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when should i be aggressive?

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  1. #1

    Default when should i be aggressive?

    Hi, this is my first post.

    I have a kamakazi playing style so I feel that I need to control my hyper aggression. what exactly does it mean to be aggressive and at what time I should be aggressive? Does being aggressive mean going all in if I get a reraise like a AKs for an example?

    your thought would be appreciated. Thanks
  2. #2
    BankItDrew's Avatar
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    On instance where you should be aggressive is when you think your hand is weaker than your oppenents and suspect that they will fold their better hand to aggression.

    Other chances occur when you have a big hand and feel that your opponents will call with aggression. Basically, be aggressive to semi-bluff.. and to maximize chips on big hands.

    Try to be more aggressive when in position compared to when you are out of position as well.

    Also, you can increase your aggressiveness when you have a larger stack than your opponent(s).
  3. #3
    Thanks for the reply, but I dont completely understand what you are trying to say so bare with me.

    "On instance where you should be aggressive is when you think your hand is weaker than your oppenents and suspect that they will fold their better hand to aggression. "

    Shouldn't you be aggressive even if it is a strong hand or not? I thought being tight aggressive means that you would go strong or just fold right?

    "Other chances occur when you have a big hand and feel that your opponents will call with aggression. Basically, be aggressive to semi-bluff.. and to maximize chips on big hands. "

    My next queston: insnt the purpose of betting aggressively is to make the opponent fold if your bluffing and/or making your pot size bigger?

    I am kinda confused because it seems to me that what you are trying to say is you bet aggressively to bluff. right?
    Again thanks in advance for the advice.
  4. #4
    Greedo017's Avatar
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    purpose #1 of betting aggressively is to make your opponent put a lot of money into the pot so you can win it.

    purpose #2 is to make people who are drawing pay a lot.

    purpose #3 is to get people to fold marginal hands to your marginal hand. like continuation bets, or similar situations.

    At low limits, the far and away primary time to be aggressive is when you have the best hand. People don't like to fold much, and you aren't going to be bluffing anyone. When you say you are hyper aggressive, it sounds to me more like you're a maniac. Step 1 for you: play tight. Step 2: don't bluff. Step 3: post hands for people to evaluate.
    i betcha that i got something you ain't got, that's called courage, it don't come from no liquor bottle, it ain't scotch
  5. #5
    You should be aggressive when you think you've got the best hand. You're doing this for 2 reasons
    1) To make money
    2) To protect your hand agaisnst draws. ( If you aren't worried about draws, like if you have a full-house and someone might be drawing to a flush, then you can slow-play, but other than that, don't slow-play.)

    If you're being aggressive when you think you have the best hand, and getting callers, then great. If people are consistently folding, then you need to open-up a bit. This will disguise the times that you're betting with the best hand, and even if you get called, you're not in terrible shape. I wouldn't exactly call it bluffing, but be aggressive sometimes when you've got a good-but-not-great hand, and sometimes when you're drawing to a flush or a straight. That's called a semi-bluff. You'll have enough chances to bet when you've got a great hand, and good-but-not-great, and a semi-bluff, that I wouldn't worry about much else yet.

    For me, being aggressive means
    1) Preflop, betting 4xbb plus 1 for each limper.
    2) Postflop, betting between 60% and 100% of the flop, depending on situations.
    3) Only calling bets when I'm getting good odds. Other-wise raise or get out of the hand.

    Someone mentioned above about betting when you're behind, in order to get your opponent to fold. At lower limits, a lot of people won't fold if they have a decent hand, so betting with the hope that you're opponent will fold can be dangerous. Focus first on extracting value when you're ahead, and if you're getting lots of folds, then start thinking about making money when you're behind.

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