Poker Aggression and Unpredictability

Most poker players already know a little about aggression. The word is thrown around by poker strategy articles all the time. The basic idea is to play a tight game and then play your strong hands with aggression. That’s a great strategy but remember it’s only a starting point. As you move up in stakes, the need to increase your aggression and unpredictability becomes more important.

In most small stakes games, you really don’t need to worry about being an unpredictable player. The players in those games have a hard enough time worrying about their own cards and strategies without trying to keep track of you as well. As you move up in stakes, though, you see the players in those games are comfortable with their own play and can devote more attention to studying you.

Believe it or not, those players are taking notes on you just like you should be taking notes on them. Over time, you come to recognize certain faces or screen names and realize you should probably take extra measures to conceal your play. A robotic game works great in small stakes games but in the higher stakes, you want to avoid becoming too predictable.

I’m going to take right now to warn you in advance that these are advanced tactics. They all carry risks and have a learning curve. You’ll have to practice with these tactics to get them down pat. Use these tactics sparingly and ease your way into it. Remember; being too aggressive can be just as expensive as being too passive.

1. Raise more in late position

This is a simple way to increase your aggression and prevent your opponents from having a good idea as to what you have. It also screws up their stats on you in PokerTracker and Holdem Manager. You’ll look like a more aggressive player even though the only thing you’ve done is raised more in late position.

You don’t have to raise only when it folds around to you. You can also raise when there is a limper or two in front of you. Your cards don’t matter as much as your opponents. The more tight and passive your opponents are, the more cards you can raise in late position. As a starting point, I like to start with all suited cards, connected cards and hands with both cards ranked 10 or higher.

2. Three-bet the light raisers

In medium and high stakes games, few people enter the pot without a raise. Some people take it too far and raise way too many hands. Instead constantly folding or calling and trying to outplay them after the flop, try 3-betting these players with a slightly wider range than you normally would.

When you 3-bet, you take control of the hand and put the other player to a difficult decision. You have to be careful with this tactic because it quickly bloats the pot and can make you play for stacks if the other player is willing.

3. Semi-bluff in late position

Semi bluffing is a great way to amp up the aggression. Even if your opponents don’t fold right out, you still have a chance to improve and win the pot. One thing to remember about semi-bluffing is that the goal is to make your opponent fold. You are not trying to bloat the pot when you semi-bluff. The fact that your draw may complete comes second to the fact that you are bluffing.

Sometimes your semi-bluffs will be called and then your opponents will see that your bets don’t always mean you have a made hand. Later on, that will pay dividends when you actually do have a strong hand.

4. Punish the weak limpers

Even in medium and high stakes games, people still open pots by limping in. More often than not, these players have weak hands and will fold if you pressure them. These players will usually call your preflop raise but will fold if they miss whatever they were looking for on the flop. People play small pocket pairs like this all the time. Raise those weak limpers and note how they react both before the flop and after the flop.

5. Raise pocket pairs from early position

This tip applies mostly to shorthanded games. If you want to play a pocket pair from early position, don’t limp in with it. Come in with a raise. This makes what you have less obvious and it also gives you a chance to win the pot even if you miss your set. It’s all about taking control of the hand.

Remember more strategy articles are added to the UK Poker web site on a very regular basis, no matter what your poker game of choice may be, there will be something that will fit the bill. Check out all our recent poker strategy articles.

Relevant news