Whats it take?

I've been playing poker maybe about a year now,I'll get right to the point ,I know when to fold them, when to holdem, I do pretty good for myself, I'm no longer playing losing poker for the most part lol, I just want to learn how or what I need to do to be a more aggressive player, you know the guy that has the biggest stack at the table and his stack keeps getting bigger because he raises and nobody calls, right now I just sit back and wait for a good hand and take a good chunk of his stack if I can get him to bite, and if I do get a decent hand, one(that hits) I've tried playing this way but I seem to get called ,I'll do this if I have at least an A or pocket cards, just seems they suckout on the river or have a higher kicker then me what I'm trying to say, just seems my like my timing is off, how do I learn to get the right timing, I've tried doing this only in middle to late position, even in early position to get the blinds, I've learned to be patient,steal a pot every now an then,play a hand to make it seem like I'm not sure if I can win, just can't seem to get to the next level any body been there want to share some tips will be greatly appreciated!!!

Lol @ knowing when to hold them and when to fold them. After that sentence, I was 90% sure you weren't that great at poker, or 10% this was a level.

You've been playing for a year and you say holdem and foldem? You have no idea wht is behind winning poker. Read these, all of these and then come back.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...re-t36037.html

Lol at stacks beating me to it.

What does it take?
Blood, Sweat and Tears climbing a mountain that gets higher everday. You may even find that you gave all of yourself to the mountain but it still rose faster than you could climb and you wake up one morning to find you're right back at the bottom.
But *uck you mountain, I'm stronger than when I started, so this time I'm going to beat you and take a big fat *hit all over your summit when I do.
Good luck

Get your hands on a monster.

Aggression isn't a simple, singular topic. Instead, it has multiple facets and factors, which means effectively ramping it up tends to be quite a bit more complicated than just doing A, B and C at pre-specified times.

For example, it's not uncommon to equate getting more aggressive to playing more hands. In many cases, getting more aggressive does involve playing more hands, but not necessarily so. It may be that you're playing enough hands, but in a manner that's generally weak and passive. That would probably mean you're not raising enough, not value betting enough, and not continuation betting enough.

One thing you can do to help raise your aggression is to look for situations where a reasonable aggressive option is available, but you normally don't pick it, and start picking it.

Originally Posted by MAXX101

I just want to learn how or what I need to do to be a more aggressive player,

A few things that by default will allow your aggression to make sense:

limp less, call less, raise more pre-flop
play in position more
play draws aggressively sometimes
cbet more
fold more
don't play weak hands from EP
put opponents on ranges. Figure out how the flop connects with their range. Figure out what type of aggression makes sense

note that aggressive players fold more often.

jyms, yea I looked at some of your videos things u said there diff can help my poker game, stacks if its only 10% I'd call lol,cuz u got to know when to holdem and when to foldem, noble I like your song better lol!!!arjonius u hit it on the button ur right I'm not picking and pushing enough I'll have to get in some freerolls and I will be thinking about what u said daven thanks I figured i'm not one that likes to take chances I prefer the sure bet so I'll push an fold a little more, just seemed to me I got to a point in my game where I was confident enough of my skills and I got to this level that I was winning I mean my br,s tells me this I can see the mistakes other players are making and I can take advantage of this I've gotten to a point that I know that if I think and play my game I can make a final table,I'm not winning them just seemed like I need that little bit of aggression to get there thanks guy's

Originally Posted by XxStacksxX

Lol @ knowing when to hold them and when to fold them. After that sentence, I was 90% sure you weren't that great at poker, or 10% this was a level.

I think its not right that Maxx has come to this forum for help, and then gets comments like these. I'm not trying to stir up anything with anyone, but ive been seeing this a lot lately and it probably discourages new players to post here again.

Anyway.

Maxx, Im relatively new to the game as well and Im sure there are better players who can give you some very helpful advice on agression how/when to use it. I will tell you though, that there is a ton of articles on strategy and concepts of the game found on this site. My advice to you would be to read these and re read them. Study them, whatever. Just get yourself familiar with some of the things you should be considering before making a decision at the table.

