Phil Gordon's Common Mistakes

Phil Gordon is one of my favorite professional poker players. Not only is he great in those Celebrity poker tournaments but he's also a world class poker player. Here's a short article he wrote regarding common mistakes by your average poker player.

Everyone makes mistakes. The thing is, a good player will learn from them while a bad player will make the same mistake over and over again. And poker players that can exploit these mistakes will win.

Here are some of the most common mistakes that bad players make and my usual methods for exploiting them:

A player doesn't bluff enough. When these players bet or raise, I usually give them credit for a good hand. When they check, I will usually bet to try and take the pot.

A player overvalues top pair. The "average" winning hand in Hold 'em is two pair. Yet many players are willing to take tremendous risks with top pair. When I have a hand that can beat a player who overvalues his top pair, I will over-bet the pot and put them into a position to make a big mistake. I go out of my way to play small pocket pairs against these players because I know that if I flop a set, I'm likely to get paid off in a huge way.

A player under-bets the pot. It is incredibly important, especially in No Limit Hold 'em, to make bets large enough to punish opponents for their draws. When a player under-bets the pot and I have a draw, I take advantage of their mistake by just calling the small bet. When I think I have him beat, I'll make a raise.

A player calls too much. I will very rarely bluff against a "calling station." I will, however, make value bets throughout the hand.

A player tightens up under pressure. Most bad players "squeeze" too much in the middle stages of a tournament, or when they're on the bubble. They tighten up and wait for a huge hand. Against these players, I will play a lot looser, looking to steal a larger share of the blinds and antes.

A player telegraphs the strength of his hand with "tells." I am always observing these players, whether I am in the hand or not.

Playing perfect poker may be nearly impossible for most players but, by recognizing your own tendencies - and those of your opponents - you're much more likely to limit your mistakes and capitalize on the weaknesses of others at the table.

More about Phil Gordon

Bluff Magazine | The Thrill of Poker, Poker Rankings, Poker Tournament Coverage

Here's a nice little Q&A with Bluff Magazine's player of the year, Phil Ivey. I think Phil's a great tournament player, probably one of the top three in the world. The funny thing is, many professional poker pros consider him an even better high stakes cash game player.

"With a chip and a chair, and an iconic stare, Phil Ivey clearly emerged in 2005 as the greatest player of his generation – or perhaps any generation, for that matter. Tell him that, though, and he’d probably just shrug and look at his shoes. Phil has no time for fame or ego – just a whole lotta gamble. Phil was surprised to learn he was number one, because, as a big cash game player (and we mean BIG cashgames!), he didn’t feel he’d entered enough tournaments to have a shot. This year, with a newfound commitment to tournament play, he could prove to be unstoppable. Bluff hails our first ever Player of the Year and poker’s most reluctant celebrity."

Bluff Magazine

People cheat at poker all the time...

This book should be interesting. It talks about cheating at Las Vegas poker rooms and at online poker rooms. I always thought this kind of stuff happened but never to me. But some of the things he says in this article is interesting. It would be fairly easy for two or three players at a table collude and take your money. I'm sure its happened to me before, both online and at the LV poker rooms.

"If you are one of the millions of people who've taken up online poker, there's a pretty good chance you are being cheated on a regular basis according to a man who may be the most successful gambling cheat ever. Richard Marcus knew every trick in the book when it came to fleecing the casinos. He retired without ever getting caught and is now warning poker players about what they are up against. Marcus spoke exclusively with George Knapp of the I-Team.
There's an old saying about poker. If you can't spot the sucker at the table, then the sucker is you. Considering how much money is involved in poker these days, Richard Marcus says it's entirely possible someone will shoot him for revealing that poker, despite its popularity, is crooked. It's rigged, both the online games and the live tournaments in Las Vegas casinos. He's written a new book called Dirty Poker in which he lays out the sordid details."

ABC7Chicago.com: Dirty Poker:

POKER - Image Problem

Nice little article regarding your poker image by Phil Gordon.

"Fix your image and realize that at the poker table, image is everything. You want to have the image of a thoughtful, fearless, aggressive, tight player that is observant, willing to take big chances, and has the best of it more often than not. Have the image of a good guy that respects opponents, gives back to the community, and is good for the game. Attain that image, and your opponents will run from your pots kicking and screaming. And, you might just get a loud cheer the next time you are in front of 200,000 fans at the racetrack."

ESPN.com - POKER - Image Problem

You need discipline to win at online poker

Here's a great line from the actor turned poker pro, James Woods. I strongly believe in what he's saying. You have to be disciplined to win at online poker. I realized that there will always be ups and downs when you play online, so you have to play a disciplined style of poker to leave a winner. If you play too long, you can lose your winnings OR lose more than you want. It's always good to set a limit for yourself. For example, if I win $250, I will quit. If I lose $250, I will quit. If you play a tight game, I think you can win $250 and then quit before you give it back. Stick with a limit and pull yourself away. James' response to Bluff magazine is what I follow myself.

Bluff: Excuse the interruption. You've been playing online?

James Woods: Yes. Every morning I get up and think: "OK, while I'm reading the paper I'm gonna just play." But there's a big distinction between playing and really playing -- you get people who say, "OK, I'm gonna settle into the evening and play poker all night," and of course, what happens is they go up a bit, down a bit, you might have a little rush and then go back down, but by and large they're gonna kind of grind themselves down. What grinds you down more than anything else is fatigue, sheer fatigue.

A friend of mine, who was once in a terrible car accident, plays poker for a living -- he hangs out at Hustler. He has to live off his poker winnings and plays incredibly tightly and aggressively -- he plays the tightest hand imaginable, but when he's got it, he plays. He will lay down a full house, if he thinks it might be the weaker full house, without even thinking about it; and the reason is he has to make $500 a day to live. He says: "If I make 500, I take my 500 and I get out of there before I make any mistakes." He says you have to learn to be disciplined more than anything you could possibly imagine. So I thought: "Well, I'm gonna try this as an experiment."

