Poker is a challenging game for beginners to learn. As it’s become more popular thanks to online poker sites, it’s also become more competitive. Today, it can be difficult for new players to get started, especially as they tend to make a lot of mistakes. Thankfully, there are also lots of poker resources to help you learn the game, but ironing out the mistakes can still be tricky. Here are some of the most common mistakes that new players make when playing poker online.
Playing Without Purpose
As a new player, you want to make sure that every time you play is a learning experience and a chance to practice new things. Playing without purpose is simply playing the game without a focused objective or goal. It’s how most people play, but it’s not the best way to get better at the game, even if you are getting practice in.
Instead of aimlessly playing, you want to combine your study with play, learning new things through studying and then applying them during online poker games. You should also set goals and targets to play certain scenarios or face certain hands. The more you play with purpose, the more you’ll learn, and you’ll get better at a much faster rate.
Playing High Stakes
Although high stakes might be more fun, you’re risking more money. When you’re new to the game, you’re still learning, so this could end up being an expensive lesson. Not only will you be risking more money when playing with higher stakes, but you’ll usually also be coming up against stronger opposition. Great players often play at low-stakes tables, but the really good ones are more likely to play at high stakes.
When you first start out, managing your bankroll and effective risk management is important. Even if you have money to burn, you can potentially learn more when playing at lower stake tables. You can also check out freeroll tournaments which allow you to play poker online for free while still offering prizes.
Getting Overly Frustrated
As a new player, you might have to deal with the reality of losing often. Although this is hard to take, you can avoid losing too much money if you follow the above point. Losing is inevitable in poker, especially if you’re a beginner. However, you need to learn from your losses and avoid getting frustrated. A lot of new players allow their emotions to get the better of them, which only leads to more losses.
Each time you lose, you need to practice staying calm and collected. Getting frustrated, angry, or upset will lead to you losing your cool and making more mistakes. Practice mindfulness and meditation, focusing on your breathing each time you feel upset. You can also take breaks if needed.
Playing Too Many Hands
While you need to gain experience as a beginner, that shouldn’t come at the expense of your strategy. It’s important to stick to playing the best hands and folding those that are weak. By playing weak hands, you’re more likely to lose over time, even if you get lucky on a few occasions. While you might think you can gain more experience this way, you can still learn a lot by folding and observing other players.
As a new player, you should be extra careful not to play weak hands and try to always consider your position. You’ll also want to fold if your opponent is aggressively raising. It could just be a bluff, but you don’t want to take the risk. As you get better, you’ll have a better idea of when players are bluffing.
