Four big beginner mistakes

There are many opportunities to make mistakes in no-limit hold'em. If you take a close look to a beginner's game you'll discover a lot of mistakes that could be avoided easily. Fortunately there are common beginner mistakes so we can give general advice:

Playing too passive
Most of the beginners aren't betting or raising. They prefer checking or calling. But it's very important to take the initiative and bet or raise. First of all you can win the pot with the worse hand if you play aggressive and secondly you'll get paid off with a strong hand – and that's what you want!
As novice you should always consider an aggressive move instead of checking or calling. Obviously you must not exaggerate it. But if you have a strong hand you should bet or raise.

Playing too tricky
Slowplay is a tricky play, a move that confuses your opponent and lures him into the pot. Although it's sometimes a good move most of the time it's not. The reason is that your opponents will rarely fall into your trap. It's better to bet and raise your strong hands straight forward and also mix it up with some weak hands to become unpredictable.

Playing too many hands
The biggest mistake is to play too many hands. You want to play a lot of hands as novice because poker should be fun. Therefore novices tend to play every single hand although it's too expensive.
It's important to consider three facts:

• If an opponent raises he shows a strong hand. To proceed you also need a strong hand.
• The better your position the more hands you can play.
• You don't have to play a lot of hands. Quite the reverse: you should be very selective

Making bets that are too small
Another mistake is to make bets and raises that are too small. If you have a strong hand and you bet too less you make two mistakes:

• Your opponents get a good price to proceed with their drawing hand and might draw out on you.
• You don't get enough value out of your hands and you won't get paid off.