When trying to do something for the first time - skateboarding or carpentry or well, anything really - it’s best to learn as much as you can in order to properly understand it. This goes double for the game of poker.

I really enjoy the game, but there was a time when, well, I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing. Boy, did I mess up. And, with some embarrassment, you can find out the 5 stupidest things I’ve ever done at the poker table. I hope these mistakes are something you can avoid.

Dumbest Move #1 - I sat down at a poker table at the casino and had my $50 ready to play, and half way through the first hand I was broke, busted couldn’t even make the bet! Why? Because, stupid me, I didn’t realize that poker tables have different table limits, and I happened to sit at a 5 card stud game that was $10/$20 limits!

I anted-up and even had a good hand. Three kings with an ace kicker. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to play the way I should have. As it turned out, I lost anyway, but if I had had the money, I could have played the hand well. So, check the table limits before you sit down to play!

Dumbest Move #2 - Another stupid move I did more than once was at an online poker site, and not using the muck option when losing a hand. This could be one of the biggest mistakes a new poker player can make. Why? Because, as with my case, if you show your hand at the end of each game and everyone gets to see if you were actually betting on anything good, or just bluffing, they now know how you play the game and will kill you on every hand - especially if the players are good poker players.

Giving away your playing style is pretty much the singlest stupidest thing you can do in poker. Giving your opponents that advantage means you are effectively just handing them the money. Not clever.

Dumbest Move #3 - I used to play every hand. This is something many new poker players do. You should, of course, fold and wait for a good, strong hand to come along. That way you’ll have a better chance to win.

Put simply - I know that poker is a fun, exciting game and you want to be involved in the action. But, believe me, by playing every hand - regardless of whether it’s a good one - it will be over a lot, lot sooner. Try not to get swept up by the atmosphere and play smart. You could even end up winning.

Dumbest Move #4 - Staying in the game “just because”. Some players feel the need to finish the hand whether or not they have a chance of winning just because they already put money in the pot. Are you kidding me? I did this when I first started playing because I was excited and felt there is “always a chance I will pull it out and win. Yeah, right.

If you have a pair of 3’s and nothing else is coming up to go with them and someone else is raising and raising, then I think its time to fold the hand and cut your losses! With this way of thinking you’re just giving away your money by staying in when you know you’re not going to win, get out and get out now! Save your cash for the next hand and you may not look like a fool when the game is over.

Dumbest Move #5 - Know the game you are playing. Learn the rules thoroughly before even thinking of taking part. My very worst mess up was playing in a Omaha Hi/Low tournament. Unfortunately, I’d never played the game before. I did read up on the rules and figured that I’d got the basics and would learn the rest as I played.

So off I went, Mr. know it all, and sat at the table and started playing the game. Well about a half hour into the game I kept losing when I thought I should of won, and I won when I thought I should have lost. I had no idea what was going on and lucky for me I was having enough luck that day to get me to intermission when I took the time to go and reread the rules of the game.

At that point, I saw how you really play the game. I found that I was folding great hands and wasn’t even aware of it. I might have won so much money that day. But I didn’t really understand the rules. Never will I act the know-it-all and play a game for real money that I had never played before. What was I thinking?

So, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed reading about my five dumbest mistakes a lot more than I enjoyed making them. Hopefully, you won’t fall into the same traps and will prosper as poker players far quicker than I ever did.

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