Poker Aggressive Or Passive

In poker, the general advice to 'be more aggressive' is often given. Regardless of the variant, players are often told that the benefits of playing aggressively are many, and that failing to be. In poker, passive and aggressive are words used to describe the type of player you are up against. Now, a type of player may play in a different style throughout the game. They may play one way early on and then change later.

In poker, the general advice to 'be more aggressive' is often given. Regardless of the variant, players are often told that the benefits of playing aggressively are many, and that failing to be aggressive reduces our chances of success.

Less often provided are specifics regarding how and when to apply such aggression. Usually if any elaboration of the point follows it ends with a brief discussion of why aggressive players tend to enjoy more success than those who are passive.

Betting and raising are actions that inform an aggressive style, while checking and calling are ones that inform a passive style. Both should be understood as distinct from a player being 'loose' or 'tight,' terms which instead refer to the frequency of hands played (loose players play a high percentage of hands; tight players play a low percentage of hands).

We're told that aggressive players — those who often choose to bet or raise when given the chance to do so — don't have to wait for good hands to win pots, but can also win with lesser hands when their bets cause others to fold. Instead of only winning pots by making better hands, aggressive players have a second way to win — by getting others to fold (and sometimes even fold better hands).

Such advice is generally true and works as a good starting point for explaining why an aggressive style is preferable to a passive one. However, the general encouragement to bet or raise rather than check or call still lacks specific guidelines regarding how to be aggressive as well as when being aggressive is an advantageous strategy.

How to Be Aggressive

It's a little easier to talk about how to apply aggression — that is, to identify certain actions as aggressive — than it is to explain when to be aggressive. With regard to no-limit hold'em, players can distinguish themselves as aggressive in a number of ways, starting before the flop.

Those who open-raise and three-bet a lot often stand out as aggressive. Even new players soon discover only a relatively small percentage of starting hands are strong enough with which to raise or reraise, thus when players raise or reraise more often than such a percentage suggests, they are demonstrating preflop aggression.

Players who routinely raise to attack preflop limpers are also showing aggression, as are those who employ the 'squeeze play' (i.e., reraising over a raise and call).

On the flop, aggression again can be exhibited in several forms. A continuation bet that keeps the initiative with the preflop raiser is one example. So, too, is check-raising (an especially aggressive move). Floating the flop is another move aggressive players make, one that most often involves calling a flop bet with position despite having a marginal or weak hand in order to set up betting or raising as a bluff on a later street.

The turn is also where a check-raise can occur, among other types of aggressive moves. A bet or raise here might automatically be viewed as aggressive depending on the board and situation. For example, the turn card might complete a possible draw or create new ones, making the board 'scary' and thus causing any bet or raise to appear that much more aggressive.

The river can likewise bring such 'scary' cards that potentially improve drawing hands. Whether they do or not, a big river overbet — either for value or as a bluff — would be an example of aggression.

All of these moves are obviously situation dependent. In any case, a player making them frequently enough becomes marked as aggressive, and if the moves are well-timed and effective that player also stands out as a difficult one against whom to play.

When to Be Aggressive

Perhaps you've heard the very basic advice to beginners to 'bet if they check,' especially on the flop and regardless of their own hand strength. The idea is to encourage new players learn to be aggressive at times when aggression is warranted and likely an advantageous strategy.

More often than not we're dealt unpaired cards before the flop (pocket pairs only come once every 17 hands). And with unpaired cards, our chance of making a pair or better on the flop is a little worse than 1 in 3. That means when a player checks the flop, most of the time that player has yet to make a pair or better, which in turn suggests if we bet — that is, if we are aggressive rather than passive — we'll win the hand.

That's not a bad start to figuring out when to be aggressive. In fact, let's make it the first item on a short list of instances when it is likely good to employ those aggressive actions described above.

1. When your opponent shows weakness

As noted, checking after the flop is a sign of weakness. So, too, are actions like preflop limping, making small leading bets, check-calling, and other examples of passive play. Being aggressive is often a good response.

Incidentally, by 'weakness' here I am referring to hand strength and not the quality of the player. Weak players can often be loose — e.g., the 'calling station' against whom it generally isn't going to be a good idea to bluff with air.

