Uptheodds Poker

Dealing with aggressive players

Part of Uptheodds.com free lesson program.

The aggressive player. They seem to be in every hand. You know they cant always have the cards but your guess is as good as anyone.

A bad decision against one of these players can cost you more of your chip stack if not your tournament all together. So how do you approach a player that is overly aggressive? In this Head coach lesson we will review what might help you navigate around and maybe even through some of these players.

The first play we are going to have to confront is the constant raising. This will limit the amount of information that we can gather. The aggressive player that raises many hands will have a wide range of cards. To try and narrow down the range of cards you must keep a close eye on what is shown and how he bets with known cards. This is sometimes tough because they will buy quite a few hands with unknown hole cards. They will raise with anything and also mix it up with bluffs. Pocket aces and 2-7 off suit are sometimes played the same way. This type of player can help build your chip stack quickly but can also take it all away just as fast.

A good way to limit their control of the table and to get information is to re raise and see how they respond. this is not for the weak at heart. You don't have to mortgage your tournament by doing this with sub par hands. You may want to consider a re raise with a mid pocket pair or better. You do not want to let the aggressive player run over the table but you also don't want to jump on a grenade to save the table as well.

Don't think that all aggressive players are loose. All players have a range of hands that they feel comfortable playing. The wider the range, the more aggressive they will seem.

Some examples include Daniel Negreanu or Gus Hanson. Very aggressive players but you should not consider them loose. Nerreanu loves to play suited connectors. Hanson in known to bet and even raise with middle or even low pair. Again, a wider range of hands then most recreational players.

As a professional poker coach I tell my players to play the hand you normally would considering his Raises as bets and his re raises as raises with a hair of caution mixed in for good measure.

Considerations I teach include averaging the number of hands they play. If they are in 50% of the hands or more and raise more than 1/2 the time then I will assume they are playing many sub par hands. I will play good hands back at him and they will play the majority of the time. Playing against these players is a great way to pad your stack.

When re raising back take into account how the player might respond. If you discover he is the type to fold to a re raise and you hold the nuts or at least a good advantage, you may want to delay your move to increase the size of the pot. Lose less in the pots you don't win and increase the size of pots you do win. That's the name of the game.

Tight aggressive players should be approached with caution. These are are the players that can end your day in a hurry. they play just enough hands to keep you guessing on what they have. These are the stronger players. Names like Ivey, Helmuth and Nowik come to mind. Patience and well timed aggression. These players sit back and understand how their table mates play and in what position is best to make a move. You will need stronger hands to play with this bunch. To beat this group you need to delay your aggression. You want them in the pot when you hold a monster.

In closing, I will be making a paid appearance at a local game this Saturday. I will be attending as a local Pro and not in my Head Coach capacity so lessons will not be personalized. I will as always offer witty comments and degrading commentary throughout the evening.

If you are interested in attending, space is limited so please email Paxi to reserve your seat. I believe there are 3 openings left.

Lessons by appointment only

Appearance fee negotiable