New to poker and want to know where you are going wrong. Here are five golden rules that could be limiting your success.

Basic Error 1: Playing too many hands

Less is more when it comes to playing hands. If you sit down for a game of poker, whether it is online or at a casino, you go with the intention of playing. But that shouldn't mean you play too many hands. Remember patience is a virtue so don't go jumping in all guns blazing with a pair of sevens or pocket cards like Jack, four. Once you start playing for higher stakes the full gravity of playing too many hands rears its full force. The basic rules always apply - patience, wait for a good hand which in turn depends on table position. And if you do get dealt a good hand then be aggressive but only at the right time. And if you get a long run of bad cards don't lose your cool, wait for the good ones to come around and in the long run you should be very successful.

Basic Error #2: Be your own person

Watching the guys on television does have some uses but it's about as relevant as if you are an 18-handicapper at golf trying to imitate everything Tiger Woods does. What is shown on television is almost always a tournament and their hands are highly situational. The rationale for their decision probably has little relevance to your own game. It is important to understand how to make decisions at poker which is based on understanding the complexities and nuisances of the game rather than through imitation. It is vital to understand that a final table in a professional tournament is played different than the whole tournament as a whole. Remember these players are at the top of their trade and due to that need to get fancy by bluffing outrageously and trapping with high pocket pairs. As a rookie, you are best off betting if you have the best hand and leave the fancy plays for the television.

Basic Error #3: Chasing Draws

Having a suited pocket cards is a bonus but should not necessarily mean you should play the hand. The first things to consider are the ranks of the cards and whether the cards are paired before you start bothering whether if they are suited or connecting. Many newcomers make the mistake of calling to see the flop with any two suited cards and the probability of flopping a flush or a flush draw with two suited cards is only a shade over one in ten. The potential flushed and straight draws are a big carrot but chasing draws in a tall stack is not a good move in the long run.

Basic Error #4: Superstitions

Don't attribute a run of success to a peripheral factor. It's likely that a good set of cards is the result for a recent win rather than a lucky shirt, wearing odd socks or eating bananas. You cannot affect the luck factor of poker and it will almost certainly even itself out over the long run. The only thing you should concern yourself with at the poker table is playing well and if you play to your optimum level over the long run, you are more likely to be more successful rather than blaming it on forgetting to bring your lucky mascot.

Basic Error 5: Losing your cool

Keep indifferent to annoying or irritating opponents - don't let your emotions sway your judgment at the table and try to get one over a rival who you don't like. And don't go chasing things when you have a string of bad cards or you are destined for a losing session.

Angus MacKenzie / Eurosport