So about five or six weeks ago, I decided to get up every morning and play, and I have a kind of ritual: I play with the dog a little bit and, before I take a shower, I order my room service (I'm in a hotel at the moment), read the paper and play online. Which means that I'm not enjoying myself (although I always do enjoy poker), but I'm gonna be playing just to win $500, no more. That's my deal. The second I win 500, I log off.

The first month, I lost one day out of 31 days -- so I've won every single day by playing incredibly, incredibly tight, not playing for fun. It's amazing what happens if you don't get emotionally involved in the game and you sit down to win.

Full James Woods Q&A

Advanced No Limit Strategies

When playing no limit hold'em, it's extremely important to take into consideration pot odds. You have to adjust your play from the limit game and remember that at any point, you may have to put all your chips in the pot. Take the time during the start of your session and study other players. Remember what they raised with and take note of hands they show. Remember their betting style because they will most likely bet the same way down the road.

After playing No-Limit extensively on the internet, I've noticed that the keys to winning No-Limit are one's knowledge of the game and his ability to adapt to his opponents' knowledge. You must know what your skills are at No-Limit; what stages of the game you have mastered. Once you realize how you are good at No-Limit, you must then apply this to how others at your table play No-Limit badly.

PokerTips.org

Calculating Texas Hold'em Poker Odds

Calculating poker odds quickly is one of the hardest thing to do when you are in the middle of a big hand, but it's also essential to making the right calls and correct lay downs. Being able to calculate your odds quickly can help you make those decisions much faster and easier.

"Probability is a huge factor in texas hold 'em. Players use odds to determine their actions. The chances of finishing a flush or a straight, the probablity of getting an overcard, the percentage of times you're going to flop a set to match your pocket pair are all important factors in poker. Knowledge of these statistics is key to winning. In online games especially with very few (if any) tells, statistical knowledge becomes the main factor when choosing whether to bet, call, or fold."

Texasholdem-poker.com

When to Bluff in Poker

Bluffing is a big part of poker. Those who can make a bluff and those that can spot a bluff are the poker players who usually leave the game with the most money. However, in low limit poker, bluffing a pot is hard to pull off. More often than not, you'll get called with second or even third pair. In my opinion, bluffing works best in tournament games, where a good bluff or a bad bluff can determine if you stay or are eliminated from the tournament.

"In low-limit games, you find mostly unskilled players — and the less skilled your opponent, the more difficult it is to bluff him. It just doesn’t work! You could set up the perfect bluffing situation, but it would be lost on the unsophisticated player. He wouldn’t see it because all he sees is his own hand. If he has the smallest glimmering of hope to win a hand, he most often will call automatically. A guided missile wouldn’t get him out." ~Roy West

More of bluffing

Common Poker Tells

Being able to read other poker players and picking up their tells will give you a huge advantage over your opponents. Making a correct read could mean making a great laydown or bluffing your way to a big pot.

(1) A Shaking Hand

This tell is very common for newer poker players. It
occurs when the player bets. There hand will shake when they put their chips
out. This is not an intentional tell... and it almost ALWAYS means a huge hand.
They have hit big and are excited.

(2) Checking Their Chips

This is another very common poker tell. Right
after the flop, a player glances down at their chips. It's very quick and
subtle... to catch it, you have to be watching the players eyes right when the
flop comes out. It means they connected.

(3) Staring Through the Flop

This is the opposite of the above tell. If
a player glances at their chips when they hit big, then they will often stare at
the flop when they miss. If a player is looking at the flop like he's trying to
find some sort of hand in there, it means he missed.

(4) Checking Their Holecards

This occurs most often in texas holdem when
a flop comes out all of the same suit. The player checks their holecards. They
are checking to see if one of their cards matches the suit on the board. It
usually means that their cards aren't suited, and that they do NOT have the
flush... but they may well have a flush-draw.

(5) Asking for Clarification

Anytime you hear a poker player ask the
dealer for clarification, it usually means they have a big hand. Questions like
"My bet?", "How much is it to me?", or "What's the bet?" usually indicate a
strong hand.

(6) Rudeness

Anytime a player is rude to you right after a bet, it
almost always means a big hand... they are trying to piss you off enough to call
them.

(7) Being Polite

The opposite of the above tell, anytime a person seems
nice or polite to you right after a bet, they are probably bluffing.

(8) Choppy Conversation

If a player is having a conversation during a
poker hand and his talk is choppy, as if his mind is on something else, it
usually means he is not too confident in his hand. This correlates to a weak
poker hand.

(9) Smooth Conversation

Conversely, if a player is talking without
missing a beat while in a hand, it means he is not overly concerned about the
hand he is playing. This is because he feels comfortable and usually means a big
hand.

How Big a Bankroll?

You have to have a bankroll before strolling into a poker game. The bankroll is your life line. If you're playing No Limit, you better have a nice bankroll that you can lose. It should not be money that you depend on for paying your rent or alimony. Also, it's important that your bankroll allows you to play your game and not to play scared.

"Some players can be effective on a relatively short bankroll, but others need more of a cushion. They'll get stressed out and play scared if they don't have enough money behind them." ~Jennifer Harman

"Poker is a tough business, you can go through long streaks when you don't win anything." When things go badly, when you can't seem to cash in a tournament or win a significant pot in a cash game, you come to understand the importance of maintaining an adequate bankroll. ~Erik Seidel

"Don't play Phil Ivey heads up. I tried that once and I failed miserably." ~John D'Agostino

Team Full Tilt