February 23, 2008

Texas Holdem Tip #4 - Winning Players Are Aggressive

A single hand of texas holdem may be won in only two ways: you either have the best cards or you get everyone else to fold. Today we are going to explore getting other players to fold.

Here is the important, but simple truth. You fold when you *believe* that the odds of winning do not justify the bet required or if you are uncomfortable betting “that much” on this hand. Generally speaking, poker players tend to equate the size of the bet with the strength of the hand. Consider what happens when you are sitting with a moderate hand and an opponent places a sizable bet. Most poker players think that their opponent has a better hand and will conclude that it is better to fold.

Now, lets simplify this even further. Assume that two players will ONLY play the top 50 texas holdem hands. Since they are playing the same pool of hands, when they are heads up each player has a 50% chance of winning if they both play to the showdown. But, if Player A is more aggressive in betting and Player B folds a little bit more often as a result then Player A will win more than 50% of the pots.

This is why aggressive betting works. It makes opponents fold because they believe that we have better cards or the bet puts them outside of their comfort zone. We systematically increase our odds of winning as more opponents fold.

Now there are some things that will limit the effectiveness of aggressive betting. First, if you get caught betting a weak hand aggressively, opponents will think you are bluffing and stop folding when playing against you. Second, if you play too many hands, opponents will think you are just aggressive with *any* cards. They will call you with strong hand which is something that will cost you a lot of chips. Third, if you tend to back down when facing another aggressive player your bet is wasted.

So, how should we apply this texas holdem tip to our next game? Base your level of aggression on your opponents style of play. If they are timid, be aggressive with a lot of hands. You will pick up a lot of pots uncontested. If you have a number of aggressive players, be tight-aggressive. Since other players will match your aggression you need to play top hands aggressively to eliminate them and sit out the rest when the odds are not in our favor.

Remember, timid players donate their chips to smart aggressive players. See you at the tables …