It is one thing to chase a draw, but it is another to call down anyway. When going after a draw, players often find that they catch a piece of the board. In an effort to win a consolation prize of sorts, players sometimes try to make bad calls in order to win the pot.
It can certainly be frustrating to miss draws, but the losses are only going to compound if you make a bad call top off a missed draw. This is a situation where it is better to cut your losses than chase your losses. Most of the time it is easy to fold a hand like bottom or middle pair, but when you miss a draw it can be very tempting to call in hopes of taking down the pot.
When players call with weak hands after missing a draw, it usually isn’t because they think they have the best hand. Instead they just don’t want to concede defeat and move onto the next pot. You lost the hand, there is nothing you can do about it. Sure, you might make some bad calls and be right from time to time, but you won’t be right often enough to turn a profit. Once you consider making a very light call after bricking on your draw, think about why you are still in the hand. You are probably only still in the hand because you had hoped to hit your draw. You gave it a run, you missed, now get out.
Tight aggressive play has been endorsed by many online poker players. Prior to the advent of online poker, a tight aggressive strategy was somewhat rare. There were certainly a lot of tight players, there were also a lot of aggressive players, but few players successfully combined the two approaches. Online poker has helped to create a never ending stream of tight aggressive players.
A tight aggressive strategy is great whether multi tabling or playing just one table at time. In addition to online poker, tight aggressive play works well in a live environment. Many players have a tough time adjusting to a tight aggressive player. It is no coincidence that younger players have run over games that were traditionally won by older players. Tight aggressive play is often confused with tight play. There are some defined differences, though, that separate the two playing styles.
Tight Aggressive Play vs. Tight Play
Your odds of making money are much greater if you play tight aggressive than if you play tight. Tight players tend to be much too passive to make any money. A tight player’s strategy is very simple. All that they do is wait around for very good hands. There isn’t much more to a tight player’s strategy.
Stealing and continuation betting are both fundamental plays in Texas Hold’em. Most players understand the function of a pre flop steal, and they also know how they should handle the flop.
When making a pre flop steal attempt, you are often going to brick the flop. Your hand will be practically useless at this point, so your goal is to determine how you can take down the pot. Since you have no showdown value, checking down the hand wouldn’t do you much good. Sometimes, though, you are going to flop a solid hand when you make a pre flop steal.
Slow playing is acceptable on occasion, but a flop bet can also be very effective. Players, especially in small and medium stakes games, know that other players are going to make continuation bets. If you play as they expect, it will be easy to exploit their counter moves. In the hand below you will see a situation where we attempt a pre flop steal, hit the flop, and then exploit our opponent.
It is a great feeling when you make a big hand on the flop. It feels even better when your hand improves on the turn. But how does it feel when the river puts out a flush and a straight? What about when your opponent shoves their entire stack in the middle? At one point in the hand you were probably filled with elation, but by the end you are dazed and confused.
These are some of the windy roads that you will encounter as a poker player. It isn’t dodging the situation that is important, it is taking the detour that will really allow you to evade trouble. You can’t help it when the river brings an unfortunate card, but you can save yourself some money by making a good fold. Good folds are often going to be just as profitable as good calls. Poker players don’t equate folds to making money, but isn’t a penny saved a penny earned?
Poker is a competition where players look to move up in the ranks. In video games you go on to the next level, but in poker, players move up in limits. The difference between a video game and poker should be clear. With each level that you move up in poker, more money will be at risk. This just can’t be said for a video game player, unless of course the player is betting on their success. Even though video games and poker are very different, they still have many similarities.
Many great video game players have made the transition over to poker and have experienced great success. You must maintain the same composure that you had at your prior level when you make the leap into a new limit. A 100NL player will get destroyed by 200NL players if they decide to play weak and passive. A strong aggressive approach is almost always going to pay more dividends than a scared approach. If you ever heard the phrase “scared money doesn’t make money,” now is the time that you can apply it. There are many players who get scared when they move up in limits, but this can only be detrimental for you both mentally and financially.
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