The Top 5 Online Poker Mistakes You’re Making and How to Fix Them

Online poker offers a competitive, fast-paced environment where players from around the world test their skills. Despite the abundance of resources available to help develop strong poker strategies, many players—beginners and veterans alike—make common errors that cost them chips and often their entire bankroll. The good news? Most of these mistakes are entirely fixable. In this guide, we’ll explore the top 5 online poker mistakes you might be making and show you how to fix them.

1. Playing Too Many Hands

One of the most frequent mistakes made by online poker players is playing too many hands. This is especially common among beginners, who believe that every hand has the potential to win. Unfortunately, this approach leads to burning through chips quickly, especially when playing marginal hands like weak aces (e.g., A-7 suited) or low connectors (e.g., 7-6 offsuit) in the wrong situations.

How to Fix It: Be Selective with Starting Hands

• Stick to a tight and aggressive strategy: Only play strong hands from early positions, such as big pairs (AA, KK), high suited connectors (AK suited, AQ suited), or middle pairs (7-7 or 8-8).
• Use pre-flop hand charts: These can help guide you by showing what hands are profitable to open with, depending on your table position.
• Understand position importance: Play more speculative hands, like suited connectors or small pairs, from later positions (e.g., the cutoff or button), where you can act after opponents.

By tightening up your pre-flop game, you’ll avoid unnecessary losses and improve your focus on situations where you can really take charge.

2. Chasing Losses

Losing streaks are inevitable in poker, but one of the biggest mistakes players make is chasing their losses. This emotional response causes players to bet recklessly, take unnecessary risks, or move up in stakes too quickly in an attempt to recover lost money. This often results in even greater losses.

How to Fix It: Control Your Emotions and Bankroll

• Set limits before playing: Decide on your bankroll for a session and stick to it, even if you lose all your allocated funds.
• Practice mindfulness: Stay aware of frustration or anger building after consecutive losses. Step back when emotions are clouding judgment.
• Move down in stakes: If you hit a losing streak, move to lower-stakes games where the competition is easier, and losses hurt less.
• Know when to quit: Learning to walk away before tilt (emotional frustration) sets in is key to protecting your bankroll.

Emotional control and solid bankroll management will keep losing sessions from spiraling out of control.

3. Ignoring Pot Odds and Equity

Mathematical mistakes are another major pitfall in online poker. Many players don’t calculate pot odds (the relationship between the current size of the pot and the cost of a contemplated call) or equity (their chances of winning based on their hand and outs) before making critical decisions. This often leads to calling bets they can’t justify or folding hands with strong potential.

How to Fix It: Learn and Apply the Numbers

• Use a pot odds calculator: Many free online poker tools can help you calculate pot odds during gameplay until you’re comfortable doing it on your own.
• Learn the Rule of 2 and 4: If you’re calculating the probability of hitting a draw, multiply your number of outs by 2 to estimate your chances of hitting on the next card or by 4 when you’re seeing both the turn and river.
  • For example, if you have 8 outs, you have roughly a 16% chance (8 × 2) of improving on the next card, or a 32% chance (8 × 4) by the river.
• Only call when the pot odds justify it: If the pot odds are greater than the odds you’ll hit your draw, it’s a good call; if not, save your chips.

Developing a sound understanding of poker math takes time but gives you a significant edge over players who rely purely on intuition.

4. Playing Without a Plan

Many players enter online poker games without considering their endgame, relying instead on gut feelings or spur-of-the-moment strategies. This lack of discipline typically leads to erratic betting, defensive play, and poor decision-making across the board.

How to Fix It: Think Several Streets Ahead

• Assess hand strength for every street: Consider how your hand fares on the flop, turn, and river, and plan your actions in advance. Are you going to bet, fold, or bluff if certain cards appear?
• Study board texture: Learn to read flops and identify whether they favor your hand or your opponent’s. Boards with lots of connected cards or suits (e.g., 10♥ J♥ Q♦) are more likely to connect with strong hands.
• Adjust to opponents’ tendencies: If an opponent is overly aggressive, plan to trap them with strong hands. If they’re passive, plan for smaller value bets to ensure they call.

Having a plan sharpens your decision-making and ensures consistent play over time.

5. Over-Multitasking During Online Play

In the fast-paced world of online poker, many players multitask far beyond their ability to focus. Whether they’re playing multiple tables, responding to messages, or watching videos while playing, this divided attention leads to errors such as misreading hands, missing betting patterns, or making suboptimal calls.

How to Fix It: Stay Focused

• Start with one table: If you’re prone to mistakes, limit yourself to one table and focus on improving your decisions. Once you’re confident, gradually increase tables.
• Limit distractions: Play in a quiet, distraction-free environment where you can give your full attention to the game.
• Use a HUD (Heads-Up Display): Tools like HUDs track data from your opponents, such as aggression levels or fold percentages, so you can make the best decision without monitoring everything yourself.

Focused play improves accuracy and helps you catch subtle tells in timing or bet sizes even in online environments.

Conclusion

While online poker mistakes are common, recognizing and fixing them is the first step toward becoming a winning player. Tightening your starting hand selection, managing your emotions, mastering poker math, playing with a plan, and maintaining focus will significantly improve your win rate. Poker is a marathon, not a sprint. By addressing these five critical mistakes, you can play smarter, more disciplined poker and emerge as a more formidable opponent online.