Some tips will always give you an edge over your competitors. However, you have to be cautious about using them lest your opponents apply them against you. On the same note, there are some habits to avoid at all costs when you are at the table. They may either expose your vulnerability or entirely get you out of the game. Below are three things to avoid when playing poker.
Avoid Open Limping
Open Limping happens when you immediately call the big blind pre-flop, and you are the first player to enter the pot. It is a strategy that you need to avoid at all costs. Below are some of the dire situations that you can land on due to open limping.
- Open Limping can never win you the pot pre-flop
Open limping is the opposite of rising. It is a passive action that denies you the open opportunity of winning. In this situation, dead money already lays on the pot due to small and big blinds. Yet, this is not the opportune moment for calling as it helps with not attempting to claim the money.
- Open Limping gives your opponents and edge
One obvious disadvantage of open liming is that it puts the player behind you in a strategic winning position. It gives them an extra calling opportunity. As a result, they get the incentive to make either a call or raise and play a pot against your vulnerable range.
It is important to note that not sometimes limping can also give an advantage over other players. For instance, you can limp behind an opponent if they limped while you had a hand too weak to raise yet too strong to fold.
Avoid Raising Too Wide/ Tight To The Range On The Button
One crucial tool in poker such as Judi online is the mastery of the button. From it, you get the guarantee to act the last post-flop, giving you an advantage over fellow players. It also allows you to pile pressure on the blind with folded actions. By that, you can always snatch dead money.
Raising too wide to the range of the button can entice an exploitative 3-bet when you are in blinds. It initiates a leak that gradually minimizes your chance of winning. The mistake is so popular among online poker players.
On the same note, raising too tight to the button may provide an opportune moment to grab the dead money from the pot. Both openings come from either the button or the 3-betting. If you fail to capitalize on this opportunity, you will hurt your win rate by a considerable margin. So we advise that you be cautious not to raise too tight or too high.
Do Not Flat Opens From Small Blinds
Every poker player is vulnerable to playing passive small blinds. Sometimes it seems the most responsible thing to do. However, make a habit out of it may turn costly due to the following reasons,
- They trick you into committing to playing out of position against a stronger player.
- As a small blind caller, making big blinds may turn exploitative.
By flatting opens from small bids, you are announcing that you have weak or medium strengths. Therefore it is advisable that you avoid calling small bids in quick succession. You could instead 3-bet whenever you feel the urge.