2. When your opponents are tight

Again, be careful not to confuse being 'tight' with being 'passive.' A tight player plays relatively few hands, and thus is often only getting involved with very strong starting hands and/or continuing with strong made hands postflop. A passive player, meanwhile, likes to check and call (and with a wide range of holdings).

Against overly tight players, aggressive players can often thrive by picking up pots without having to make hands themselves. The key, of course, is to be aware when the tight player finally starts fighting back against all of your preflop raises and three-bets and postflop pot-stealing bets — that's when it's likely a good time to ramp down the aggression and let hands go.

3. When your opponents think you are tight

Perhaps you really are a tight player — indeed, a 'tight-aggressive' style can definitely be a winning one, if smartly applied. Or you've just encountered a bad run of starting hands and haven't been able to get involved for a while. In any case, if you think your opponents suspect you to be on the tight side, a sudden display of aggression is likely to earn respect.

In this case I'm talking more directly about bluffing than value betting. After all, you don't want to be that player who folds 20 hands then after finally picking up aces suddenly gets active only to see everyone fold. Squeeze plays, floats, check-raises, and turn and river bets on 'scary' boards are all aggressive moves that when made by a seemingly tight player are more likely to earn folds, and thus can be considered as bluffing opportunities.

4. When your opponent's range is capped

Sometimes a hand plays out in such a way that your opponent very likely can only have a medium-strength hand at best while your own range of hands is much wider, including many hands that could beat your opponent. A big turn or river bet (or raise) thus becomes very difficult for your opponent to call, even if the player has an overpair or something of similar value.

We're edging into slightly advanced strategy with this example — see Gareth Chantler's article 'Why So Much? An Exercise in Capping an Opponent's Range' for a fuller explanation of how an opponent's range limitation can be a good time to be aggressive.

5. When the game is short-handed

Finally, fewer players means you should widen your ranges for preflop raises and three-bets while also looking for more spots postflop to be aggressive.

Hopefully this overview provides a better, more concrete plan for players looking to start incorporating more aggression into their no-limit hold'em games. Learn what aggressive poker is (the 'how'), and especially work on recognizing spots both before and after the flop where it is most effective to employ such aggression (the 'when').

Poker Aggressive Or Passive Aggressive

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As the game of poker evolves and educational resources (such as Pokerology) are at everyone’s fingertips, more and more players are learning to adopt an aggressive style at the poker tables. Indeed, throughout the lessons on Pokerology we’ve taught the value of playing an aggressive style of poker – which is important if you want to be a winning poker player.

While being aggressive is more profitable, many players do not understand how to change gears and their aggressive poker play becomes predictable. If you are using your observational skills, this predictability will help you identify patterns and make smart decisions.

The Classic TAG and LAG Definitions

While every player is different, there are three main types of aggressive poker players you will encounter.

• The Tight-Aggressive (TAG)
• The Loose-Aggressive (LAG)
• The Loose Aggressive/Passive

You should already be familiar with the classic tight-aggressive and loose-aggressive definitions, which we detailed in our beginner lesson about poker playing styles. But the loose aggressive/passive type of player is a rare breed. They will raise a lot of hands pre-flop, but will often give up on the flop or turn. Typically these are former TAGs or tight passives trying to experiment with looser play but are not comfortable committing to their aggression.

These definitions are a good place to start, but you can’t just put poker players into neatly defined categories. Using your observational skills you need to understand the spectrum of hands that somebody might be playing and also the degree of aggression they exhibit in their play. This will help you to formulate effective strategies to use against them, which is the goal of this lesson.

Define Their Hand Range

The first step you need to take when playing against an aggressive player is to define their likely hand range. If your opponent is considered a tight-aggressive, just how tight is his range? Is your opponent a ‘nit’? This is the type of player that always has a big hand because they play such a narrow range of hands. Perhaps your opponent is what we might call a ‘standard tight-aggressive’ – someone who plays the top 10 to 15% of hands.

