Texas Holdem : A Guide To Playing Aggressively
Instructions For Playing Aggressively
Aggression is behavior meant to cause harm or pain. The behavior can be physical, verbal or mental. While physical aggression will get a player escorted out of the room by security and verbal aggression is questionable at best, mental aggression is a quality that many poker players consider an asset.
While there are players famous for verbal aggression this kind of behavior can work against them. Any Atlantic City or Las Vegas cop of significant experience probably has a story or two about poker players who took their table talk outside and landed in hot water. But is brash and reckless behavior really playing aggressively?
If the object is to present yourself as a fearless and endless source of chips with limited intellect, then the answer is yes. That’s not why most people play poker. We play to improve ourselves, to have fun, and to win money.
Mentally aggressive play involves an attitude and style that is intimidating and confusing. The release of Doyle Brunson’s book “Super System Two” and the rise of assertive young players like Gus Hanson had the whole poker world chanting the mantra of aggression. Bold Bluffs, playing trash hands, bullying the table, and generally fearless play became fashionable. Unfortunately many players did not understand the difference between aggression and maniacal or foolhardy play.
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Aggressive play is putting your opponents constantly in situations that they are not comfortable with. Poker, particularly Hold ‘em, is a battle of wills. In order to impose your will on your opponents you must keep them from imposing their will on you. Truly aggressive play keeps your opponents reactive and defensive while allowing you to be proactive.
Aggressive players will get involved with a range of hands from all positions. This is much harder to get a read on than the player who only plays hand strengths depending on position. This does not mean that an aggressive player needs to call or raise with any trash hand. Certainly you need to turn over a bluff or winning hand that started out as a trash hand occasionally. That keeps your opponents off balance. Occasionally does not mean every deal.
Aggressive play means protecting your premium pairs and trying to isolate one or two callers with your best hands like rockets or cowboys. Raise the blinds with suited connectors to get some money in the pot. Bluff when opponents show weakness and semi-bluff when the pot odds are right. Pursue profit in a fashion that causes mental pain and harm. Playing in a predictable pattern will cause joy and mirth mentally for your opponents. You don’t want that. Aggressive play by definition means you have to change gears often.
Aggressive play can be relentless folding while waiting for a premium hand and observing the rest of the table. Aggressive is changing the way you play particular hands regularly so opponents can’t put you on a hand. Aggressive play is making an unexpected fold to set an opponent up for a big loss later. Allowing a lesser opponent to buy a pot is aggressive advertising. Convincing the table that a big bet will cause you to throw your hand away will certainly cause harm and pain to their bankrolls.
Table image can be worth more than the cards you hold. Exploit this aggressively, or to put it another way, exploit your table image in a way that causes pain or harm to your opponent’s chip stack. Sell your table image aggressively. The player who has folded the last twenty hands making a raise causes more harm or pain mentally than the “aggressive” serial raiser.
If you are setting a trap sell the hand aggressively. If you know there is a serial bully behind you limp in with monster hands now and then. Portray weakness then aggressively maximize your profit.
Learn How To Avoid Being Trapped In Poker
Sometimes it pays to be a railbird. Watch a game for a while, live or online. Are the players playing “aggressively” making money or are they chip donors playing every hand? Ruthless decisive action can win a hand without a showdown. Trying to do it on every deal with bust a player faster than bungee jumping with an old clothesline.
Above all aggressive play has to be an expression of your game and desire to be a good player. Trying to be something you aren’t wont work in a game that lays bare the soul. You want to be a good player. Nobody plays to lose money. Find your own style of play and remember that aggressive does not mean reckless. Play well.
