Poker Conclusion

PLAYING TOO MANY HANDS I

This is a simple, obvious topic. It’s so obvious in fact, that it’s often been overlooked or simply not bothered with by poker writers. But it is quite important; for it accounts for much of the difference in results between typical winning and losing players. So let’s take a look. When I began playing poker, I studied the game, trying from the start to learn how to play correctly.

It is extremely difficult for someone just starting out to put together the myriad concepts one must coordinate in order to play well. What I was able to do, however, was to begin to follow, on a rudimentary level, the experts guidelines for hand selection. I was therefore baffled, at first, by the players I encountered in the small limit games. Gradually I came to realize that most of these players simply didn’t know what they were doing.

Few had put any effort into learning correct play. What continued to surprise me was the observation that even somewhat better players frequently showed down hands which, if the experts were right, should not be profitable under the circumstances in which they had played them.

(I am speaking here primarily of holdem, though much of what I say clearly applies to other forms of poker as well.) As I refined my understanding of what hands to play and how to play them under various circumstances, I concluded correctly that these players were, indeed, making repeated errors in hand selection. Moreover, I continued to spot this kind of error as I moved up to the middle limits.

It is rampant among middle limit holdem players who are a little better than average but far from the top in ability. Though it is less common among the best players, even here there are some players whose only real flaw is playing a little too loose. I believe this is the most common, yet most easily avoided class of error in holdem.

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Playing Too Many Hands-II
Bad Plays Good Players make / Self-Weighting Cold Calls

Do You Pass the Ace-Queen Test /

Conjecture on the Limits of Tell Detectability
Quick Indicators / Afterthought