What if they are loose-aggressive? – the type that’s going to be playing a wide variety of hands and is capable of doing so from any position. A typical loose-aggressive player will often bet on most flops and bluff a high percentage of the time. However, there’s a wide spectrum of loose-aggressive players. It’s not just about the hand ranges a player plays, but how aggressive they play their hands. How far will your opponent be prepared to go to move you off your hand?

The Degree of Aggression

It’s important that you know the difference between someone playing aggressively with value hands and someone playing aggressively with bluffing hands. There’s a big difference between someone who raises pre-flop from late position and continuation bets 100% of the time, but then gives up on the turn and someone who’s capable of triple barrelling as a bluff all the way down to the river with complete air.

As far as pre-flop action is concerned, poker players are 3-betting far more frequently these days. Yet there’s a big difference between someone who is capable of 3-betting light than with someone who will 4-bet light or even 5-bet light. You really need to observe the tendencies of your opponents and understand just how far they will go to take you off a hand.

Here are some basic types of aggression you might see from different players.

Pot Stabbers

They are aggressive, but they are also somewhat passive – in that they’ll take one stab at the pot, then they’re going to give up. They might continuation bet 100% of the time, but only bet the turn when they actually have a hand. These are definitely people you want to get into pots with and play position against them. It’s highly profitable and you should be able to take pots away from them.

Solid Players

Solid players know when to apply pressure and they know when to put on the brakes. They are generally winning poker players and they are the type you don’t want to play against. It doesn’t mean you have to avoid playing pots with them, but if you’re in a marginal spot then you don’t necessarily have to test yourself. Look for a spot that’s going to be more profitable.

Lagtard / Spewtard / Spew Monkey, etc

There are a number of names for this type of poker player. They are the ones that take aggression to a completely different level. They’re not necessarily bad players, but they can get drunk with power. They will constantly try and put you to the test. They can build big stacks against people who play scared. However, if you can find a hand or have a really good read on them, you can make a lot of money too. There are many times when these players just don’t know when to put on the brakes and quit.

Strategies to Use Against Them

Now that we’ve mentioned some of the different types of aggressive players you’ll meet at the tables, it’s time to discuss some of the strategies that you can use against them.

Let Them Bet For You

If they are aggressive then let them take the lead in betting if you have a strong hand. Why try to blow them off their hand? Let them bluff and keep throwing chips in the pot.

Feign Weakness

Ask yourself ‘how would I play this hand if I didn’t have a good hand?’ This might include betting a small amount or checking in certain spots to induce a bluff. You might even check the river with a monster hand because you know that they can’t win without a big bet. It depends on the hand situation, but any time you can feign weakness against someone who is going to bet strongly, it’s generally going to be profitable.

Open Up Your Value Range

This is the opposite of the old advice to ‘just be patient and wait for a big hand and then you can trap them’. But when playing an against an aggressive player, you cannot wait for the nuts to play back at them. It simply won’t happen frequently enough and they will know you have a big hand since you’ve been waiting around all day. This is why opening up your value range against some aggressive players is the way to go, depending on the situation. It really depends who you’re playing against. Hands like Ace-Jack offsuit, King-Queen, King-Jack, middle pocket pairs, have super high value against a loose-aggressive player, but are very weak when against a tight-aggressive opponent.

Hand Example – Opening Up Your Range

• No Limit Hold’em Tournament Play
• Blinds: 25/50
• You and your opponent both have 2,500 in chips.

Reads

The player directly on your right has been very aggressive from the start of the tournament. Any time it folds to him in late position, he has raised 3x the big blind. While no one has really played back at him, he did lose a pot earlier when the big blind called a raise pre-flop and check-raised him on an Ace high flop, resulting in a fold from the LAG. You have been moderately active at the table seeing some flops and raising a few, but nothing abnormal.

Pre-Flop

You are on the button and it folds to the LAG in the cut-off. As predicted, he raises to 150. The players in the blinds both have about 1,500 chips and have been playing conservatively. You have , which against a habitual late position raiser is a strong hand. You are definitely ahead of the range he is likely to be raising with. This could include anything from a low suited connector, any high cards like KT or QJ or any pocket pair including 22.

