You are BAD at Poker by Phil Galfond

In last month’s article, we talked about admitting to yourself that you have leaks. We discussed how to go about finding and fixing them, and we started to go over some very common leaks amongst players of all skill levels. This month we’re going to continue where we left off and run through some more leaks that you might have.

Keep in mind that just because you don’t have these leaks doesn’t mean you are leak free. Also, if you have leaks and are too proud to admit it, you’ll never fix them. Be honest with yourself. It’s the best way to grow as a player.

I want to start with the most important point that I try to get across to all my poker students. I talked about it last month, but it’s just too important to stop discussing. It is the idea of having a reason for every move you make.

The best way to learn about the game, whether you are playing, watching someone play, or listening to the recount of a hand that a friend played, is to ask why you/he/she made that play. I’ve coached a few players, and what I like to do for the first hour or two is to watch them play and make them justify why they are doing what they do. So they might say, “I’m betting this flop because I think I have the best hand and he will call with worse.” Or “I’m checking behind this river because even though I think I have the best hand, I don’t think he will call a bet unless he somehow has me beat.” I sit there and listen, and I ask for clarification sometimes, but I don’t give advice until much later. In fact, players often realize some of their own mistakes while verbalizing their thought process. Try telling yourself, out loud, why you are making the plays that you are. Not during live games though; that would be a pretty serious tell.

One student of mine played a seemingly boring hand. He was playing 1/2 NL 6-handed.

He opened to $7 from the cut-off with A♠Q♠ and only the button called. The flop came A♦9♥4♠. He bet $12 and the button called. Turn was the 5♣. He bet $32 and the button folded. I think the hand was played well. Sometimes I would check the turn, but my usual play is to bet.

Then I ask him why he made the turn bet, and why he made it the size he did. His response was, “I’ve been in a lot of pots against the button where I bet the flop, he called, and then check-folded the turn. He’s been pushing me around a lot, so I wanted to let him know I really had something this time.”

Do you want him to know what you have? If you actually want to let him know you really have something, then you should flip your cards up and show him that you have the best hand. That way he can fold his weaker pair. Is that really what you want?

So many players bet to represent the hand that they have, which is exactly opposite the point of poker. You’re supposed to trick them. I explained to my student that in this particular hand, against this opponent, he should probably check. If the button has been pushing him around, let him try and bluff the turn when we have top pair. Against most people, another bet is best, but that isn’t the point. The point is that, had one hundred good players watched that hand play out, they would think that my student knew what he was doing in that spot. It’s not until you ask why he did what he did that you realize he has a major leak in his game and can start working towards fixing it.

Me: Specifically, what hands do you think he can have that he would call the flop?

Bill: K-Q, Q-J, Q-10, J-10, low spades, K-J, K- 10, 10-8, 9-8, 10-9, A-9, J-9, other pairs.

Me: Do you think a nine or other pairs will fold? Didn’t a lot of draws miss on the river?

Me: So, you want to make what hands fold? You have ace high. You beat K-J, K-10, and 10-8.

Another similar leak that people make is just pounding on pots with a strong hand or draw, with no reason behind it. Some people bet huge on all streets with top pair, even on very dry boards. Sometimes they bet so strongly that the only hands that will call their bets are better ones. For some reason, these people prefer to “take down the pot” than make more money. Some people will bet huge on the flop and turn with a flush draw (this is often a fine move), then get check-raised all in on the turn and have to fold because they don’t have the odds to call.

Think about how your opponents might respond to your moves. If they’re going to either fold or shove on the turn and never call, your flush draw may as well be complete air. When they fold it doesn’t matter what you had, and when they shove you have to fold anyways.

I realize now, after coming to the end of a two-part article, that there are too many leaks out there to give an in depth discussion on each. I’m going to list some other common leaks and talk about them briefly:

The first thing you learn in poker is that three of a kind beats two pair. Hold’em books usually give you pre-flop hand ranking charts. Hand strength is drilled into you right away, but it just doesn’t matter all that much.

First of all, pre-flop hand values are based on the situation. There are many spots where I’d much rather have 7-3 suited than A-Q offsuit. Second, so many things are more important than hand strength when evaluating a situation – like position, board texture, your opponent, stack size, tournament or game structure, history, and future implications of a play you make now. Learn the importance of these things and stop worrying so much about your two cards.

Relative hand strength is an important concept to learn. If your opponent is playing a hand like he has a set or a bluff, midpair has the same value as an overpair, yet some people will call with an overpair on the river and fold middle pair even when they each lose to a value bet and beat a bluff.

If you can help it, play pots in position all the time. The leak of ignoring position is common in beginners and near-experts, and not so much in mid-level players.

Beginners look at their hand and decide if they should play it without worrying about what position they‘re in.

Experts think to themselves, “I can outplay this guy. Who cares if he has position on me?”

Near-expert (NE) opens in the cut-off to 600 with 9-7 off-suit. Tight predictable button makes it 2100; NE calls, thinking, “He’s so easy to play against. I always know what he has.” So NE, you’re going to outplay him enough that you can spot him position and the best hand? There’s not much you can do with 1/5 of your stack in the middle pre-flop, out of position against a player with K-K, no matter how much better you are than he is.

Just this week, a friend of mine who’s a pretty good low stakes player told me that I gave him the best advice he’s ever received about poker.

“Just because you have a hand that can’t win at showdown doesn’t mean you have to bet.”

I’ve played against players who have to bluff at every pot if it’s the only way they can win. The correct reason for bluffing isn’t that it’s the only way to win the pot; it’s that you expect your opponents to fold enough of the time that your bet will make you money on average. If you expect them to call a decent amount of the time, there’s no shame in giving up on a hand.

They check. You think, “This is a good card to bluff, but now I have a pair, so I can check it down and hope I win.”

In reality, there’s almost no chance a halfdecent opponent gets to the river with a hand that can’t beat your pair of sevens. A good scare card hit, and you wasted a good bluffing opportunity because you made a meaningless pair.

So, keep an eye on your game. Never stop questioning your moves, no matter how much success you enjoy. Sorry I said you were bad at poker.