In recent years, big bet poker games (no-limit and pot-limit variations) have dominated the tournament and cash game scene. As a result, the most popular of these games, no-limit Texas hold’em, has become the center-piece of most home games and casino poker games all over the United States. More and more people are starting to play this game, but the vast majority of them are not profitable players. So here we’re going to look at the top reasons most people don’t make money at this amazing card game. Strategy is very crucial in winning games like poker and pkv games. Hence, if you want to be victorious, you must learn and master creating strategies for these games.
Reason 1:
The rake. Plain and simple, if a game has a rake, it’s absolutely killing your win-rate. Online professionals often pay as much (or more) in rake per hour than they actually make for themselves. The rake has to be there so the house has incentive to host the games, but over-coming the rake is not a task to be taken lightly.
Reason 2:
Not understanding the basics. A player who understands the basic fundamentals of the game will always crush a player who does not over the long-term in spite of any other disadvantage that player may have. The reason for this is that in big bet poker games like no-limit hold’em, the fundamentals are such a huge part of a winning strategy. So it’s pretty clear that not having these fundamentals down will be a losing proposition.
Reason 3:
Tilting. Tilt is when you get emotional for some reason while you’re playing the game and allow it to change the decisions you make at the table. Tilt alone can turn a player who beats some game for $100/hour or more into a losing player at the very same games. Most people tilt without realizing how it will affect their game, so most of these people will never even know that they need to work on not tilting, which leads to yet another advantage you can have over them.
Reason 4:
Ego. Your ego in poker will absolutely destroy you if you don’t get it under control. When you’re facing a big bet on the river and you’re deciding whether you should call or fold, making the right decision will be based on the information you have on that player and how they’ve played their hand. If you are unable to think objectively because you’re scared of folding the best hand sometimes (even if it’s the right play) then you’ll pay people off left and right and will lose tons of money in the process.
Reason 5:
Laziness. It takes dedication and effort to become a winning player in today’s tough games, and because most people don’t want to put this effort into a card game (even though it would bring them lots of money), laziness is a big obstacle in the paths of thousands (if not millions) of poker players across the globe. Overcoming laziness will allow you to improve at no-limit hold’em faster than your peers, so even if you’re break even with them at some point, you’ll soon pull ahead because you’ll work harder and improve faster than they will.