Top 10 Poker Mistakes Beginners Make at the Table
Avoid the biggest beginner poker leaks with 10 mistakes that quietly drain chips—and learn how to stop paying off too often.
Read more →The Poker With Fred blog
Friendly poker strategy, hand reviews, and lessons from the felt — written for beginners through intermediate players. No solver-speak, no gatekeeping, no flame wars.
What you'll find here
Short, useful pieces you can read in ten minutes and try at the table the same week. Fred writes the way he coaches — plain English, real examples, and a clear explanation of why a play works, not just that it works. Most posts are 700–1500 words and centred on a single idea or hand.
The topics
- Tournament fundamentals — ICM, bubble play, when to shove and when to fold.
- Hand reviews — real hands from the Barooga and Cobram tables, broken down honestly.
- Common leaks — the spots that quietly cost money, and the small adjustments that fix them.
- Mindset & bankroll — playing your A-game more often, and staying in the game long enough to enjoy it.
- Live-game etiquette — angles, the clock, the table talk — what's fine, what's not, and why.
How often does it publish?
New posts land weekly. The blog and the newsletter share most of the content — sign up on the home page if you want pieces in your inbox instead of having to remember to check back.
Latest posts
A Simple Preflop Strategy for Winning More Pots
Win more pots by tightening preflop the right way: avoid hands that create tough postflop spots and keep initiative with profitable opens.
Read more →Pot Odds and Expected Value: Poker Math Made Simple
Learn pot odds and expected value the simple way—make smarter poker calls, avoid costly mistakes, and see when a “good” price still loses money.
Read more →Got a hand you want broken down? Send it to Fred — interesting spots often become posts.