Record (online-voice-recorder.com) (8)

The podcast "A Chip and a Chair" discusses how beginners lose in poker. Co-hosts Curtis and Catherine share their different learning approaches: Curtis focuses on math while Catherine emphasizes table dynamics. Beginners lose by not knowing poker hands well, calling small bets, overvaluing hands, and playing too many hands. Inconsistent bet sizing makes players unpredictable. Table dynamics, like number of players and familiarity, influence strategies. Recognizing opponents' playing patterns is crucial. Betting decisions are based on opponents' tendencies. Hello, and welcome back to A Chip and a Chair, the podcast for those who want to get into poker without overwhelming jargon and complicated concepts. I'm your co-host, Curtis Vickers, and today we'll be discussing the many ways in which beginners lose. Last week, we discussed the basic rules and order of play. So, if anything confuses you, check out that episode for a refresher. We also post a list of defined poker terms at the bottom of each episode's summary, so check those out as well. I'm joined by fellow co-host, Catherine Morgan. Both of us have been playing poker for over five years, and we host a competitive home game where we are both winning players. I've read books, watched movies, and studied charts to improve my game, whereas Catherine has taken a different approach to her learning. Hey, Catherine, how's it going? Do you want to tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. My strategy is definitely different in that I have not really read a lot of poker books or watched many strategy videos. Instead, I've mostly tried out different strategies at the table to see what has worked for me. So, for example, playing a more tight game versus a game where I've tried bluffing more. I also definitely focus a bit more on players' demeanor and energy, or as you might call it, like their poker face, as opposed to being a highly math-focused player, which I think Curtis is. Yeah, absolutely. I think especially when I was first starting out and first studying the game, I leaned heavily into the math. I was kind of unrelenting in a way that I was just stubborn about it, and when I would lose hands where I was the mathematical favorite, then I would just be upset about it. Yes, and let me be proof. I'm all right at poker, and I'm not very good at math. Yeah, exactly. You're like one of the best players at our table. Yeah, you guys should listen to what Catherine is saying. Yeah, so what do you think are the biggest ways in which poker players lose money? You can speak on your own experience or what you've witnessed from others we've played with. I think there's a lot of ways beginners end up losing, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because they're still learning along the way, but I guess first off, I think a lot of the time, because beginners don't know the poker's hands as well, and they haven't lost a lot of money, they're more willing to call smaller bets or make small bets themselves, just because they want to see the cards play out. They're excited to play, so if someone makes a small bet, they're more likely to call that, and as a result, their stack of money will end up dwindling without them even necessarily realizing. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of like spending money in real life, where just all the little things add up, and then by the time you look at your stack or your bank account, it's like half empty. You don't know where it went. Yeah, or a second way or reason I think beginners lose is because, like, oppositely, as soon as they have a pretty good hand, like for example, if they had two pair, they'd get really excited and end up betting really big, or like all of their money, but they don't realize that they're actually, that there are quite a few hands that are better than what they have, because they don't have the hands as well. So yeah, just to summarize that, like, I guess I'd say being excited and impulsive without fully knowing how to read the board for better hands can be kind of dangerous for newer players. Yeah, absolutely, and like overvaluing your hand can be so detrimental, especially if you're playing so many hands, and what we were talking about before, like playing all those little hands with small bets, I think that can actually kind of be broken down into two factors, like just too many hands, but also a misunderstanding of how betting works, or like the sizes that you need. And yeah, I also think, like, the psychological part of the game, like getting pulled into table dynamics is something that beginners kind of need to look out for. For sure. So yeah, those are actually the things we're going to be talking about today, playing too many hands, how much you bet, and falling into these psychological games. So how does playing too many hands hurt beginners? I think it hurts because other players can take advantage of them. So a frequent player might start making smaller bets before the flop, because they know that a beginner is going to call them. But once that new player has called, they might look up the bet, which then the beginner isn't as comfortable with, so they end up folding. And as I mentioned before, even if a beginner player is only playing the small hand, and they're not winning any hands, their stack is still going to start to dwindle pretty quickly, and they can become a target that way. Yeah, exactly. It's a slow burn. And of course in poker too, when you have a smaller stack, you have less options, and people will just put a lot more pressure on you, knowing that you could lose it all relatively easily. Yeah. And I like your point about just hitting weaker hands, you might not still be good there. That's really true. You could hit a 10-high flush, which is a 5-card the same too, while your opponent hits like an 8-high flush. You only really learn that by playing. So a beginner wouldn't know that as well. No, for sure not. For sure not. In the meantime, let's continue our discussion on common beginner mistakes, okay? So whether they're winning or losing bet sizes, they have a large impact on profits. So how do you think inappropriate or inconsistent bet sizing can affect