Poker coach and professional player Alex Fitzgerald has published strategy advice highlighting three fundamental mistakes he continues to see at the tables, arguing that correcting them can materially improve a player’s results.
Fitzgerald’s first point concerns limping preflop. He argues that players routinely limp with hands such as pocket fives, pocket fours or A-10 offsuit from early position, believing it is a cautious approach. In his view, this is actually dangerous, because a limp signals to opponents that a player does not hold a premium hand such as aces, kings, queens or jacks, which they would ordinarily raise. Instead, he recommends raising hands that perform well in multiway pots, such as suited aces, suited broadways, suited connectors and pocket pairs, while treating weaker offsuit broadway holdings like A-10 or K-J as folds rather than limps in situations where domination is likely.
The second mistake he identifies is donk-leading into the flop with mediocre made hands. Fitzgerald says many players call a preflop raise from the big blind, connect with a weak top pair or a middling second or third pair, and then bet into the original raiser, while checking their genuinely strong hands such as sets or two pair in an attempt to trap. He warns that this pattern has been recognised by opponents for around two decades, meaning a small lead is likely to be read as weakness and attacked. His advice is to check most mediocre pairs and be willing to fold to serious aggression, reserving donk-leads for hands with real equity, such as sets or flush draws, which can profitably continue bluffing on later streets.
The third area Fitzgerald addresses is moving all-in purely out of a desire to end the hand and claim a pot that has grown large. He illustrates this with an example of raising K-10 offsuit, being called by both blinds, and betting a King-high board through to the turn before shoving. He explains that such a shove allows weaker holdings like K-9 or K-8 to fold while better kings, slowplayed two pair or an unlikely straight are the hands most likely to call, meaning the player has effectively helped opponents make the correct decision. He urges players to slow down in these spots rather than forcing the action simply because the pot has become substantial.
Fitzgerald is described as a professional poker player and bestselling author based in Denver, Colorado, with final-table appearances on both the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour, along with WCOOP and SCOOP titles to his name.
The advice was published as part of an ongoing strategy series, with Fitzgerald noting he finds himself repeating these fundamentals frequently as more newcomers take up the game.
