As we all know, every mistake we make in poker affects our winnings in the long run. The less frequent they are, the more we will win, that is clear, but do all mistakes weigh equally?
Luck makes a big difference in the short term, but we are certain that good players will be winners in the long term, and bad players will be in the red.
There are players taking actions without even realizing that such actions are actually mistakes.
Due to the luck factor involved in poker, a player can make several mistakes in a single hand and still win the pot. But these mistakes will accumulate and he will become a loser over time.
Small mistakes: what matters is the frequency
The difference between a big mistake and a small mistake is huge.
Let's use as an example a strategy you adopt where you always go all-in when you flop four of a kind, no matter the size of the pot.
Is this a mistake?
Yes, playing quads this way is not profitable. Most of the time your opponent will fold to your overbet (a bet larger than the pot itself).
Is this a small or a big mistake?
Obviously this is a small mistake. You will only make one or two fours every 5,000 hands, so because it is such a rare occurrence, you can make this mistake 100% of the times you hit fours and still be profitable.
Big Mistake: Wasting Money on All Hands
Big mistakes are what separate winning players from losing players in the long run.
These mistakes happen in every poker session you play, and will drastically affect your winrate, making it almost impossible for you to become a profitable player.
An example of a big mistake would be calling raises out of position with dominated hands. A mistake like this every session will cost you a lot of money.
If this attitude is common in your playing style, no matter how well you play, you will not be a winner.
Playing a worse hand than your opponent, and still out of position, is a huge obstacle in your game, since you will be putting yourself in bad situations very often, and the mistakes will just pile up.
Calling excessively is also a mistake. Calling stations (players who love to call all types of bets) often play too many hands and take them too seriously, until the end, losing pot after pot and lots of chips chasing flushes or straights.
Since they are losing money on virtually every hand they play, unless a drastic change in behavior is made, they will be losing so much that they will never be winners in the long run.
Small mistakes: not earning as much as you can when you have the opportunity
Let's be clear: no poker player is immune to mistakes.
Many players have what we call “leaks” in their game, which are small mistakes that end up letting money “slip through their fingers”. These are small things and/or attitudes that can be improved.
An example of a leak is not betting a good amount on the river (last round of betting) when you are in position, or calling too many raises with low pairs.
If you don't bet the river for value very often, that means you'll never get check-raised.
In the long run this means you are leaving money on the tables for your opponents.
If you call bets too often with small pairs, even if you get your opponent's full stack sometimes, in the long run you are probably losing money. This is a leak.
All mistakes affect your profitability
Mistakes alone will not stop you from being a winning player, but by avoiding them you would certainly win even more and be able to reach a maximum level of profitability.
Some leaks are so serious and affect your game so much that no matter how good all your other poker skills are – you will never be a winner and will end up always breaking even or even remaining a loser.
Small mistakes happen all the time, so you have two options: avoid them or keep making them.
Even though it only costs a fraction of your bankroll, the more mistakes you make, the harder it will be to be profitable.
Article translated and adapted from the original: Big mistakes vs small mistakes by: Daniel Skolovy
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