beginners? I think it impacts their success in that it makes them unpredictable to other players, which I think can be a good thing, because a beginner isn't being bullied out of playing hands and seeing cards if they're unpredictable. So for example, if I'm a beginner and I'm switching between making really big bets and then making really small bets, it's harder for the other players to know. It's harder for them to make a bluff because they don't know if I'm going to call them or if I'm going to bet, if I'm going to raise or if I'm going to fold. And that risk is scary to someone who is trying to bluff because then if I do have a good hand and I call or raise, then the person bluffing ends up losing a lot of money. Yeah, of course. So you actually kind of have a positive line on it. Yeah. I see where you're coming from, but what about the profits that you could be losing out on or maybe betting too big when you want someone to call you or betting too small when you maybe want to scare someone off? Can you speak about that a bit? Yeah. That's where it's tough as a beginner because you really have to know the table better to know how they bet. So if I bet too aggressively but I don't know that there's other aggressive players at the table, then I'm not looking good. But if I have a lot of timid players and I'm also playing timidly, same thing, I might be missing opportunities. So it really depends on the table, but it's hard to know as a beginner. Okay, true. So are you saying you'll bet more often or bigger depending on the table? How much does your game change based on the table? I personally would bet more or more aggressively if it's a smaller table because I'm less afraid of other people calling me. So if it's a table of five or six people, I feel more comfortable making a larger bet versus a table of 10 people where I'm more worried that I'm going to get a caller because there's more people in general. Okay, that's perfect. Actually, talk about table dynamics too. Are there any not just numbers but behavioral things that maybe beginner players could get sucked into, maybe you got sucked into, like maybe betting patterns or something like that? For sure. I think different dynamics affect how I play because there's so many different factors that affect my decisions. For example, a big dynamic that affects how I play in a game is how many people are at the table. So I prefer a medium-sized game, which is like six or seven people at a home game because I feel like I can make a bit more risky moves. I can put a bit more money in to see a flop or I feel more comfortable bluffing. Whereas if there's a game of 10 people, I might be a bit more or less interested because there's more time between each of my hands and there's more people that are going to call or raise. I'm more fearful that someone's going to re-raise me. Yeah, that makes sense. I think people just need to remember that poker is a psychological game as much as it is a luck or math-based game. For sure. Or like a second dynamic for me is how many new players there are. And when I say new people or new players, I mean people I've never played with, not necessarily beginners. That affects me as well. Just because a big part of my game is trying to gauge how well other people know the game themselves and knowing if they're going to bluff or just kind of like their patterns in general. Because the more you know or the more you play with the same people, the more you start to notice their patterns in general of how they play. So for example, if I know someone doesn't play a lot of hands and they make a big bet, I'm more likely to fold my hand because in that situation I'm thinking they have a good hand. Whereas if I'm playing with someone I don't know, I don't know if they bluff or there's a lot more that I'm not aware of. That you have to consider. Yeah. Yeah. So how does your approach change when you know or don't know someone? Well, I play based off how they play. So if I don't know someone, I'm definitely playing a lot more tight of a game versus if I'm playing with somebody I know that's like a very aggressive player and they're just playing every hand, then I'm more likely to get into that hand as well. I play on how other people play. Yeah. And that's how I'm less mathematical about it. Okay. It's beneficial to me to know who I'm playing with. Yeah. I think the key takeaway here is that you need to adapt. You need to change how you play based on your table. You don't want to be doing what everyone else is doing. If everyone else is playing aggressive, maybe be the one person playing tight. Okay. Or if everyone is just calling or limping, as we say, preflop, then be the one to raise them up. Yeah. I think also just like in general, a large benefit to being a new player is to just don't be afraid to sit out for some handsets. It's okay to not play every hand. It makes more sense to learn how the table works as opposed to being like, oh, this is like, I want to play, I want to play, because that's how you end up losing more money if you're just playing every hand, but you have no idea how anyone else is playing. Yeah, exactly. Don't be afraid to upset the status quo. It's a competitive game. You have money on it. Who knows what kind of ego is riding on this game? You just have to stick to your strategy and kind of not get swayed by everyone else. And I'm saying upset the status quo, but I'm not saying being a dickhead or anything, just simple strategy, just to be clear for all you out there. Anyways, that's it for today's episode. To summarize, three things that we believe are hurting your chances of becoming a poker player. So number one is playing too many hands. Number two, inappropriate or inconsistent bet sizing, although Catherine had an argument for inconsistent bet sizing. And number three, understanding table dynamics. So if you avoid these mistakes, you'll be one step closer to being a competent poker player. Next week we'll be discussing the hands you should actually be playing and some factors that may influence that. Just a reminder that all poker-specific terms used in this segment are defined at the end of the episode summary. Until then, thanks for joining us and good luck out there. Cheers.