How Overthinking Will Spoil Your Poker Game

With the recent influx of Poker training guides and poker online, free of charge, newbies are becoming quite familiar with poker strategy. And no wonder, poker is a very strategic game. However, a common error most players make is to overthink the strategies and use them where they may not make sense.

Now, as many can play poker online, it is common to see this error in low-stakes matches. If this is something you relate to, then keep on reading! In this article, we will discuss why this happens and how it ruins your poker game.

Overthinking in Poker

Poker is a game that requires a keen perception of others as well as how others see you. While learning lots of theory from training guides and analyzing strategy will definitely support your game, when game time comes, the theory needs to go.

This is because every game is a little bit different and with poker games online you are often playing against different people every time. During a game, it is important to be aware of the current scenario you are in. Rather than over analyzing strategies in your head, pay attention to the other players and their calls, and use the strategy you have learned to inform your intuition.

How Overthinking Will Spoil Your Poker Games Online

Overthinking is a problem in both real-life poker and online poker. Real money when brought into the equation also tends to magnify this effect in certain players. However, there are good reasons why you should not do this as it will surely spoil your poker game.

Backwards Play

One way in which players tend to overthink during poker games online is by what some call backwards play. Such players are highly determined to come off to the other players as “tricky” and so they bet aggressively with nothing and call with strong hands.

The end result of this, in most instances, is that these players don’t advance past a certain level. Due to this kind of overthinking they win small pots with big hands, and when they have nothing at all they lose big pots.

Fancy Play

These types of over-thinkers are known for their elaborate plots. Even with a straightforward hand, fancy players will justify an elaborate course of action through a long chain of assumptions about the other players and their hands.

Sure, this might sometimes pay off. However, most of the time this can only lead to internal confusion, as it is highly unlikely that your long chain of assumptions can hold up in the face of chance.

These are the kind of players who, more than anyone, need to learn how to take it slow and pay attention to the other players. Without using strategy, they should try to be adaptive and intuitive.

Emotional Play

Finally, these are the players who easily get frustrated in the middle of the game. There are countless reasons why one could get frustrated during a poker game. However, remaining cold and dispassionate on the outside is a leading strategy in poker.

It’s easy to see why getting frustrated can lead you down a bad strategic path, not to mention, your emotional state might become obvious to other players.

Get Your Poker Face On!

It seems that although the game of poker is highly strategic from the outside once you’re on the inside it’s essential that you remain in the present moment and pay attention. If not, overthinking is sure to spoil your poker game.