You said you have been using the videos, thats good keep doing that. Above all else just play A LOT. Learn from your time at the tables. Its going to take hours upon hours upon hours of actually playing before you finnaly start to "get" it. I set a goal for myself and I play at least 3k hands a day and I cannot tell you how much improvement I am seeing in my game. Maybe you can set some sort of goal for yourself that is in line with your daily schedule. Reading, and away from the table study is good and a must, but in my opinion nothing beats real time spent at the tables.

Just keep at it man, best of luck to you.

Cleanup, THANKS for watching my back man!!!! I've been to a few forums, you'll always get somebody who thinks they can put 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag, what I'm saying is I don't take them very seriously, just like the game u got to just let it roll off, but thanks bud your on my A list looking forward to seeing u at the tables!!!

tough love i'm afraid. Appreciate that you will have to put in a lot of hard work and will make money from the advice you are being given free. Prove that you are here to learn and you will be treated differently.Consider it a weeding out process, if you are sensitive to criticism whats the point in advising you if you think you know better , don't have the strength of mind to admit that you are wrong or are reluctant to change yourself .

I was having the same problems you are and I decided to get aggressive. Well.... I had a couple winning sessions and then the Poker Gods smacked me a good one on the side of my head.
It seemed that I had forgotten the basic plays. I started getting a few 100.00 ahead and went brain dead. I became like all the other manics I had watched over the years. I raised OOP, chased flushes and straights etc. Well now I am happy to say I am back on track. In my case I think it was a little bit of being too greedy....I was never on tilt. Sometimes someone else can see the leaks in your game that you never will. In my case it happened at a local casino on a crowded night when they only had two open seats and since my wife and I both play 1/3NL we sat next to each other requesting the first move.
Well I had not been doing that well (she was winning) when I got QQ (forgot my position) and I quickly raised 3x BB. pre flop. I was called and the flop came A.9.5 rainbow. The turn was a 9 and with my QQ-99 I quickly bet 30.00 was called. On the river I had about 50.00 left and I shoved all in and was immediately called. He had A -5 qiving him AA-99. On the way home as my wife counted her winnings she turned to me and asked" Did you not see the Ace on the flop."
That was two weeks ago and that sobering moment woke me up. I am back to playing solid poker and starting to win again. Its like a 12 step program (I think there should be one for Poker)
You look at that A-2os in EP and think "this is a good hand" and you limp in only to find that three positions later you have to play for 12.00 to 15.00 Maybe you call and the flop is J,10,Q. Now your really trapped "All I need is a K." Three raises later you think I got to get away from this hand.
Nothing makes you a winner like good solid poter. Position, pot odds outs and reading your opponent hands.
I was on another forum but all they wanted to do was impess you with how cute they could be and correct grammer and spelling.

Originally Posted by stinger

I was on another forum but all they wanted to do was impess you with how cute they could be and correct grammer and spelling.

You mean imPress you with how cute they could be and correct grammAR.

Originally Posted by MAXX101

I've been playing poker maybe about a year now,I'll get right to the point ,I know when to fold them, when to holdem

There is a lot more to poker than this. You also need to know when to walk away and know when to run. Never count your money when you're sitting at the table.

I must learn to proofread. (I guess I will find out if thats one word on the next reply)

Originally Posted by BooG690

Originally Posted by stinger

I was on another forum but all they wanted to do was impess you with how cute they could be and correct grammer and spelling.

You mean imPress you with how cute they could be and correct grammAR.

Originally Posted by MAXX101

I've been playing poker maybe about a year now,I'll get right to the point ,I know when to fold them, when to holdem

There is a lot more to poker than this. You also need to know when to walk away and know when to run. Never count your money when you're sitting at the table.

Classic......absolutely classic.

Originally Posted by cleanup.that

Originally Posted by XxStacksxX

Lol @ knowing when to hold them and when to fold them. After that sentence, I was 90% sure you weren't that great at poker, or 10% this was a level.

