06-22-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Playing With Aggressive Players

Question: i hawe preaty good idea how to pl;ay texas holdem. thru discipline and rigth strategy i menage to be overall winner most of the time.basicly there is situation where i lose my ballance and few times i left with big loss.i am talking about limit game 60/120 or 75/150. last time i played on table against wery agresive people. i was doing ok untill i got tired and frustrated. they were winning pots on almost nothing and when i stayed in it seems ewery time they got better than me. no metter what i had and i always played high cards someone was beating me.it was wery expensive and depresing nigth. basicly what i am saing table full of agresive players trows me of ballance i just cant hawe run of cards with them. i like to be agreive myself with good cards but it seems if i do they are covering or beating me.i definitely need to develop winning strategy .i am getting idea to dont raise preflop with high cards just wait and go alone with their raises and then show winner on the end.it seems they want to control game just as i do sometime. maybe i hawe to be wery conservative wait and win few pots on good cards.that may create certain image and then they will start being so agresive.in 75/100 game to call them is exencive way to go.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

eny feedback will be helpfull to me

thank you

BRIAN

Answer: A few things:

1. Don't play in big games when you are tired or frustrated. To play good middle and upper limit where the games are tough you need to be rested and have the killer instinct. Situational poker takes a lot of energy since most of your decisions will be in the gray area.

2. You can't beat aggressive players by playing passively. This is similar to playing short handed (5 or less people on a table). The last thing you want to do is slow play your big hands, instead start three betting preflop with less and keep betting since a bet can win by making the opponent fold or by showing the best hand. If they are playing badly, make them pay. You do that by putting more money in the pot when they have weak hands, not waiting for the nuts. What happens in short handed games when you are the passive player is that you just end up waiting all day for a good hand to try to sting them on but it waiting cost out weighs the pot. They know this. At tough games you need to acquire skills that aren't needed at lower levels. You need to play position much more strongly, bet on less, defend your blinds and be able to make good reads. Aggression will win out over conservative play here.

3. You'll find some maniacs at all levels but at upper limit most of the people will know exactly what you know. If they think they can run through you because you are only calling their raises with good hands then they will plow forward. You need to get value for your big hands and slow playing won't achieve that. Notice that when they do win a pot, it will be a big one. Lastly, remember that the strength of your hand is relative to theirs. That's key to winning in tough games. Just because a person is betting doesn't mean they have anything. This isn't a numbers game anymore, it is a person game. If you know John Doe will be bottom pair the whole way just because you are only calling, then you can get away with play that would be wrong at lower limits.

NOTE: for people reading this that don't play in larger games like this, then much of the advice will be wrong. That's another lesson in itself. Playing well at one limit can be much different then playing well at another.

Your rating:

Click on the clover of your choice

User Rating: (0 Votes)

  • Share on Facebook
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us