What are the leaks in your game?

This is going to be a way to increase discussion in this forum and hopefully be helpful for everyone. A lot of times I see people and read their blogs and most of it is "I ran bad" or "I ran good" but nothing of any consequence or any way to get better.

I want everyone to really think about what area of Limit Hold'em they are the weakest at, then write it down here after me. You'll be surprised how many different leaks a general public will have, and you'll also be surprised where some people don't have leaks and those people can help out.

This isn't official or anything but as a way to get some ideas off the ground, and hopefully for others to take the lead. When I say leaks I don't necessarily mean things you are real bad at (although that is a part of it) but it also includes areas where you need to get better at and things you need to do to move up in stakes.

Some common areas of weakness that I've found to be real common:

-Blind Steal
-Blind Defending
-Valuebetting
-Playing against good players
-Adjusting against bad players
-Using your positional advantage in your favor.

Now, this is just sort of a laundry list and is meant to get the discussion going. I'll help as much as I'm able and hopefully so will everyone else.

A terrible leak I recently discovered in my game is being too aggressive in small pots, and not aggressive enough in large pots.

Looking through my db I was shocked to see the amount of times I've checkraised the turn with nothing but a gutshot just because I think villains betting his entire range , regardless of the size of the pot and villains tendancies.


I also find it near impossible to fold to a river bet when I have a piece of the board in a blind vs blind situation, even if I'm 90% sure I'm beat.

river play is one of my main leaks.
I dont value-bet enough, i c/call too much
I should better assess when it's best to induce a bluff, and best to value-bet

...to be continued

BTW, this is a very promising post, nh jeff

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Originally Posted by asdpikas

I dont value-bet enough, i c/call too much

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I could probably add this to my list too but I feel it is something I have really improved on recently.

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Originally Posted by asdpikas

BTW, this is a very promising post, nh jeff

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Good to hear! Hopefully we can get a big list going then hammer them down and help out everyone.

i believe i need to tone down the aggression, personally. i tend to feel that if they keep calling, the dont have shit. but, that is super high variance, and i have toned it down, incorrectly, recently. so, it has me a bit "lost" because i am forcing myself to play against my natural tendencies instead of into my strengths.

so, another would be "finding my strengths" and maximizing them within a game...if that makes any sense. imo, only through finding my strengths can i identify my true weaknesses. (socrates depth there)

i semibluff and follow-up when missed too much for 1/2

my main leak is not being able to adjust my play to a specific opponent and his range. i think i play a lot of my hands to straightforward and not thinking about my opponents hand and tendencies.

My greatest leak is my monitor size. I WISH I COULD FIT 12 TABLES :(

j/k my greatest leak is probably not playing enough hands

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Originally Posted by iopq

My greatest leak is my monitor size. I WISH I COULD FIT 12 TABLES :(

j/k my greatest leak is probably not playing enough hands

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not really a leak but i dont care, because its your problem if you lie to yourself.

I'm going to sticky this post and I'll have to start thinking about ways for you guys to help fix your leaks; I'll be moving all weekend so we'll sometime next week.

run over to Jack's Bar and ask him for something to help you move.

i dont wish that chore on anyone anymore. sucks.

see ya next week.

I will admit first off, that I am by all standards a novice. I do think however that while I'm sure I have all of the above weakness's and then some(in comparison to a "good" player), The weakness I find myself at this state most aware of, is that I seem to be Obvious preflop. I say this because When i've been at a table for 30m.-1hr I can't play a decent pair w/o folds by everyone but the stations. W/ exceptions of coarse(I.E. people w/ great hands). I don't feel too agressive, 90% of the time, and when I am, I realize it. I feel I play too much by the "book." But i'm not sure how to get out of that cycle, because I see my game slip (I start loosing money) when I go off my beat'n path.

Anyway, while "pro's" as it were have their weakness' that's just an observation from a beginner.

My real leak is donk betting too much

- too loose in the sb
- bet too much on the river (especially when being the aggressor the whole hand)
- don't take advantage of position enough

My biggest weakness is playing solidly for an hour or so then donking of all my winnings and having to start all over again.

Oh and not been able to fold pocket K's, PT has got K's as a big loser for me, which is never good

Hopefully you mean pocket kings post-flop :D

my biggest leak?

