Do you have preflop leaks?

If you’re struggling to beat online cash games at the micro or low stakes, there’s a good chance your biggest leaks are happening before the flop even hits.

I reveal the 10 most common and costly preflop mistakes players make, and more importantly, how to fix them with simple, proven strategies.

And good news! I’ve taken your study notes for you:

Watch this episode “Top 10 Preflop Leaks Killing Your Win Rate” on YouTube:

Or, listen to the podcast as you follow along below:

LEAK #1: Playing Too Many Hands (the WORST of all preflop LEAKS)

Most losing players play far too loose. Hands like Q8s, A5o, and J9s look pretty, but often lead to marginal post-flop spots. 

Action of the Hand:

• Preflop: Villain has J7o on the BTN, Hero open-raises in the MP. The CO folds and our Villain calls on the BTN with J7o. This should absolutely be folded without a solid read and a way to exploit Hero post-flop. The blinds fold.
• Flop: Villain is HU to the flop with J7o and the flop is J22. Hero cbets 4bb into the 7.5bb pot, and Villain RAISES 11x to 44.5bb. Wow, crazy play w/TPWK. Calling is preferred, but preflop mistakes often lead to post-flop mistakes. Hero makes a min-re-raise to 85bb… and Villain calls. He’s obviously NOT listening to what Hero’s telling him.
• Turn: The turn pot is 177.5bb and the Ad hits, making the board AJ22. Hero shoves his remaining 53.3bb and Villain calls with this 2nd pair weak kicker. 
• River: The river is a King, not helping Villain. Hero turns over KK and wins the 270bb pot. 

Villain 2 has a 70% VPIP! (playing 70% of hands) Here’s what his 70% range looks like:

This super wide range is tough for most players to play profitably.

Fix: Use a well-constructed range chart (like the KISS Cash Game Ranges, get ’em below). Be tighter in early position, looser in the late positions.

Suffer from leak #1? Get the KISS Cash Game Ranges and start plugging right NOW!

LEAK #2: Not Planning Beyond Preflop

You enter a hand with no idea what you’ll do when you miss the flop. And, most hands/ranges miss most flops.

Let’s return to the J7o hand we covered above. Questions for you:

• Do you think this Villain had any plan before calling preflop?
• Did he have a plan of bluff raising on certain flop textures?
• Was he going to call with his weaker draws and raise his flush draws?
• Did he have a plan for what he would do if one of the blinds 3bet him?
• What if both blinds called, did he have a multiway pot plan for the flop?

Heck no to all the above! I guarantee he had no plan before calling with J7o.

Fix: Always have a plan. Know how your hand hits flops and what you’ll do versus a cbet or check on various flop textures. Also, know how you’ll respond to 3bets from active players.

LEAK #3: Calling to “See a Flop” With No Plan 

This is one of the biggest bankroll killing leaks. Hoping to hit big is a losing strategy.

Again, back to the J7o hand. There’s not much this hand can hit. Any TP hand has a weak kicker, but given that, J7o hits TP+ and oesd+ only 18.5% of the time:

Hitting 18.5% means it whiffs the flop 81.5% of the time!

Do you think Villain has a plan, as the preflop caller, IP on the flop, for the times when he misses (which is about 4 out of every 5 flops)?

Heck no! 

Fix: Ask yourself: Is this call +EV? What’s my opponent’s range? What post-flop tendencies of theirs can I exploit? What board textures are good/bad for me?

LEAK #4: Open-Limping Instead of Open-Raising

Open-limping signals weakness and builds multi-way pots where it’s harder to win.

Action of the hand:

• Preflop: BTN Villain open-limps, SB over-limps with KJo and Hero…?

BTN’s open-limp put him in a multiway spot on the flop.

But, if BTN open-raised instead, both blinds could’ve folded and he’d win the pot. Easy 1.5bb pickup. Or, the SB could’ve called, but Hero would’ve folded his T6o, so Villain would’ve been in Bread & Butter vs the SB. Open-limping gives up on preflop steals and B&B poker.

Fix: Open-raise as the first to enter the pot. If the hand isn’t worth open-raising, fold it.

LEAK #5: Over-limping Instead of Isolating Limpers

Limping after others limp into the pot just invites more players to limp or even raise, and muddies the waters.

Back to the SB holding KJo hand above. Preflop SB Villain has a hand good enough to iso-raise the BTN limper. His KJo is way ahead of the BTN’s limp/calling range.

Fix: Raise over limpers with hands that play well heads-up. Isolation raises are key to exploiting weak, passive opponents.

LEAK #6: Blindly Calling From the Blinds 

Too many players call from the blinds with weak holdings, hoping to hit the flop. The strategy of “hope to hit” rarely works out.

Let’s return again to the SB KJo hand above.

Aggressive players like Hero love to iso-raise limpers. The SB Villain’s over-limp, sends a strong message of weakness, which can incentivize Hero to raise, putting Villain in a non-B&B spot.

