Hoping for a coin flip (hoping to win in a 50:50 situation. Common example includes following a pre-flop all in. This happens to players who watch a lot of TV poker and don’t spend enough time studying it. On TV you usually watch a last table tournament, where people are looking to extend their stay there and are looking for a good showdown hand. In regular cash games this is not a good strategy because in the long run you will lose money. Reason for this is that when people go for all in before the flop they possess either a strong pair or a strong ace and another card. In cash poker however, situation is quite different, unless the player really wants to go home, there is a very small chance the player will all in before the flop with anything other than a AA or AK. Therefore following that, even with AK puts you in a slight disadvantage even at start, in cash games it is better to bid your time and avoid the luck factor as much as possible.
Overplaying. This is also a quite common mistake for new poker players. A good player knows to fold even when it seems he might be at a marginal advantage. When you possess a marginally strong hand after the flop, a good player knows there are three options, he can win the current pot, which is quite small, he can maybe squeeze out a bit more from the other players, or he can bet big and either scare off everyone or risk the player that actually has a better hand to follow you probably losing all in the process.
Waiting on a dangerous talon. When waiting on a risky talon like a straight or a flush, after getting that card you should always bet more, don’t get that last card and then check, if you waited then use it and try to put more money in the pot. Though getting that card can sometimes mean bad news, there is nothing worse to playing a possible double talon (another player is waiting for something stronger), and then the cards fitting you both. Unless you can read the other player for sure, it is never a good idea to hope for the best.
How to adapt to this and make a correct decision? In short if all these complicating factors are working against you, you need to calculate do you have a large chance on wining to pot, as a reason to stay in the game. On the other hand if things are working for you, you might want to stay in it even if the chances of winning the pot aren’t that great at first look. One of the most common complications is when the betting is not over after your turn, which means you will have to adapt additionally. This can be a bad thing, it’s a tough decision when you call with mediocre hand, and are forced to put more money in the pot to stay in game, even if your starting chances were good, they might not seem best now and it might be a good idea to cut your losses.