I don't know what my leaks are. Even though I'm a loser, I can't figure out how to improve.

I have a lot of leaks, most of which I'm still unaware of.

Lately I'm becoming aware of a leak that I see (and prey on) often in other players - not believing the frikking checkraise on the turn often enough. It's the bomb like 95% of the time, but I have this idiot reflex where I call the checkraise and fold the river (if I was c-betting) or call the river with my tptk on a draw completed board.

At lower limits, 99% of the time, if the straight or flush completes on the turn or river and the passive caller checkraises you, he means it. Unless it is a gigantic pot and you close the action on the river, it is time to let go of that tptk.

Of course, if he's a spastic donkey that checkraises bottom pair on the river, then you need to hammer him, but hopefully you've been paying attention and know that about him already.

Oh, and I suck at blind defense, especially in the SB. But I am getting better.

I loosen up and start calling too much when some sucker rivers a gutshot or some long-shot draw. I tend to make it personal and just want to get the money back from him, so I start calling marginal hands preflop and start chasing draws I wouldn't normally chase (basically, playing just like him)-and it ends up costing me money against everyone else.

Also, I often find myself playing position very poorly-too aggressive from early position and too passive from late position.

Question, how does one become aware of leaks other than posting hand histories? I mean I could be thinking of some hands in an incorrect way and never know it.

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Originally Posted by iopq

Question, how does one become aware of leaks other than posting hand histories? I mean I could be thinking of some hands in an incorrect way and never know it.

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What you think your leaks are and what they actually are may, in fact, be two separate things. In time, you'll find more leaks; either by commenting/posting HH or just by feeling uneasy on how you play hand.

I like how this thread is growing, keep it goin!

Another leak I've recently become aware of (and am working hard to correct) is not playing the player enough. Given my normal aggression, I'd play many different players well and play well in multi-way pots, but had been missing a lot of bets by pushing over weak hands held by my LAG opponents HU. At the small stakes I play (0.50/1) there are a number of players that try to run over the table playing something along the lines of 60/40/5. I'd pop them back both preflop and on the flop, they'd fold, and I'd pick up a small pot on the flop. Lately I've been pushing my draws against them to induce more folds, but walking the dog more with made hands against them and winning more medium sized pots with low risk. Basically, playing ass-backward against them and them alone due to their style. If they start to adjust, I'll have to readjust. But failing to recognize that aggression is usually, but not always, best is still a big leak for me.

Does anyone else have a leak against a particular type of opponent?

semi-bluffing call stations. but, thats an easy fix, and is almost 100% corrected.

however, i cant help but wonder what is the best line against a villain that is neither aggressive NOR passive. someone in about the middle, but plays a rather wide range? should we stay aggressive? because that feels like spew when you take a value line against them and short-term variance keeps kicking you in the arse.

My biggest leak is TILT

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Originally Posted by Chopper

semi-bluffing call stations. but, thats an easy fix, and is almost 100% corrected.

however, i cant help but wonder what is the best line against a villain that is neither aggressive NOR passive. someone in about the middle, but plays a rather wide range? should we stay aggressive? because that feels like spew when you take a value line against them and short-term variance keeps kicking you in the arse.

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If the opponent is average, don't semi-bluff your weak draws, don't semi-bluff if it's expected, DO semi-bluff if he will fold enough to justify it over check/calling, DO semi-bluff if we have an equity edge

so for example I'll bet an OESD on the flop if it's 8-handed because I'm going to the river with it anyway, might as well put in some bets from players that will give up with overcards on the turn

The rake.

Seriously, my biggest leak is probably assuming opponents play sensibly when a lot of them don't.

Also, occasionally I make a bad play when I should know better. I guess that's a brain freeze leak.

And I play better when I'm winning than when I'm losing. I don't tilt so much as start to second-guess myself.

I play better when I'm losing than when I'm winning because I pull out my A+ game to get my money back.

My river play has been just brutal lately. Like spots where I two barrel a whiffed AK/AQ and then check-call and lose to a passively played top pair no kicker. That happened to me no less than 4 times in last night's session. Time to start check-raising rivers with overpairs against those dudes methinks.

