The biggest leak I had when I was first starting out was....

[gnads]

??
I'm sure this has been posted somewhere else but thought I'd bring it up again. I'd be interested to hear what all the good players on this forum think was the biggest leak they fixed before they started to win consistently (other than the obvious stuff like playing too many hands, etc etc)

I'm too much of a noob to comment really, but I just recently decided to stop stacking off with TPTK and it has helped me out quite a bit.

Anyone else?

[LimpinAintEZ]

when i first started playing i was a total calling station - i remember reading something about hand selection somewhere and what helped me the most was a simple phrase. Well i was thinking that exact thing when I folded 9,4 offsuit for the first time..."What are you really trying to hit when you play 9,4 offsuit" - not a leak - more like a major flood - but it was a big realization in my short poker career...

[zook]

I used to think players bluff a lot more than they do.

[silu73]

I used to think players bluff a lot more than they do.

The ultimate beginners mistake in my mind.

[Jimmy Mac]

Not playing my big hands fast enough.

[bode]

I used to think players bluff a lot more than they do.

this is by far my biggest leak still

[swiggidy]

I used to think players bluff a lot more than they do.

this is by far my biggest leak still

QFT

It's awesome now when I know they're not bluffing and I have them smoked.

[FlyingSaucy]

In terms of sng's my biggest leak starting out was preflop loose calls. limping low pockets from EP, calling late game raises in LP with AT, AJ, KQ, etc.

[DaNutsInYoEye]

played too many hands. didnt understand position.

[TerryToma]

1. not buying in full
2. not playing made hands fast enough
3. not raising pp's preflop

[lolzzz_321]

played too many hands. didnt understand position, slow played EVERY hand.

[Miffed22001]

Didnt know about the implied threat concept, and howto use it well.
Didnt fast play enough hands versus bad players.
Didnt bet for value on the river anywhere near enough.

[Renton]

underestimating the meaning of variance

[handsomestan]

Playing weak aces "because it's an ace".

[djzcko]

1. Thinking everyone is bluffing
2. Only caring about my hand and never thinking about what villain's hand may be.
3. Playing too many hands

[jyms]

1) Thinking I was better than bankroll management. ( " I only need 5 buyins against these wads")
2) Calling a river all-in cause they couldn't have a flush and call those pot sized bets. (still do this)
3) way to many drawing hands in early position.

[biondino]

Playing far too many hands pre-flop (35% at full ring) with no regard for position (my logic: "top pair is top pair whether you're utg or on the button!").

The phrase "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" is SO apposite re poker noobs, I've come to realise.

[shooter]

Calling maniacs (there's one in just about every game) with far less than a premium hand, but it must be better than this guys hand ... then thinking he must be bluffing when the continuation bet comes, so calling the flop (or getting called when I make a continuation bet) ... and then having to fold to the obvious turn bet, because well, he's a maniac.

In general:
- Lack of patience
- Trying to play table sheriff without the goods
- No clue how to play post-flop. Still a big leak of mine.

[Warpe]

Stacking off with top pair/2-pair.

[dsmrolla06]

calling reraises on the river when you know your beat... still a leak of mine, more so in cash games

[mcatdog]

Folding too much.

[mrhappy333]

I used to think players bluff a lot more than they do.

when I stopped doing this in my home game every week, I won it 6 weeks in a row.

I still catch myself thinking someone is bluffing, but not nearly as much.

[MiJ]

no BR management...

[XTR1000]

1. playing outside my roll
2. playing for stacks with TPTK
3. calling too much, minbetting, when i didn´t knew what to do

most important leak still to fix:

spot sets, don´t pay them off

[taipan168]

Not appreciating just how important position really is.

[donkbee]

no BR management...

This is the leak almost all new players have.

When I first started, my biggest leak was overvaluing hands like AT and AJ. I always wondered why people liked AJ so much because I always lost so many chips playing it. Took me to realize that it's actually a piece of crap ...

[WhooFleuryScores]

1) Playing too passively/not being aggresive enough

2) Monsters under the bed syndrome (still do)

3) Didn't understand position

4) Not understanding advantages of implied odds and position to an EP/MP raiser.

[Jager]

1. Not calling raises w/ small PP
2. Not raising w/ med/sm PPs
3. Not playing enough hands in position.

[TLR]

wow, there were so many leaks
1. I gave people too much credit for good hands all the time, then I went to the extreme opposite and thought opponents were bluffing too much
2. Calling too much and raising too little
3. Slowplaying too much
4. In Sngs playing to get ITM and not for 1st place

[BankItDrew]

I always wondered why people liked AJ so much because I always lost so many chips playing it. Took me to realize that it's actually a piece of crap ...

I bought pokertracker on tuesday and have logged 5k hands. guess which hand is my most profitable so far?

