Intubation has unique educational challenges because of severe time restrictions and patient risk. Repetitive practice cannot be done on the same patient to separate and examine the components of the procedure in real time. As a result, most clinicians improve their skills slowly, through cumulated experience of trial and error. Intubation should involve a planned strategy to achieve first pass success, prevent hypoxemia and avoid aspiration. This article highlights two of the most common errors of direct laryngoscopy, and how to avoid them.