not taking advantage of value bets. You really don't have to be a genius in order to bet when you're holding a strong hand. It is getting maximum value out of weaker hands what makes this maneuver so difficult. Generally speaking, value betting tactics are very game dependent. For instance, in Limit Texas Hold 'em, a player should bet very aggressively just because the game's limit is typically so small that his opponents are very likely to call his value bets holding even the most marginal hands. In No Limit Texas Hold 'em, the situation is much more complicated. It is not only about what you hold and what your opponents may hold, it is also about what they think you hold. Tricky, ha? A strong opponent willusually try to figure out what's in your pocket. Therefore, among other things, you want to make your move based on what he believes you have. As you see, value betting is highly situational and, thus, complex. 'Great' poker players know their value betting while simply 'good' ones typically don't!

If you are already an advanced poker player, you should be very determined to avoid these very common mistakes. The more you control your game the more successful you become!