I think its not right that Maxx has come to this forum for help, and then gets comments like these. I'm not trying to stir up anything with anyone, but ive been seeing this a lot lately and it probably discourages new players to post here again.

Gotta break 'em down before you build 'em back up imo. Works for the military.

Stinger, lol I know what u mean, last night I played in the ftr freeroll, man I got on a roll, I had 8000 chips 45 min into the tourny, then today, I played in the ofc, man, I got shut down, kinda felt like they all knew what I was doing, lol, yep just got ahead of myself, yea good old basic poker is your best bet, but I'm still gonna pick my shots and takem , cuz u know how the song goes You Got To Know When To Holdem Know When To Foldem didn't think this song would be so popular on this site lmao, think I'll use it as my signature, lol

In my opinion, it sounds like you're willing to bet...but not raise! If your going in with a reasonable expectation of winning, you have to learn which hands you can raise on ....not just call ! Just calling gives the other bettor a chance to see one more card...make him/her pay for it!

yep olddog, your right about me, I'm a very patient player it doesn't bother me to fold 90% of my hands, but when I do hook one I like to real them in for the most profit possible, which sometimes gets me in trouble, yea gives them extra cards to look at, but I want to learn to play more aggressively, I seem to get the hang of it for a game or two then it just goes to pots I'm trying to get into more hands, trying to push, raising more preflop ,making more continuation bets, just seems more hit or miss poker , but it seems I need to understand this to get me to the next level, right now I try to bet enough to keep them from folding trying to increase the pot I'm not sayin this is my golden rule just most of the time,but I can see that right now my game needs to get a little bit more aggressive,by all means the game I play now is winning more then losing, just feel like its time to take the next step, I can see that

Just betting enough to keep them in (called a value bet) can and will work most of the time ...but if you bet big, they may think you're trying to "steal the pot"....they just might not believe you and call ...that's when your chip stack can be improved greatly!

I know my main goal is to get them pot committed, slowly,so by the river if I'm still sure my odds are good, I'll try to push them in, I mean if I can get them to commit half to two thirds of their stacks they generally push allin or fold, which is good for me, playing this way is generally a slow grind and gets me to the final table sometimes, but then I'm usually in the middle to lower end of the stacks at the table, but if I get lucky get and hit some good cards, I've actually won some mtt's, but I've noticed if I'm playing good at mtt's, I play really bad at ring games and vice a versa,if I'm playing good at ring games,so I try to stick with one at a time, not the same animal I've learned, haven't figured out why just seems to happen to me, funny this game seems once you learn something and you get comfortable with it and your winning, you realize there's more to learn!you just start seeing more and more of the game, but when you try to do it you screw it all up lol

Wow, the poker advice in this thread is pretty atrocious. I don't even know where to start correcting it all.

I will be eturnally hummbled by your acient wisdom of poker oh great one stacks, enlighten me, but I am just a lowly grasshopper, because if u do I will somday be able to snacth pebble from your palm, come on stacks I'm here, talk to me dude, I'm on the level,don't get cocky, seriously let me know what you know about how I can improve my game, you've read some of my post so you got somewhat of a picture of where I am in my game, I mean you were in my shoe's at one point in time, bring it on man!

don't listen to people who don't know what they're talking about (except for me), post some hands, win money.

Aggression for the sake of being aggressive is worthless. That guy betting and raising all the time and building a stack? Often that guy is a losing player having a good session. You need to be asking WHEN to be aggressive, and when to be passive. Often its about reads and adjusting to other players.

Please don't give up on this forum Stacks

Originally Posted by XxStacksxX

Wow, the poker advice in this thread is pretty atrocious. I don't even know where to start correcting it all.

vs

Originally Posted by daven

A few things that by default will allow your aggression to make sense:

limp less, call less, raise more pre-flop
play in position more
play draws aggressively sometimes
cbet more
fold more
don't play weak hands from EP
put opponents on ranges. Figure out how the flop connects with their range. Figure out what type of aggression makes sense

note that aggressive players fold more often.

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ps. thread is lock-worthy cos the content is pretty much a waste-of-space