taming aggressive players
There are a lot of people playing poker online.
This means that a player is going to encounter a
lot of different people at the tables. A large
percentage of people in the sport of poker are
hardwired for a certain style, so to be
successful it is important to note that not
every style is going to work against every type
of player. A big piece of the puzzle is
learning to recognize a player's type, and
adjusting your game accordingly.
In the game of online poker, aggressive players
are extremely common. These are the type who
sees a higher percentage of flops, bet and raise
often. Someone facing an aggressive player in a
cash game can play them in one of two ways. A
player can either match the aggression or find a
way to subvert it.
Matching the aggression can be a fun way to
play; you see a lot of flops and there is an
entertaining amount of drama at the flop, but
the problem with matching aggression is that it
means you are consistently charging into battle
with low quality hands. The end result of this
strategy is that luck plays a pivotal role in
who wins a hand. Experienced players as well as
top pros all agree that they actively attempt to
minimize luck as a factor when playing a hand.
When playing against an aggressive player the
best strategy is to start off as their polar
opposite, be conservative. Only see flops when
your hole cards give you a commanding head
start, and fold quickly if the flop doesn't help
you out.
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The result of this strategy is that when you get
cards that make you the legitimate frontrunner
for the pot, the aggressive players will give
you a lot of action and feed money into the
pot. When you are working from a position of
strength, then you can match their aggression.
Not only will you be winning money, but you will
also be conditioning your opponents in a manner
not unlike how Pavlov trained his dog.
Eventually when you start showing aggression,
the aggressive players at the table will fold.
In their mind, your forceful action means that
you have a powerful hand. At this point you can
start bluffing with some confidence that your
well trained opponents will fold whenever you
act like a bully at the table.
Your taming of the aggressive player is a
temporary situation at best. Eventually they
will figure out what you are doing to them and
start calling, bettering, and raising when you
play a hand. You will combat this by going back
into your conservative shell and only playing
when you have strong cards.
The key is to always be doing the opposite of
what they are doing. This will keep them off
balance enough to the point where putting you on
a hand is difficult and trying to predict your
behavior is a daunting task.
You should now have a strong
understanding on how to play an aggressive
player. |
