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Answer: First of all, I think a lot of people like to throw around the word "aggressive." What does being aggressive mean? There are regular players who make regular plays -- regular raises and bets in typical spots (i.e. raising AK preflop, betting top pair, etc). Then there are passive players who don't bet their hands that the regular players would bet or raise, like just limping in with AK, and checking top pair and calling down the whole way.

Then there are the aggressive players who bet stuff the regular players wouldn't, like raising 5 hands in a row, from Q9 to K5s. I don't consider people who just play ABC poker to be aggressive. Raising with legitimate hands and betting them is regular play. The reason I am pointing this out is because you are getting nailed by the two other players at the table and you mentioned aggression as a problem. Do you mean that you are getting caught bluffing too much with weak hand strength?

For example, are you trying to constantly make plays with weak hands and they pick you off with legit hands? Or are you raising legit hands and they are slow playing bigger hands? The cure for the first problem is to back off some and show them a good hand more often than not.

If you have lost the previous few hands, regardless of whether or not they were good starting cards, you'll get less respect on your next raises. You need to be constantly aware of your table image because it affects how loosely people will play against you. There are plenty of times when you get a string of good cards in a row and even though all of them were great hands, people won't give you any credit. What is going through their heads is, "this guy just raised the last three hands, there is no way he has good cards."

You can push some and win, but you have to temper it. I catch myself sometimes pushing unimproved hands against weak players. That is a mistake. There is no reason for me to bluff off money to someone who I know will call. While the same play may have been successful against one of the better players at the table, it won't work against them either if I don't put the hand into a larger context of table image. So if you are pushing too much with weak holdings, back off some.

Next, if you are a "tight-aggressive" player, meaning you are only in the pot with good starting hands, but these two guys are setting traps for you, my advice would be to pay more attention to the signs early in the hand. Let me give you an extreme example. Let's say I have AK and raise preflop and get cold called (meaning the player just called the raise behind me) by a good solid player. The flop comes back Ace high rainbow, something like A-8-4. I bet and the guy calls. Right now, that should be a signal to me that this is a little odd. There are no draws on the this flop.

The two options running through my head are either an Ace like maybe AQ or AJ suited, or a big hand like a set. I can rule out A8 or A4, since he is too good of a player to cold call a raise behind me with that. So on the turn I bet again, but this time I get raised. That now makes my read a little easier. It would be really odd for him to raise me on the turn with just AQ or AJ. Now I'm not saying you should fold in situations like this all the time, I'm just saying you should be aware of opponent's betting patterns with relation to the flop texture and the previous betting history.

Some players are habitual slow players with their best hands. They smooth call the flop and turn, then put in the money on the river. Other players raise the turn. Some players aren't capable of raising big on the turn or river as a bluff after you bet. Because remember, if someone isn't capable of bluffing, and they wouldn't raise here unless they had you beat or it was a complete bluff, your decision is simple. You need to know this information.

This isn't as hard as it sounds because most players are predictable. You'll have the majority of the people in the middle who play straightforwardedly. Then you'll have the loose crazy bluffers on one end and some good players on the other end of the curve, whom only might attempt a bluff every now and then. As a good player you should also try to put into context the information that you are giving off too. It is much easier to play a hand if you have defined it well. Then the signals you get in return are also clear. Compare the signals I would get in return with the AK example above if my table image was a rock who only plays big hands, or if I was seen as a loose player who plays anything.

With the rock, everyone at the table knows I have a big Ace and the only way someone else would raise me would be if they had me beat. On the other hand if I was seen as a loose player with any two cards, it could be very likely that I was getting raised by a smaller Ace. Lastly, if these players are habitual slow players, you can nullify some of their strategy by just playing against them when they are out of position. Bet the flop and most of the time they will fold. If they call, you know they have something and you can check the turn behind him. Then you get free cards plus information later in the hand.

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