How Small Poker Mistakes Add Up to Big Losses

One of the things that prevents many people from moving up limits in poker is a failure to realize how costly seemingly small mistakes are. I thought I would try to demonstrate what a bankroll killer small mistakes can be via a few examples.

Let’s jump right in and start laying out some constants in our examination of this topic. Let’s assume that being a successful player is defined as being able to win 2BB/100 in limit hold’em. Let’s also assume that during 100 hands you’ll see the big and small blinds 10 times. So 10 x .5BB and 10 x .25BB means that you’re in the hole for 7.5BB even if you don’t play a hand. And if you want to beat the game for 2BB/100 then you’ll need to win 9.5BB/100 (excluding rake). So you’re going to need to make about 1BB every 10.5 hands.

But let’s now look at the characteristics of a solid winning player. A winning player is only going to play 15% – 20% of their starting hands. So, out of 100 hands you’re only going to only be playing 20 (let’s err on the high side just to keep things conservative as many might feel 15% VP$IP too low). So in 20 hands you need to make 9.5BB.

Now let’s look at how little mistakes turn into major leaks. Let’s say you make a bad pre-flop call. That’s .5BB. You catch a piece on the flop but you’ve got a weak hand. You opponent bets and you call hoping your middle pair is good. That’s another .5BB. Turn is a blank and likely didn’t hit your opponent so you call off one more when he bets. There’s a full BB. River is another blank that likely didn’t hit your opponent and even though you don’t want to, you make another call on the river hoping that your middle pair holds up. Throw another BB in.

So here you are, 3BB in the hole that started with one bad decision to make a loose pre-flop call. Instead of needing to make 9.5BB you now need to make 12.5BB.

Every poor pre-flop decision, every loose call decision, every mistake ups the amount of BB you have to win back later.

Another massive leak I see players make is to get suckered into putting more money into the pot because of a raise. Take the same scenario above and you’ve caught middle pair. You decide you want to try to take the pot down so when your opponent checks you bet and he raises. What do most people do here? They call. Why? Without a flush or straight draw what could you possibly be hoping the next card could be? You’re drawing to trips or two pair which gives you 5 outs. You would need to be getting 8.4:1 on your money to make the call. There are only 2.5BB in the pot which means you’re only getting 5:1 on your money. And what happens when you miss on the turn? You’re calling again?

I think many beginning players would benefit from understanding the problem from this context. We are prone to teaching players what to do and what not to do but it would be helpful if they understood why. As Ed Miller is fond of saying (and which I’ll paraphrase here), it’s not the size of the mistake but how often you can make it. If you’re giving up .5BB here and .5BB there it’s going to add up over time and turn into a huge obstacle to you becoming a winning player.

The bottom line is that just winning 9.5BB/100 is a sizeable challenge. When you get yourself mixed up in hands you shouldn’t have or you make other mistakes you’re only making it harder on yourself. Each of those mistakes costs you a full or half BB and you have to make that up later. That’s why during most sessions your entire profit for the night might come down to only 4 or 5 pots. You fold, fold, fold all night long and flop that set and get a few chasers to go to the river with you paying off a nice fat pot. If you’ve been pissing away your chips on poor decisions those 4 or 5 pots aren’t going to cover all of your other losses and you’ll end the session in the red.

Related posts:

1. Stop “Protecting” Your Hands by Greg Walker “I raised pre with TT and this other guy...
2. Setting Poker Goals in 2010 Ah, tis the season when we make resolutions and we...
3. Breath Taking by Tommy Angelo Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing...
4. Why I Don’t Talk About Hands When I’m Playing by Tommy Angelo I’ve made a new friend at Lucky Chances. His...
5. Money Making Tip: Don’t Play Poker at the Grand Diamond Casino in Poipet Here’s a scary tale from a poker player here...

Site	Rackback	Sign Up Bonus	US
Absolute Poker	30%	150% up to $500
Ultimate Bet	30%	111% up to $1100
Cake Poker	33%	110% up to $600
PKR Poker	30%	100% up to $800
Paradise Poker	30%	200% up to €1,000
Players Only	33%	100% up to $650
Fortune Poker	30%	200% up to €1,000
Betfair	30%	$1500
Aced	30%	100% up to $500
Poker Heaven	30%	200% up to €1000
Poker Nordica	30%	100% up to $200
Carbon Poker	30%	150% up to $1000
Red Star Poker	33%	110% up to $600
True Poker	27%	100% up to $200
Action Poker	35%	100% up to $2500
Cellsino Poker	40%	500% up to $500
Minted Poker	40%	100% up to $400
Power Poker	33%	110% up to $600
Interpoker	30%	200% up to €1000
Doyles Room	33%	110% up to $600
Gutshot Poker	33%	110% up to $600
Full Tilt Poker	27%	100% up to $600
Fat Bet Poker	40%	1000% up to €500
NoiQ Poker	30%	100% up to €5000

* Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet (UB) ** May not be available to all players *** Poker Heaven, Fortune Poker, InterPoker, Paradise Poker