Action of the hand:

• Preflop: Hero checks his option with T6o.
• Flop: It’s 3-way to the flop. 3bb pot and the flop is Qc Jc 3c. The SB Villain has KsJd for 2nd pair no draw, Hero in the BB has Tc6c for a fd, and we don’t know what the BTN open-limper has. The SB checks, Hero bluffs 2bb, the BTN folds and the SB calls.
• Turn: The turn pot is 7bb and the 4s hits, making the board Qc Jc 3c and the 4s. SB check/calls Hero’s 4bb barrel bluff.
• River: The 5c hits the river, putting 4-to-the-flush on the board of QJ345. The SB makes a blocking bet of 2bb into the 15bb pot, and Hero calls with the 3rd nut flush and takes the pot.

Who knows how the hand would’ve played out if the SB Villain iso-raised instead of over-limping, but Hero would NOT have gotten to the river to win the 19bb pot.

Fix: Have a plan before you call. Ask yourself: What’s their range? Would a 3bet be better? Do I have a post-flop skill edge? How can I steal this on the flop or turn?

LEAK #7: 3betting Too Small (or Not at All) 

Your 3bets don’t apply enough pressure to earn the pot nor give your best hands the value they deserve. And maybe, you never 3bet bluff at all.

Action of the Hand:

• Preflop: Hero opens UTG to 3bb. The CO and BTN both call, the SB folds and our Villain 32 min-3bets to 5bb w/55. 
• This isn’t a logical 3bet size. If he wanted us to fold, we ain’t folding for just 2bb more when the pot is already 14.5bb. If he wanted value with AA, he’s just asking for a multiway pot, OOP, versus 3 other players. That’s a terrible scenario for AA.
• My guess: Villain 32 is just raising on the come. He’s raising to build a pot in “hopes” of hitting a set of 5’s.
• So, everyone calls and it’s 4-way to the flop.
• Flop: The pot is 20.5bb and the JJ8r hits. Villain 32 checks, Hero bets ~½ pot, the CO and BTN calls and Villain 32 calls with his under pair of 5’s.
• Turn: The turn pot is 40.1bb, and the turn is JJ84 with 2 hearts. Villain 32 check-calls Hero’s ½ pot barrel.
• River: The river pot is 78.3bb, and the final board is a rainbow JJ843. Villain 32 checks and Hero bets 15bb’s. Villain 32 calls and hates losing to Hero’s flopped full house, 8’s over Jacks.

Fix: Size up your 3bets (9-12bb) and include bluff combos like AXs, strong broadways and even suited connectors versus frequent openers.

LEAK #8: Ignoring Player Types 

If you treat every opponent the same, or don’t even consider their player type, you’re missing out on easy exploitative opportunities. And, you’ll find yourself in ugly spots you could’ve easily avoided.

Here’s a perfect example of ignoring player type:

Action of the hand:

• Preflop: Villain 32 opens to 3.5bb in the MP with ATo. Hero 3bets to 23bb. It’s folded back to Villain 32 who calls for 19.5 more bb’s w/ATo!
• At this point in their relationship, Hero is a tight-aggressive player (17/7) who hasn’t 3bet yet (0%), and his preflop raise is only 7%. At worst, Hero’s 3betting with AQs here and TT+, which dominates Villain 32’s ATo
• Now, Villain 32 probably doesn’t notice this because he’s been playing 100% of hands over 29 hands dealt. He’s playing too many hands, so he can’t notice his opponent’s actions.

Fix: Pay attention to your opponents, even when you fold the hand. Classify players by style (tight-passive, loose-aggressive, loose-passive, maniacal, etc.) and adjust your preflop strategy accordingly.

LEAK #9: Calling Most 3bets 

The problem is you open-raise, you get 3bet, and too quickly call in hopes they’re bluffing or in hopes you hit the flop. 

Back to the ATo hand:

Action of the hand:

• Flop: After Villain 32 calls preflop, the flop pot is 47.5bb and the rainbow JT7 hits, giving Villain 32 2nd pair. He checks, Hero shoves, and Villain 32 calls his remaining 89.2bb’s.
• The turn and the river make the final board J7T9Q rainbow, and Hero wins 225.9bb’s with a set of Queens.

Fix: Build a 3bet defense range (the KISS Cash Game Ranges have them for you). Some hands (like ATo, 75s, J8s, etc.) are too weak to continue with, especially from out of position and against strong 3betting ranges.

You might be asking right now, “Why did Villain 32 call such a huge preflop raise and then call all-in with just 2nd pair on the flop?”

Well, did you notice in the last two hands that it’s the same Villain, Villain 32 that lost big pots to Hero? 

That takes us to Leak 10…

LEAK #10: Playing Emotionally, Not Strategically

Getting tired, angry, tilted, bored, or playing distracted poker, leads to lazy calls and bad raises.

It’s bad enough that Villain 32 is playing 100% of hands. He’s also allowing huge losses and mistakes to send him on tilt, causing even more mistakes and losses.

That’s good for us as Hero, but terrible for Villain 32’s sanity and bankroll.

Fix: Set session limits, take breaks, notice rising anger and tilt, and strive to keep your mental game strong. Discipline wins.

Take Action

Download the “Top 10 Preflop Leaks Killing Your Win Rate And How to Fix Them Fast” PDF with the form below, and get to work!

Start with the leak you think is the worst, and spend an entire week working to plug it by studying and playing with purpose.

Ganbatte!