Poker is a strategy game that has been changing over time. Statistics show that aggressive players are, in principle, those who generally have more opportunities to win . The one who risks, with bluffs or certainties, usually has the advantage over conservative poker bettors.
This has meant that poker lessons have turned more towards this trend and more experienced players have focused on following this path: an aggressive style is important if you want to be a winning poker player . However, this does not mean that all users incorporate it in the same way.
There are types of poker players who have a hard time changing their style of play and becoming predictable is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made in this highly competitive world. This happens when the player does not understand how to change gear, or when to choose another path. If you know how to use observation skills, you can take advantage of this predictability to identify patterns and make smart decisions.
Therefore, we are going to bring you the best way to face aggressive players and know how to identify their weak points in order to visualize the moments in which you can take advantage of the opportunities that may arise during the different periods of a poker game.
Know how to identify the types of aggressive players
In the Anglo-Saxon poker dictionary, three types of aggressive players are identified with whom one can find in a game, which are the following:
- Tight-Aggressive (TAG)
- Loose-Aggressive (LAG)
- Loose Aggressive/Passive
By now you should be pretty familiar with the classic definitions of the first two, but the truth is that the loose aggressive/passive type of player is a rare and difficult breed to interpret . These bettors raise many hands before the flop, but often give up on the flop or turn. These are usually former TAGs or LAGs trying to experiment with a looser game, but don’t feel comfortable committing to their aggressiveness.
These definitions are a good starting point, although poker players cannot be pigeonholed into clearly defined categories . Using your observational skills, you need to understand how they are behaving at each moment and with each hand they are playing, coupled with the degree of aggressiveness they are showing in their play. This will help formulate effective strategies to use against them, which is the whole point of this poker guide.
Identify the range we are facing
The first step you should take when playing against an aggressive player is to define his hand range . If your opponent is a so-called tight-aggressive player, he’s the type of player that whenever he plays it’s because he has a big hand. He is easy to identify because, on average, he is someone who plays 10-15% of the time. Therefore, you should be especially careful against this type of player .
On the other hand, a loose-aggressive player is the type who is going to play a large number of hands and is capable of doing so from any position, but is capable of giving up when he perceives that his opponent is in a better position. However, this type of player tends to bet on most flops and bluffs a high percentage of the time. In this case it’s not just about the range of hands a player plays, but how aggressive his hands play. So, it is time to act as hunters in order to detect the right point where you can detect a misstep and take advantage of this situation.
Aggressiveness: knowing how to detect moments
It is critical for any player to figure out the difference between someone who plays aggressively with value hands and someone who plays aggressively with bluff hands . An analysis, by the way, that varies if you play in person or in your favorite online poker room .
There is a huge variance between someone who raises preflop from late position and bets the continuation 100% of the time, but then gives up on the turn, and someone who is able to triple bluff to the river with air. complete. Knowing this will be key, since both will make a substantial difference for you to face your hands and resolve the round in the most successful way possible.
Types of aggressive poker players according to their performance
Next, we are going to identify the types of aggressive poker players according to the actions they take . We have divided them into three main types of aggressive bettors, which are the following:
boat robbers
Boat robbers are aggressive, but they are also somewhat passive. That is, they hit the pot and then give up . They may still bet 100% of the time, but they only bet the turn when they actually have a hand of some power. These are users you want to get into the pots with and play the position against them. Fighting them is usually very profitable , as you should be able to reap some nice dividends in your H2H clashes.
solid players
Solid players know when to apply pressure and they know when to put the brakes on . They are winning players and usually the ones you wouldn’t want to play against. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid playing pots with them every time, but if you’re in a marginal position, playing them for fun isn’t the smartest thing to do in the vast majority of cases.
extreme aggressive
Extreme Aggressive Players are the kind of opponents that take aggressiveness to a whole other level , as they are often unrestrained in their actions. They are not necessarily bad players, and they can even become dangerous when the cards come their way. But they are always challenging as they will constantly try to test you and tend to build big pots in the face of excessive liabilities or people playing scared. However, as soon as you can find a clear hand or get a really good read on them, you can win some serious money playing real money poker against them.
Strategies: the best way to deal with an aggressive player
After reviewing the different types of aggressive players that a user will encounter at the poker tables, it is time to discuss some of the effective strategies that can be used against them at any point in the game.
let them bet
If they are aggressive players, it is often effective to let them take the lead in betting if you have a powerful hand . Why try to get them out of their pattern of play when we know we’re superior? It allows them to bluff and keep putting chips on the table and increasing the pot. If the cards are in your favor, at some point you will be in a position to put them on the ropes.
feign weakness
An important question to ask yourself when facing these types of players is this: how would I play this round if I didn’t have a good hand? From this question you are presented with different scenarios, which may include betting a small amount or checking certain points to induce a bluff. You can even check the river with a monster hand because you know they can’t win without a big bet. It depends on the situation of the hand, but as long as you can fake weakness against someone who is going to bet big, it will generally be profitable .
open value range
Finally, we need to talk about opening up the value range, which is the opposite of the old advice to “be patient and wait for a big hand so you can outplay your opponents”. When playing against an aggressive player, you can’t be passive for long periods of time, because at some point they will know you have a big hand, since you have been waiting for it for many rounds.
So depending on the situation, opening up a value range against some aggressive players is the way to go . This, in any case, depends on who you are playing against. Hands like Ace-Jack offsuit, King-Queen, King-Jack, have a very high value against a loose-aggressive player, but are very weak when facing a more conservative opponent.
