While the game of poker requires fair play, courtesy and a certain amount of “ethics” on the part of the players at the table, there is one word that comes up time and time again when it comes to chip talk: aggression. Regardless of whether they are tight or loose, only aggressive players win in the long run. It’s not about physically or verbally attacking your opponents (although some players have mastered the art of chatter), but about finding a balance between the number of times you bet and raise and the number of times you call.
An aggressive player is one who bets and raises more often than he calls. Follow our tips and start destroying your tables!
Initiative and gap concept
The “gap concept” is outlined in David Sklansky’s book, Tournament Poker for Advanced Players.
“To play against someone who has already bet, you need a stronger hand than you would need if you bet on yourself first.”
he declares.
As an example, he cites a situation where it would be possible to raise in the middle of a call if no one had raised before, but at the same time it would not be possible to call a bet if the player had already raised at the beginning of the call. The reason is simple: if we raise first, we likely have the best hand, whereas if a player has already opened at the start of the call, he will likely have the best hand, often dominating ours. This is the same principle that operates in the push or fold stages of tournament play.
Bluff and fold equity
Another reason to play aggressively is that betting is the only way to bluff and take advantage of fold equity. Obviously, you will never bluff anyone by simply paying a bet. Less obvious are situations where the value of a hand depends on the combination of fold equity and showdown will. Understand that by raising you are giving yourself a chance to win immediately and an additional chance to win when your opponent calls.
This applies to semi-bluffing. For example, you call a raise on the button with matching connectors and find a flop with a straight draw and a flush draw for a total of 15 outs. Your opponent makes a bet. Many players simply call here to see if the turn will give them one of the outs to complete a straight or flush. In most cases this is an error.
If your opponent made a continuation bet with a bad hand, it is unlikely that he will continue to act after you pay off his continuation bet. If you don’t get any of your outs on the turn and your opponent has a decent hand, he will likely charge you more to see the river by offering negative odds. In most cases (depending on stack size and pot size), it is best to overraise the flop. If you go all-in, you will be able to make better hands (hands made with stacks higher than you) and when you get paid, you will still have 15 outs (about 55% chance) to win on the turn and river.
We will tell you about two more methods a little later!