Add playing too long when losing to the list. Fortunately, it's an easy fix and tracking my play has really helped me discover this leak. ALL of my big downswings over the last month+ were started, and often finished, in one long session that went bad from the start.

hey guys,

I amnot good at reading the other plays hand
i dont know where should i be inside of the game.
i always want to fold with 26 but sometimes flop makes it trips so i dont know

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Originally Posted by onqun

hey guys,

I amnot good at reading the other plays hand
i dont know where should i be inside of the game.
i always want to fold with 26 but sometimes flop makes it trips so i dont know

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Follow a starting hands chart religiously until you get better
so take a look at the SSH starting hands and so forth

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Originally Posted by onqun

hey guys,

i always want to fold with 26 but sometimes flop makes it trips so i dont know

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In addition to iopq's good advice on using a starting hand chart, I'd suggest you also use a poker tracking software program (which most of them you can try for free for at least 30 days) to track your hands. You'll find out these hands are huge losers and will realize playing these is like playing a scratch off lottery ticket with a small payout. You will lose with them in the long run despite the few small wins that come along the way. Any starting hand can win a single pot, but you want to play the hands that win often enough to be +EV.

I've gotten better at it recently but my biggest leak is probably blind defending.

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Originally Posted by KoRnholio

My river play has been just brutal lately. Like spots where I two barrel a whiffed AK/AQ and then check-call and lose to a passively played top pair no kicker. That happened to me no less than 4 times in last night's session. Time to start check-raising rivers with overpairs against those dudes methinks.

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I haven't played much LHE lately, but the times I have, I am more pleased with my play. Some of these opponents try to make way, way too thin/stupid value bets/calls. A hand from tonight (no HH sorry):

I steal with KJ from the CO, button cold calls, both blinds fold.

Flop KTx, I bet he calls. Turn blank, bet-call, river 8 and I check hoping he bets that ten he probably has. He bets, I raise and he calls... and then shows 77. lol

this just came to mind lately..

where i think i need the help ... some tips on getting away from some hands instead of continually paying off in medium sized pots. and, i think you will see that i can confuse myself with marginal hands when i dont know where i stand, and i just give up, and call down, when i may still have good enough equity for max value.

I recently realized that my weakest point is simply not paying enough attention to the other players. I have not been making notes, except on the maniacs. I have been effectively playing blind, deaf and dumb.

All the books talk about playing the players, not just your cards. They all talk about maniacs and tight-aggressive, and various styles of play because it is so important. And I know that. But...well...I forgot.

But then I start focussing on my cards... and mutitabling, because I feel a bit bored, and if I multitable, I will not be bored and will wait for good cards... but when I multitable, I lose track of the opponents and how they might be playing.

So now I am forcing myself to use that extra table time, because I am not multitabling, while I am waiting for playable cards, to concentrate on my opponents at the table. I am trying to make sure I have notes on all. [/i]

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Originally Posted by Dooper

I recently realized that my weakest point is simply not paying enough attention to the other players. I have not been making notes, except on the maniacs. I have been effectively playing blind, deaf and dumb.

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Me too - I've stopped using PAHUD for exactly that reason - I was just multitabling and making plays based on stats without bothering to learn much about particular players.*

But stats tell you very little about what he has in his hand RIGHT NOW. And if the tagg is drunk tonight and on a tear, or if the reliable calling station just finished reading SSHE for the first time.

And we all know it doesn't take many botched plays to make a losing player.

*stat playing and multitable tagging works fine in micro/nano limits, but loses value fast as we move up.

I do not play limit online unless it is a horse or 8 game tournament, but where i live the closest casinos only offer limit games mostly 4 8 and 3 6 but occasionally an 8 16 game. I find all the games are filled with the same type of players the denomination changes nothing as far as skill level is concerned. of course the best seem to go for the bigger game but the majority of the players at the 8 16 are just big pot winners at the 4 8 who want to try to get lucky. The truth of all the games is that beating the rake is as much of a challenge as beating the other players if not harder.

Now to my problem. I do not think myself great but i feel more than confident at the no limit game but i am unable to change gears properly for the limit game. Is it possible to be too tight. when i play my big hands draws of all sorts call me heads up i would certainly win more with my big pairs but against anywhere from 2 to 7 other players they rarely hold. i personally wont play trash just because it is suited but it seems in this game i will always have pot odds to draw towards it. the same goes for small suited connectors 67o and 79o. should i open my range up to those type hands playing more around thirty percent or even more. Or is there another direction that would be smarter for me to take.