My biggest leaks that I have found since first playing 2 years ago are:
1.overvaluing Ax
2.position importance
3.slowplaying all big hands
4.tilt (i shrug off bad beats better and better every day)
5.not thinking about what my opponent has .. took me nearly 3 months to do this! It was as if I doubled my thinking.
6.playing too tired/intoxicated
7.not buying pokertracker
8.looking at my bankroll every 10 minutes.. i still do this
9.limping SC from UTG on last orbit

[ThelVlaster]

One thing I'm having trouble with currently is knowing I should fold, but I don't - I have to see if my "read" was right, or see what the opponent had.

I hear the best way to do this is to let go of your mouse in between streets - so you don't click too soon, and you think about your actions, before you make them.

I would do this, but I six table so I'm not able to.

[BlueBull]

Bankrolll mgmt....

[Tycho]

Calling raises after putting in the blinds, with crap, because I foolishly feel that since I have some money committed already, I might as well just call.

[topsoyale]

1. The "thinking opponenet is bluffing" all the time syndrome
2. Honestly thinking that good bubble play meant sneaking into 3rd in the sit and go's
3. Callin all-ins with pocket aces on the flop when I was most certainly beat, because they were aces of course.

[jameseyb]

Not raising enough. i still have the same problem, but it's not a leak that much any more, more of a trickle...

oh yes, not spotting made hands. I still have that one

[Tom42]

Playing scared. It's amazing how much value you leave on the table if you're afraid to lose money. Still have it sometimes, but I immediately stop playing now.

[bruinblue]

1. no idea of position in any way shape or form
2. getting stacked with TP mid kicker cuz the guy couldnt possibly have slowplayed top 2 this far...
3. tilting because im convinced my opponents are so much luckier than i am... and then realizing that OF COURSE THEYLL DRAW OUT! they spend their whole time trying to draw out.
4. willingness to call raises with crap because i dont like limp-folding

[jackvance]

One thing I'm having trouble with currently is knowing I should fold, but I don't - I have to see if my "read" was right, or see what the opponent had.

I have this too, even nowadays. I think it's a confidence thing..

[acrafty]

My trouble is when someone tries to take my blinds, I find it difficult to back down with a marginal hand.

[Thee One]

Playing scared. It's amazing how much value you leave on the table if you're afraid to lose money

Calling too much
Playing too passive
Not knowing why I was performing certain actions. Why did I bet? Why did I push?
Not putting my opponent on a hand (still with this one)
Not recognizing when I'm beat

[salsa4ever]

besides the most obvious it is:

1. Overvaluing TP/Good+ Kicker and Trips/Good+ Kicker

2. Not realizing when to bet for value (when there are worse hands that will call), and when to check/call (when there are worse hands that will bluff). Failing to bet for value in position

3. Not playing as the pot odds dictate

[mrhappy333]

Playing when my kids are running around, my wife is in the kitchen trying to talk to me, watching TV, or talking on the phone, all make you lose your concentration.

[benny999]

When I strated out it was focusing too much on just what my cards are instead of what THEIR cards - ie range is...and then never adapting how to play my hands for how they play their hands, position, and sometimes my image. Also, not understanding anything about position or why/when aggression is good.

My biggest leak now is bluffing people who aren't likely to fold even marginal hands.

[bearcats05]

im gonna have to save not paying enough attention when registering for tournaments.
seriously:
one 330 dollar heads up sng when trying to enter a 5.
like 15 limit sngs
1 omaha hi lo sng
2 stud sngs

i think all together in those i had no idea wtf i was doing and lost a shitload.

[LimpinAintEZ]

here is my latest leak and its a big one for me - I just realized the past week or so that im making angry river calls...I will flop trips or turn a crappy BB special hand into a boat on the turn...Despite betting and check/raising, these players will call me down with the only possible card they COULD be calling me with (like Q10 on a Q252 board when i've got 5,2, or AKK3 when i've got K10) and then they hit their 2 outer and i ANGRILY pay it off...River Q or River A when that is the only hand they could be calling me with - Catch it on the river and I bitch about chasers...but i pay it off anyway

I have to stop this - and stop it fast - its never a bluff....

[LimpinAintEZ]

probably doesn't help that im running bad either - but the bottom line is i know im beat and im still paying it off....its worse, IMO, to pay these off than sets when i've got an overpair cause they really are so obvious...at lesat SOME of the time the donks with mid-pair are playing it like a set, but not the ones who call down lone top pair and hit a miracle....

[gnads]

I just spent the last week and 8 buyins thinking everyone was bluffing with their big river bets.

I fixed that leak but then became too passive and started folding all over the shop...if you sneezed, I folded. I think I'm back on track now though

[StageWhisper]

Not value betting the river and giving people to much credit for hands

[Pelion]

playing too many drawing hands in early position. Things like limping 75o. Id fold to the raise every time but I didnt want to risk missing my "cheap" flop.

[Kits]

My tiny balls didn't let me fire enough second barrels.