The Biggest Mistake In Poker

Last night I was feeling great.

Sitting at a juicy underground 2-5 PLO game my stack was building slow but steady. Then I got a text that put me in a VERY sour mood

This is far and away, my biggest pet peeve in poker: “He bets $20 i have to call”

Let me give you some context.

The text is from a good friend of mine who is sitting 10 feet away at another table. He’s playing a soft 1-3 NL game. A professional in the entertainment industry he’s a decent poker player, a small winner… but he’s not a student.

If he was he would know the words ‘have to’ are verboten!! ☠️ 

Am I over reacting? Let’s examine the situation.

We get to the turn with pocket Queens and there is an Ace on board. Our opponent bets $20 into a pot of $60. At first glance calling seems perfectly reasonable. But thats the problem. It was our first idea and became our only idea.

We “have to call”

Where is the thought process? If our opponent sometimes bets 99 here, or bluffs with KJ, calling does have at least $20 in value. But what if our opponent never bluffs this spot, or this size? A timid $20 into $60 sure seems like a weak Ace to me. Shouldn’t we at least consider folding?

Or, how about raising? If we go $80 or $120 how often does our opponent just scowl and disgustedly chuck their hand into the muck? Risking $80 to win $80 doesn’t seem terrible to me!

So which is the best option? Calling, raising or folding? The answer is… I really don’t know! I wasn’t at the table and I don’t know the opponent, the positions, the stack sizes, the history etc.

But I know one thing for certain: We have lots of options. We never HAVE to do anything!

Lots of people (including those reading this newsletter) have enough experience to stare at their phones, watch the game on TV, shut off their brains and still break even or win $10/hr. If your game is juicy enough you might mindlessly win your way to $30/hr.

But I want each of you to become crushers. I want you to double your current winrate, move up in stakes, achieve your poker dreams.

The first step is to turn off autopilot, get in the moment, and think about every option on every street.

Pay attention… You will never hear a top professional use the words ‘have to’ when describing their play.

Ditto for my clients.

Reply to this email to let me know how you are going to successfully eliminate autopilot from your game!