Aggressive Strategy for
Shorthanded Texas Holdem Poker
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Cash game
poker is all about controlled aggression
and making the right decision. See what
that says? Controlled aggression, not
just aggression! If you play enough
poker you will inevitably encounter the
player who thinks they are playing
loose-aggressive, but in reality they
are just spewing chips all over the
table. This is not controlled
aggression, and if you are doing this,
you are raising just to raise, which is
a bad idea. You always want to have a
plan.
Short
handed 6-max cash games have become very
popular, and in these games aggression
can often be the difference between
having a winning session and a losing
one. |
As stated earlier, you need to
have a plan of action when you raise, a goal
that you are trying to achieve by raising,
whether its to take down a small pot pre-flop
with a mediocre hand, or to build the pot with
your monster holding. When playing 6-max games
at different level, you will of course see a
difference in the flow of the game and how it is
played, but having a general set of guidelines
to build off of is always a good idea!
Raise To
Gain Position In The Hand
You always want
to have the best position possible in a hand,
and raising essentially gives you that. When you
are the original raiser, you then get to see how
everybody will act. While not actual position,
having this better point of view can certainly
help later on in the hand. You always want the
most information possible, and raising will give
that to you.
Raise
To Narrow The Competition
When you
make a pre-flop raise, you are weeding out the
players with marginal hands, and will have a
better idea of what you are up against. You
always want to play against as few opponents as
possible, and get heads up if you can. Playing
heads up in a pot against someone will give you
a lot of information as to how thy play, and you
need to be able to remember that. You can also
use your raise when in specific positions at the
table to isolate yourself against someone you
may think is a particularly weak player, or
someone you have a great read on and can put
them on a hand easily if they call.
Raise
To Force Mistakes From Your Opponents
When a player can limp into a pot before the
flop, their chip risk is very low, and they can
do this with a wide range, which can make it
difficult to put them on a hand. By raising, you
increase the risk they must take, along with the
pot size. Players who are new to the game get
easily intimidated by raises, and will often
make mistakes in big pots. The bigger you can
make the pot, the more likely they are to make a
mistake that results in a profit for you.
Raise
To Put Your Opponents On Tilt
A lot
of times players get into a comfort zone with
the way the table is playing. They are able to
limp in a lot and see a lot of flops. If you
come to the table with a high level of
aggression, you will find that you can tilt
these players. They are expecting to be able to
play a number of cheap hands, and will get
frustrated with having to limp-fold. Poker is a
game of adjustments, and when people can not
make them, they go on tilt, that is your goal
here. Again, do not raise aimlessly, make sure
you have a good handle on what is going on at
your table.
A player can really control a
table with aggression, especially in the 6-max
game where you are facing far less opponents in
each hand. Practice controlled aggression, and
watch your bankroll climb.
