Accidents happen. Betting slip-ups, overturned cards, out-of-position plays -- all are inherent to a group activity that involves thousands of decisions in a given session. These procedural "oops" moments become even more likely when the table is populated with less experienced players.

Whether you're a resident of Las Vegas (or another poker-friendly city) who frequently plays against out-of-town folk or a home-game player who gets around, you will probably witness a number of poker gaffes if you're regularly sharing felts with fresh faces. Broad ranges of styles, practices and rhythms increase the likelihood of procedural errors.

This is a part of the game people rarely talk about. Even the very best poker books fail to cover situations where an opponent throws in too many chips and raises when he meant to call. How we can take advantage of errors -- and avoid falling into an accidental trap -- is worthy of discussion.






Not surprisingly, the player in the small blind freaked out. After the dealer told him it was what it was -- the mistake couldn't be undone -- the player settled down and resumed normal breathing, but he continued to shake his head in a "no" motion. How might he have behaved if he had a weak, average or bluffy hand? His breathing would be elevated and the obvious dissatisfaction tells would be muted.

I had to abandon my earlier plan and read my opponent. I had laid a trap for a likely range of hands, but his post-"oops" behavior indicated his hand most likely exceeded that range. And this was no mere angle -- his immediate "oh no" reaction was genuine. His subsequent behavior told the full story.



Alex Outhred has been a professional poker player and coach since 2006. He has made a World Poker Tour final table and cashed in multiple World Series of Poker events. An accomplished instructor, Outhred helped launch WPT Boot Camp, WSOP Academy and DeepStacks University.