Mistakes

by John Carlisle, MA, NCC

With my pocket 9's in the hole, I took the lead after a ragged flop with a sizable bet. My opponent reacted in lightning-quick fashion, tossing out enough chips to indicate a call. Without much thought, I figured his quick action to be a tell-tale sign that he was on a draw. With two hearts on board, my mind clicked in with the thinking that he was praying to see a nice red love card hitting the Turn. I internally breathed a sign of relief when a black King was peeled off the top of the deck. I moved with a bet that was the appropriate for the size of the pot. Again in a flash, my opposition made his own move. This time he did not call, though. Instead, he popped me with a serious raise.

My heart sped and my mind raced. I felt compelled to make a quick call, as I was quite sure my 9's were golden. I really had the guy pegged as someone with medium suited connectors who was making a bold semi-bluff with one card to come. Impulsively, I pushed him all-in, hardly realizing that he had so many chips invested that he'd probably call no matter what he had. Unlike me, he did take his time to think through his options. He eventually made the call and showed his two black Aces while saying, "You either have a set or a heart draw, but I am betting it is the draw you've got." I sheepishly admitted I had neither, as I displayed my measly pocket pair. Although I had him covered and was still alive in the tournament after I lost the hand, this was hand that ultimately damned me for this particular event. It was a couple of colossal mistakes all wrapped up in the same hand.

We sometimes think poker is more complicated than it really is. We try to make "sexy" bluffs and gutsy calls while playing that gunslinger-style of poker that we like we see on television. Many veteran poker players will tell you that these coy plays are not truly the key to long-term success in poker. Instead, the players that rise above the rest of the pack are the ones that make the least amount of mistakes. You will accumulate plenty of chips by simply sitting back and waiting on hapless fools to make poorly timed moves. In the poor play that I self-disclosed above, I was the hapless fool! In poker, mistakes hurt more than sexy plays help.

Great American novelist Pearl S. Buck was quoted as saying, "Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied." The live game of poker usually affords us ample time to think through hands before we make decisions. This time is invaluable and should be used with each and every tough decision. In the online version of our game, though, the clock often ticks down upon us pretty darn quickly. Perhaps that is part of the reason that we see some unpredictable and wild play online. While that ticking clock might increase the feeling of pressure, that is no excuse to dive into the deep end without concerted thought. As Pearl Buck stated, there is indeed usually a spilt second (or more) in which we have to correct our course. A lack of time is a pretty flimsy excuse.

In football, coaches tell us that the teams that give up more turnovers and commit the most fouls are doomed. In baseball, teams that commit a ton of defensive errors are certain to hit upon tough times. In poker, we have to think of our playing sessions in a similar fashion. Mistakes, in the form of mental lapses, will kill a poker player's chip stack quicker than the coldest run of cards. Evaluate yourself and your play frequently, tracking your mistakes while vowing to work to reduce them. Quit chalking your losses up to bad luck. Quit trying to convince yourself that you made all of the correct moves, but the cards would not cooperate. Instead, be aware of your mistakes. Identify them, own them, and then work your butt off to assure that you will reduce them with your next deal.

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About the Author:
John is a National Certified Counselor (NCC). He has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from West Virginia University, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Lock Haven University. You can find out more about the psychology of poker from "the Poker Counselor" at pokercounselor@yahoo.com