The Five Stupidest Things I Did At The Poker Table

Let’s be honest. You can’t get good at something until you truly understand it and have practiced it. This is particularly true of games like poker.

I love to play the game, but at one time I knew nothing about it and boy did I make some mistakes! Have a seat, sit back and have a laugh or two as you read the 5 dumbest things I ever did at a poker table, and hopefully it will save some other newbie from making the same stupid mistakes that I did.

Dumbest Move #1 – I sat down at a table in a local casino with my $50. I was ready to play. But half way through the first hand, I couldn’t even make the bet! Why? Well, because at the time I didn’t know that poker tables have different table limits. And I was sitting at a table that had a $10/$20 limit.

So I was able to ante up, and I had a great hand, 3 kings with an Ace kicker and I didn’t have enough cash to play the way I should of. I ended up losing the hand anyways to a full house but if I had enough cash to back myself with an all in bet or at least a huge raise I may have got the other player to fold or something! So a word to the wise, when you’re going to play a poker game, make sure you know what type of game your sitting down at. Or at least make sure you pick a game that is within your budget!

Dumbest Move #2 – When I started playing poker online, I never used the ‘muck’ option. This is what obscures your losing hand so the other players can’t see what cards you had and figure out how you play. I think that not using the muck option has probably cost me thousands of dollars. You have been warned.

If you let your poker buddies know exactly what type of player you are, you are basically just saying to them ‘here, have my money, I don’t want it’. Not a mistake to make either online or in the real world.

Dumbest Move #3 – Playing every hand. The point of poker is to win and that means not playing every hand just because you can. This is a mistake a lot of new – and even some experienced – poker players make. Bide your time until you get a good hand. It’s really that simple.

Put simply – I know that poker is a fun, exciting game and you want to be involved in the action. But, believe me, by playing every hand – regardless of whether it’s a good one – it will be over a lot, lot sooner. Try not to get swept up by the atmosphere and play smart. You could even end up winning.

Dumbest Move #4 – Staying in the game, just because you can. You’d be surprised at just how many poker players stay in a hand because they have already put money in the pot. Needless to say, this is a bad idea. I did it when I first started playing under the belief that there’s always a chance to win. The thing is – there isn’t. Some hands you’ve got to pull out of.

If you have a pair of 3’s and nothing else is coming up to go with them and someone else is raising and raising, then I think its time to fold the hand and cut your losses! With this way of thinking you’re just giving away your money by staying in when you know you’re not going to win, get out and get out now! Save your cash for the next hand and you may not look like a fool when the game is over.

Dumbest Move #5 – Know the Game! I can’t say this enough, the worst goof up I ever did was when I joined in am Omaha Hi/Low tournament. Now I had never played the game before, so I read up on how to play before the tournament started and thought, ok, I understand the basics of the game and the rest I will learn as I play.

So, I sat down at the table and started playing Omaha Hi/Lo for the first time. It didn’t go well. Only half an hour in, I knew that I was out of my depth. I was winning when I thought I’d lose and losing when I thought I’d win. However, I struggled through to the intermission. At this point, I took the time to reread the rules of the game.

And that’s when I saw how you really play Hi/Low. OMG, half the time I was folding when I had 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 which is a great Lo hand! I probably could have won so much money that day if I had only understood the game, never again will I act like I know it all and play a game for cash that I have never played before without doing the research!

Well these are some of my stupid mistakes and it’s been lots of fun sharing them with the world, hehe. But I hope if I helped anyone out there stop making the same kind of mistakes I did it was worth the shame! Always remember in poker, know the game and know the table you’re sitting at. And never, ever pass on the muck!