Put On Your Aggressive Suit
It’s pre-river and the flop is before you, all the cards look good and so does your hand. Everyone else has folded except one opponent, and there is no way that he/she can have a better hand. So, you hastily throw down a little cash out of what you’ve got in your stack and smile; you’re thinking bet little so the opponent stays in. Your opponent calls and then the dealer throws’ down the last card in the round. Your smile grows a little wider as you glance quickly at the table; your opponent certainly has nothing in their hand so you toss down a substantial bet. The opponent smiles back, raises the bet and then throws down his/her cards. Your smile fades as you realize they’ve got you beat, and what’s worse…you realize they never even had a playable hand until the river. Ouch; the same situation has happened to everyone at least once and it sure does hurt.
The big problem in this situation is that the player mentioned above was not aggressive enough. Had they made a larger bet pre-river or even sooner than chances are the opponent would not have made a choice to stay in. While it is certainly true that you always want to play a good hand as far as you can to get the most money out of it; winning some money is always better than none. In this instance above the player was not aggressive enough, therefore the opponent pulled ahead. When you are playing veterans, and professionals there is no way to win unless you play aggressively; they will always pull ahead of you when given the chance.
Every poker pro out there plays very aggressively; even the stingy players who love to moderate their betting. They pick the right times to throw out their chips, and when they do they usually put most of it on the line. The main point to keep in mind however is that being aggressive is not the same as being reckless; and this point is what separates the poker duds from the poker studs. Poker pros are always aggressive, and they always use aggressive play styles and strategies, but they are anything but reckless. They never throw down too many chips on a hand they know is weak; even at time when it may seem strong and they never go all-in unless they are completely sure of a win. Course, unfortunately in the game of poker sometimes there is almost no way to tell if you’re holding an absolute hand or not but that is exactly what drives the game and makes it exciting. Even the pros sometimes miscalculate and go all-in on a play where their opponents certainly have them beat. The main difference between those pros and the novices is that they rarely do make those mistakes.
Don’t be reckless and throw out all your chips with every good hand you have. Chances are that if you’re opponents are keeping up, or are even betting than they have you beat. On the same note you can’t be considered aggressive if you attack with a bet every turn of the flop and then fold pre-river because you get a whiff of danger. The key is giving your opponents the appearance of recklessness while you remain reserved and careful.
Poker is all about deception; it’s been said before and will be mentioned many times more. Learn it, and use it to your advantage. When you sit down at a poker table put on a costume; what I mean by this is that you should become something you’re not. If you act like you’re one type of player, than no opponents will be able to guess how your hands are actually being played. Trick all those opponents into thinking you’re the player that throws down chips recklessly with every hand you’ve got. They’ll never expect a winning hand when you throw one down, and even when you do they’ll attribute it to luck because they really won’t be able to tell that you’re a skilled player. Consider it the same as hustling while playing a game of pool. You never want the opponent to know you’re excellent; until it’s too late that is.
While your costume is on however it is important to remain aggressive. When you have a good hand, go for it; don’t hold back. Chances are you probably will pull in more cash going at it with all you’ve got than if you were to limp it along after every turn of the cards. Don’t be afraid to throw down enough in order to push your opponents out of the round; thus using their fear as an advantage. In many cases you’ll still get a good amount of their money and chances are, the longer they stay in the more of a chance they have of throwing down a hand that beats yours.
Remember that a 25%, 50% or even 75% stack bet however is still aggressive and an all-in call is not always needed to scare off opponents. That small amount of chips left in your stack keeps you distanced from being too reckless. Always leave an exit route while being aggressive; just in case. If you’re too aggressive and you lose a hand at least you’ll still have cash to go on instead of being knocked out completely; unless of course, you throw it all out.; and it’s safe to say, never do so unless you are absolutely sure of a win; never.
Playing aggressively like the pros and vets of the sport is certainly the way to go; just remember to check your reckless alter ego at the door. While you’re at it, toss on that silly pimp costume you’ve been meaning to try on and trick all your opponents into thinking you’re something that you’re not.
