🎃 Avoid These 13 Scary Poker Mistakes

Halloween is the perfect time to face your poker fears. The monsters at the table aren’t ghosts or goblins, they’re the same mistakes that quietly haunt your bankroll, session after session.

But poker doesn’t have to be scary. When you recognize these leaks and take steps to fix them, you’ll replace fear with confidence, and start stacking chips instead of losses.

Listen well and make sure you’re not guilty of these 13 scary poker mistakes.

Listen to episode #563 as you follow along below:

Mistake #1: You Play Without a Plan

Just like planning your Halloween costume early, you need a poker plan before you sit down to play.

What strategy are you going to focus on? What spot will you try to put yourself in to practice that strategy? What type of opponent will you target today?

Sure, sometimes you’re playing just to play. But, with a plan in place, your sessions will lead to growing skills and profits.

Mistake #2: You Put Off Studying Too Long

If you wait until the end of the night to go trick-or-treating, all the good candy is gone. You’re left with Smarties and black licorice.

Waiting to study until you’re deep in losses is the same. Every session you delay is one more opportunity missed. Start studying now. The best time to begin studying was day 1 of your journey. The 2nd best time? Today.

Mistake #3: You’re Too Predictable

If your bag is full of only candy corn, you’ll get sick of them fast.

In poker, if you always play super tight and only get aggressive for value, they’ll catch on. I recommend a tight-aggressive style (TAG), but it can be taken too far. You’ve got to mix in open-raising with 75s, 3bet bluffs with A4s, cbet bluffs from IP and OOP and the occasional check-raise, too. Mix it up to keep ’em guessing.

Mistake #4: You Ignore the Costs of Bad Plays

Homemade costumes save money, bad plays don’t.

Every loose call, tilt shove, and “oh, well, I can’t fold AA” moment drains your bankroll. Focus on making +EV decisions and avoid fancy plays that look cool, but cost you $$$.

Mistake #5: You Don’t Analyze Stats & Win Rates to Find Leaks

After Halloween, my brother and I would always trade candy. He got more Almond Joy, but I got more Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups… so we’d trade to get the mix we both wanted.

Do the same with your strategy. You’re winning when calling in late position, but losing a ton when calling in the SB? You’ll only learn about that leak by analyzing your stats and win rates.

Review your #’s often, look for leaks, and work to plug them and strengthen weak spots.

This video on the Call Preflop 2bet statistic will help:

Mistake #6: You React Emotionally to Bad Beats

Black cats on Halloween don’t scare you into jumping out of your pants and running away, right? Nor should bad beats.

They happen. Keep your cool, take a breath or a break. Return to the action and focus on making the best decisions. Let the math handle the rest.

Mistake #7: You Don’t Have a Bankroll Safety Net

Your parents went trick or treating with you at first until you were old enough to handle the scares and the danger on your own.

Bankroll rules do the same thing: they help you stay alive so you can play this game forever.

I recommend at least 40 buy-ins for cash game players and 100+ for tourney players. Bankroll discipline is your silver bullet against going broke.

Mistake #8: You Don’t Pay Attention to Your Image

That grandma 3 houses down might give more candy to the handsome young prince, than to the evil demonic Chucky wielding a huge knife.

Your thinking opponents who use HUD’s are the same. They’re going to give aggressive bluffy players action more than the tight rocks.

Pay attention to the image you’re presenting using your HUD panel. If you appear tight, like 10/8, open your range to steal more. If you appear to be a maniac at 45/35, adjust your range to play value hands and get loads of value when they don’t believe you.

Mistake #9: You Overplay Your Monster Hands

Charging into huge pots without thinking about ranges, position, or stack depth is pure horror-movie logic… even with AA!

Big pots belong to players who build them on purpose. Plan your aggression before you attack, and only go monster hunting when your hand, even AA, is ahead of their range.

Mistake #10: You Play Tired, Tilted, or Distracted

Trying to play good poker while exhausted is like carving a pumpkin in the dark… you’re gonna cut yourself.

Fatigue kills discipline. Anger pushes caution out the door. Distraction leads to terrible or nonexistent reads. If your focus or mood is slipping, end your session early. Your A-game only comes out when your head’s clear.

Mistake #11: You Ignore Player Types and Tendencies

Trick-or-treating blindfolded won’t end well. The same goes for playing without noticing who’s loose, tight, aggressive, or passive.

Play the player! Every opponent has patterns: Spot ’em and exploit ’em!

Mistake #12: You Never Fold Your Favorite Hands

AA, QJo or even K7s might be your candy of choice, for whatever reason. But, loving them too much can rot your bankroll.

You’ve seen magic with these hands in the past. But if it’s not profitable to play it right now given actions, board, pot size, etc… fold the hand no matter how sweet it looks.

Mistake #13: You Skip Post-Session Reviews

The scariest monster in poker is the unknown. If you don’t tag and review hands, mark tough spots, and study your leaks, those same mistakes will keep haunting you.

Shine a light on them with regular study, and they’ll lose their power. Recommendation: Do your post-session review as your pre-session warm-up the next day.

👻 Happy Halloween! 🎃