Successful Play Using Aggression

There are many successful poker players – some you know well, having watched them on TV or read about them online. Others you have never heard of, but they are making a living on the $25/$50 games online and are some of the best players in the world. Every single player has a different playing style; in fact, to shoehorn them into a few categories is quite inaccurate but it is probably the easiest way to portray them.

Take, for example, Howard Lederer of PKR.com – a successful cash game and tournament player, Howard’s strategy is to play a very select range of hands. Heads-up and in position he will play them very aggressively, hoping to either get as much value out of a premium hand as possible or to bluff his opponent off a superior hand. Out of position, or in a multi-way pot, he is highly conservative.

Compare him now to Tom “durrrr” Dwan – if you have not seen him making millions at the high-stakes games online, you might have caught him running over the table on GSN’s High Stakes Poker. His style is radically different – in position or out, and with seemingly any two cards, he uses his post-flop skills to win pots in any way he can.

Which is right? They both are. Lederer and Dwan both enjoy massive success at the poker table despite their radically contrasting styles of play. Which is right for you? Well, I cannot tell you that – only you really know, but allow me to point you in the right direction.

Grossly oversimplifying it, winning poker players are aggressive poker players.

Aggression

This is the most important point, as you may have gathered from the fact that aggression is a key factor in both basic playing styles. Aggressive play gives you two chances to win the pot – you can show down the best hand, or you can force your opponents to fold.

A passive player who only ever checks and calls must have the best hand at showdown to win. Remember, it is about playing the player and not the cards – if you think your opponent will fold to a bet it does not matter that you have six-high: bet it.

Aggressive play helps to narrow the field down to one or two other players. Your raise or 3-bet will also cause players with position on you to fold. If you could play every pot raised pre-flop, heads-up, and in position, you would be making millions.

Tilt

Tilt is a pocker term and essentially means that you are playing sub-optimally due to mitigating factors. Tilt can lead to you making some sub-standard plays and losing a few big blinds or even decimating your entire bankroll. Tilt cannot be eliminated from your game – if you get your money in as an 87% favorite and lose a 300BB pot then you are going to get pissed off.

However, if you can manage and control it to the best of your ability from the outset, then you will be a far better player for it. There are several factors that can cause you to go on tilt – such as being shown a bluff after making a big laydown, having a strong hand defeated by a stronger hand you ran right into, or your opposition laying a suckout on you.

If you play online poker, you will get in about 250 hands an hour if you play four tables. Therefore, these will be quite a common occurrence but it still takes some getting used to.

Remember: poker is a game of luck AND skill. As long as you play well and get your money in as a favorite then you should be happy. I do not want to get too mathematical in a beginner article but if you get your money in as a 75% favorite in a $100 pot then you have “made” $75 even if you lose the pot. Poker is not a game of individual hands but rather of the long run, and so long as your graph keeps pointing up you do not need to worry about tilt.

That said, it will happen. The important thing is to identify when you are on tilt – perhaps you catch yourself calling a bet with a marginal hand that you should have folded easily; perhaps you overplay a hand to go bust. Tilt begets tilt begets tilt and if you do not spot the destructive cycle early and leave the table you can be even worse off.

When you feel yourself becoming tilted (perhaps you have just lost a huge pot, or busted out of a tournament on the bubble) then you need to calm down before you lose more money: take a break, count to ten, have a cigarette, go for a walk – do whatever needs to be done to ensure you don’t needlessly tilt off money after a hand.