Figure 1

Now you have a lot of options here if you choose to play the pot. With the size of your stack in relation to the blinds, you can make a case for folding, re-raising or calling. Since you have a good read on the player, the blinds are conservative players and you have enough chips, I would call about 50% of the time, raise 30% and fold about 20%.

With your stack size and the low blinds, calling is probably the best option because you can control the size of the pot. By re-raising you are bloating the pot with a marginal hand that could be dominated and a smaller pot allows you to have options on the flop, turn and river without committing yourself if it turns out he does have a better hand. Additionally, re-raising might cause him to fold a worse hand that he would have otherwise tried to bluff you with.

The Flop

The flop comes . There is 375 in the pot and your opponent bets 250. What now? Well, there is certainly a chance that he has an Ace with a higher kicker, but you got into this pot with a marginal hand against a very aggressive opponent. You have to expect him to continue the aggression and it’s very possible you have the best hand, so you can’t change your mind and get scared now.

Poker Aggressive Or Passive Immunity

Figure 2

There are two ways to approach this hand and your decision should be based on how he sees your table image and how you both have played previous hands. For example, if you have been playing tight and you raise here, he will usually fold any hands that you are beating. However, if you have recently been pushed off of a hand and you are steaming he could think you are steaming and just making a move, thus playing back at you. Additionally, if you have shown to have called flop bets with middle pair or a low pocket pair and you call now, he might think you don’t have an Ace. He might fire another barrel on the turn with a bluff trying to represent having an Ace.

Deciding how to play this hand also goes back to his past betting patterns and whether or not he is capable of firing on the turn with a bluff. If so, I would be more inclined to call here in order to induce the bluff. If he is the type of player that will only bet the turn with a hand that beats you then you should raise here to define your hand now while the pot is still small and you can get away from it if he gives you action.

Without having any strong reads, I would usually stick with the plan to control the pot size by calling and evaluating how he plays the turn. Most players are not going to fire another strong bet on the turn without a hand.

The Turn

The turn is and your opponent checks:

Figure 3

Okay this is a good sign. Unless he is running an advanced slow play, you most likely have the best hand here. But should you bet?

You can certainly make the case for it, but that decision also goes back to your read on the player and whether he thinks you have an Ace. If you think he will call a bet with a worse hand (i.e. weaker Ace, mid pocket pair, etc.) then you can bet. But based on the size of the pot and your remaining stack, a really aggressive player can check-raise here and put you in a really tough spot. There is 875 in the pot and you have 2,100 in your stack. Any reasonable sized bet (i.e. 600-800) will commit a lot of your stack and anything smaller could look like a weak attempt to take it down.

Since the blinds are low and we have likely only been playing with this player for less than an hour, all we know is that he is very aggressive so I would suggest checking in this spot. We are checking for two reasons; we are controlling the size of the pot in the event we are actually behind here – and to either induce a river bluff or get him to call a river bet with a worse hand.

The River

The river is a and your opponent bets 500 into the 875 pot:

Poker Aggressive Or Passive Infinitive

Figure 4

Since the opponent could have any two cards here and there were no significant draws, there is a high likely hood that your opponent is bluffing. Could he have AJ or some random hand like 87? Sure, but sometimes you have to make decisions based on what is the most likely from the information about the player and the way the hand has played out. In this hand, you do call and your opponent shows for a pure bluff. You may be asking – if we think we are ahead why not raise? Well because he most likely will only call with a hand that beats us. We gain no value if he always folds a worse hand. Sure there are times he might call with an Ace with a worse kicker, but over the long run a call likely has a higher expected value.

The point of this example hand was to show how we can open up our value range against a loose-aggressive opponent, and how this can pay off – particularly in the long run. But as was stated earlier in this lesson, there are many different types of aggressive players. The key point to take away from all this is to really get better at observing the play of your opponents – and their specific individual tendencies, both before and after the flop. Understand who you’re playing against and go from there.

Poker Aggressive Or Passive Euthanasia

By Donovan Panone

Donovan started playing poker in 2004 and is an experienced tournament and cash game player who has a passion for teaching and helping others improve their game.