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Originally Posted by Ragnar4

my biggest leak?

I don't know what my leaks are. Even though I'm a loser, I can't figure out how to improve.

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Well! That was awesome!
Congrats!
:D

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Originally Posted by epic

(...) I tend to make it personal and just want to get the money back from him

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Never do that! It´s a perfect recipit for failure, as many of us must know... But, believe it: it´s possible!

Now, let me tell you I really don´t know how to deal - increase - with inicial stacks in tournaments - as posted at http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ghlight=dilema.

In need some help, please!

The only leak in my game is not betting especially when i miss the flop after a big bet.

Probably too many leaks...
I never bluff in limit ring games (only in sitngos)...and never call or raise assuming that the other person is bluffing
I only bet in the flop with good hands (or a good chance of improvements)...otherwise i just fold
My aggressivness is perhaps too selective (when I have the nuts or a really good hand)
I am hesitant to raise with some hands like AQ, KQ, JJ etc...I just lost many BBs raising with these hands
I still need to get better in reading other players...specially because I play in micro limits (for now) and those players are quite a lot impredictible. They call raises with any hand! (hope to make some money to increase the limits...playing against them can be very frustrating...even in the long run they took quite a chunk of my bankrool playing that way).

Mine is playing suited connectors out of position, and trying to slow play big pocket pairs in the blinds and simply call instead of raising as i should. I am fixing these 2 spots.

I know I have a lot of them I just cant identify them very well. I guess one would be Check-Raising in a bluff against an agressive player only to be reraised all in.

I think a lot of people leaks as mine is saving bets. Limit hold em is more about saving bets because its hard to bluff when your oponent knows he only has to call one raise or max 3 re-raises to show you down and if your playing low limit games its not much. Or maybe me not bluffing at limit is a weakness because I completely ignore it.

My leaks ? Post flop play. My WTSD is 49.9%, but my W$SD is only 35.8%. I cannot figure out how the handle the post flop betting. I will scour this forum and others looking for post flop information. Either that, or give up, play NL, and donk/shove away the rest of my small bankroll in a blaze of tilt and glory.

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Originally Posted by okiman

- too loose in the sb
- bet too much on the river (especially when being the aggressor the whole hand)
- don't take advantage of position enough

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me too

i have a hard time reading players online i cant stop myself chasing an openened strait to the river and i dont know reallly how to bet my hands i do ok in playchip games but strugle in freerolls :cool:

[quote="sopro"]

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Originally Posted by okiman

- too loose in the sb
- bet too much on the river (especially when being the aggressor the whole hand)
- don't take advantage of position enough

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do you treat every hand the same way / do you play the same hand the same way every time

me too[

Wow I haven't posted here in years, nor have I played any poker in years...


But just started playing limit again at pokerstars.

At first I was playing way too loose, after a few losing sessions, I quickly tightened up to nothing but premium hands for a few sessions

and now opened up my game again to where it was before I quit playing and I'm back to being a winning player.

Now my major weakness is not believing the check-raise.... I usually just check/call it down. In my mind I suppose if I keep laying it down to the check raise, they will check raise me with absolutely nothing and keep getting me to give up my winning hand.

If I even start just giving up half of my hands to the check raise, it will probably be for the better. but at the .25/.50 and .50/1 levels, maybe I should trust my opponents not to notice I let the hand go to the check raise, I give them too much credit for paying attention.... 90% of the players at this level only play their cards... only the maniacs IMO actually pay attention.

I play too many tables.

Becoming so interested in poker math that I forget to play. Huge negative EV!

Playing suited connectors and middle pairs out of position. Not squeezing another bet out on the river when the opponent checks

Hmmm. I make the crying call when a non-aggressive station raises. How can he beat my aces?

one of my leaks are when i have a flush with liw caed and i think the others have a higher flush i cant stop my self from going for it every time i call or raise

One of my leaks is wondering if pocket 22s are a winning hand in limit?

My leak that I keep happening is that I am too aggressive on large pots and not enough on small pots