Mistakes are an inevitable part of the game. However, we have the power to decide the magnitude of our errors. Would you prefer to make a small mistake or a major blunder?
To err is human; to admit it, superhuman
The Ego
Just two days ago, I took a shot at 5 NL. Everything was going smoothly until today’s session. My ego got the better of me and I ended up making quite a few big mistakes. Let’s dive into one of these examples below.
Set VS Straight | Click to view the poker hand details
GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.02/$0.05 - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChatUTG: $4.59 (92 bb)
CO: $5.34 (107 bb)
BU: $5.05 (101 bb)
SB (Hero): $5.19 (104 bb)
BB: $2.47 (49 bb)
Pre-Flop: ($0.07) Hero is SB with 9♠ 9♥
UTG raises to $0.15, 2 players fold, Hero calls $0.13, 1 fold
Flop: ($0.35) 9♣ T♥ 4♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20
Turn: ($0.75) J♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50
River: ($1.75) 3♥ (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $2.50, Hero raises to $4.34 (all-in), UTG calls $1.24 (all-in)
Total pot: $9.23 (Rake: $0.50)
Showdown:
SB (Hero) shows 9♠ 9♥ (three of a kind, Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 52%, Flop: 84%, Turn: 23%, River: 0%)
UTG shows Q♣ K♣ (a straight, Nine to King)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 48%, Flop: 16%, Turn: 77%, River: 100%)
UTG wins $8.73
Feel free to use the replayer for a smoother review of the hands as we go through this.
Initially, you’ll notice I was slow-playing my set. The board was rainbow, but somewhat semi-connected. There were numerous straight draws possible, like QJ, 87, KQ, KJ, and J8, which are all pretty common, right?
When he placed another bet on the turn, I continued to slow-play. But the real kicker was the river. When he bet over the pot, I should’ve realized I was falling behind. But, you know, that guy is a FISH. He’d go all-in with any top pair.
Looking back, if I had just re-raised him on the flop, we wouldn’t be here. A big re-raise would make even the most daring player think twice before calling or going all-in with just a gut-shot draw.
And if I had just folded on the river, I would’ve lost only a small amount, not my entire stack of 100 big blinds.
I was feeling pretty confident, thinking I could outsmart the novice player. But as it turns out, life had a different plan. Instead of a minor slip-up, I ended up making a major blunder.
Imagine if I had folded on the river and the novice was just bluffing. That would’ve been a mistake too, right? It would mean I misread my opponent.
But let’s be real, this is 5 NL where everyone’s playing for value. What else should I have expected? After all, 5 NL is one of the lowest levels in Micro Stakes Poker. When the stakes are low, we should focus on maximizing our wins through value.
A small mistake is better than a big one. I need to keep that in mind always.
The Revenge
Here is another example of a hand that we can examine:
Two Pairs VS Quad | Click to view the poker hand details
GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.02/$0.05 - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChatUTG: $5.19 (104 bb)
CO: $5.58 (112 bb)
BU (Hero): $5.63 (113 bb)
SB: $8.93 (179 bb)
BB: $5.72 (114 bb)
Pre-Flop: ($0.07) Hero is BTN with A♦ Q♣
1 fold, CO raises to $0.11, Hero calls $0.11, SB calls $0.09, BB calls $0.06
Flop: ($0.44) Q♥ 9♥ 9♠ (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $0.23, SB calls $0.23, BB calls $0.23, CO folds
Turn: ($1.13) T♦ (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.59, SB calls $0.59, BB calls $0.59
River: ($2.90) A♥ (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $1.51, SB raises to $5.55, BB calls $4.79 (all-in), Hero calls $3.19 (all-in)
Total pot: $17.18 (Rake: $0.79)
Showdown:
SB shows 9♣ 9♦ (four of a kind, Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 43%, Flop: >99%, Turn: 100%, River: 100%)
BU (Hero) shows A♦ Q♣ (two pair, Aces and Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 39%, Flop: <1%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)
BB shows 3♥ 8♥ (a flush, Ace high)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 17%, Flop: <1%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)
SB wins $16.39
The SB has been very aggressive, re-raising me big three times on the river, and I had to fold my hands. This is the fourth time he has done it. I want to get back at him, I have a good hand with two top pairs. I could beat him. But I ignored everything I learned about poker because I was too obsessed with punishing the maniac for his previous bluffs (or not).
There are several reasons. First, there were two villains there, my equity dropped because someone else might have a better hand than me. Second, my hand is not that strong. Any 9x, JK, QQ, AA, TT, or any two hearts would beat me easily. And lastly, there was no need to bet on the River. Everyone checked, so I could go to the showdown cheaply.
Let’s say, I had just checked, and it turned out I had the best hand. What would happen? Yes, I lost value, but I minimized the risk. It was a mistake, but it was a small mistake. And again, no need to play fancy at this stake.
There is no harm if the maniac repeats his irrational actions over and over. The maniac never dies, remember? Sooner or later, we'll crush them.
The Greedy
This is another mistake that I committed in today's session:
Over Pair VS Straight | Click to view the poker hand details
GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.02/$0.05 - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChatUTG: $4.35 (87 bb)
CO (Hero): $5.00 (100 bb)
BU: $2.65 (53 bb)
SB: $4.44 (89 bb)
BB: $6.87 (137 bb)
Pre-Flop: ($0.07) Hero is CO with Q♠ Q♦
UTG raises to $0.10, Hero 3-bets to $0.50, 3 players fold, UTG calls $0.40
Flop: ($1.07) 6♠ 5♠ 3♥ (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.84, UTG calls $0.84
Turn: ($2.75) 4♦ (2 players)
UTG bets $3.01 (all-in), Hero calls $3.01
River: ($8.77) Q♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $8.77 (Rake: $0.48)
Showdown:
UTG shows 2♠ 2♥ (a straight, Two to Six)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 18%, Flop: 23%, Turn: 93%, River: 100%)
CO (Hero) shows Q♠ Q♦ (three of a kind, Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 82%, Flop: 77%, Turn: 7%, River: 0%)
UTG wins $8.29
I realized that the opponent was a very loose caller, but I played poorly. I saw that the opponent called three bets with just a middle pair, and I thought I could win big with my overpairs. However, I was acting like a fish, giving too much credit to overpairs, and ended up losing a lot.
Why should I call the shove on the turn? We would lose to any 66, 55, 33, 44, 2x, 7x, 65, 63, 64, 53, 54, or 34. It was just a pair. In the hand-ranking hierarchy, it's only slightly better than a high card, right? I don't see any reason to be excited about it.
I let my greed get the better of me. He was a Fish who would push anything with A6. What if I had folded his shove on the Turn and he had something like K6? It doesn't matter. It was a minor mistake, yes I lost about 30 BB, but hey, on a board like that, wasn't it a negative EV to call an all-in shove with just a pair?
The Mistakes
Again, it's fine to commit a small mistake. I can always fix it later. At this level, 5NL, I need to work on the fundamentals and be very patient. Mistakes are inevitable, but I can always learn from them and do better. I don’t have to be perfect, I’m only human and I have flaws.
The most important thing is that I recognize my mistakes and try to improve them. And one thing that I’m proud of, I own up to them. That’s not very common these days. Some people think admitting a mistake means being dumb. But I don’t mind, if I was so smart, I’d be playing at the high stakes with the TV pros by now.
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