Originally Posted by FlyingSaucerAttack

Hey all.
First off, I guess I never said this before.... Ive been reading a whole crap load on FTR lately and posting some too, but man, the stuff some of you post is incredible, and thanks for so much of your advice and information, and thanks to everyone who reads this rambling despite the fact that you have nothing really to gain.

Primarily, I am looking to improve my aggression and need examples of how to play in borderline situations. Feel free to read the whole post. If you do, thanks!


As background, I still think I am somewhat of a novice, or maybe a slight step up. I've got a decent handle on just about all of the concepts but still make a lot of betting mistakes and therefore get outdrawn often, etc. I feel I've got the right personal qualities (patience, discipline, focus, etc) to succeed, but need a lot more practice and learning through other peoples examples to take my skill to the next level.

Here's my problem. I realize that I am probably a bit too much of a rock, and I don't know how to break out of it, because I am being moderately successful. Ripptyde's posts are absolutely inspiring, because he usually is talking about SnG's, which is what I play almost exclusively. I play low buy in Sng's, where I think being a rock can often be easy to beat. A lot of folks in these games dont pick up on the fact that I am a rock, so it is easy to take down the pots when I actually hit something.

This leaves a gaping hole in my post flop play - either I
1. hit something pretty nice on the flop and take down a big pot
2. hit something moderate and usually end up folding to any decent aggression, or
3. don't hit anything and fold.

The problem is that 2 and 3 happen 90% of the time, and so the remaining 10% of the time in the "1" category, sometimes I don't take down a big enough pot to make up for the cost to see the flop on the other 90%.

I have recently started picking up on the fact that most TAggy players in SnG's are far too tight in the first few orbits, and i can pick off some decent pots early on, and then slump back into my usual rock mode until I'm ITM. The problem is that, while this is succesful, I don't see it taking me to the next level. I need to learn to roll with the big boys. I need to know how/when to bet into flops where I only have mid pair and a somewhat plausible read that no one has the top pair.

I guess I am looking for examples of how to play aggressively in borderline situations. I don't think I've seen enough examples of how a good taggy player would go about feeling out other players. I am in my own world, and it is moderately satisfying, but am feeling the need to really change up my style. any advice is appreciated!! I hope this isn't too vague, because I really need specific examples, and haven't found enough to learn on the other posts.

Thanks!
FSA

P.S. In case you are curious, here are my placement numbers from my 337 SnG's. Is this typical "rock" looking?:
10th: 12
9th: 15
8th: 23
7th: 19
6th: 36
5th: 40
4th: 40
3rd: 59
2nd: 54
1st: 36

This puts me at about 45% itm, and about $600 profit for the past 6 months of playing $5 and $10 SnGs. I've averaged about 2 games per day. The problem is I just blew a third of my winnings on dumb ass ring games recently.

Originally Posted by FlyingSaucerAttack

This puts me at about 45% itm, and about $600 profit for the past 6 months of playing $5 and $10 SnGs. I've averaged about 2 games per day. The problem is I just blew a third of my winnings on dumb ass ring games recently.

Originally Posted by Triptanes

6 max NL is where it is at though.

Originally Posted by FlyingSaucerAttack

P.S. In case you are curious, here are my placement numbers from my 337 SnG's. Is this typical "rock" looking?:
10th: 12
9th: 15
8th: 23
7th: 19
6th: 36
5th: 40
4th: 40
3rd: 59
2nd: 54
1st: 36

Originally Posted by Triptanes

At PP or Empire most players do not know what table image is, how to recognize it, or how to spell it. This allows you to play like a rock, and when you hit a big hand and you are check raising they will continue to call you with the second best hand (or worse ). I do not know why you would want to change your game and make it more agressive, 45% ITM is phenomenal.