Not-So-Conventional Wisdom

Conventional wisdom states that in order to be a world-class player, you need to play aggressively. While I generally agree that aggression is a force to be reckoned with at the poker table, there are many situations in which a trapping, passive approach is the best strategy for taking down the money.

The new $40-$80 limit hold'em game at The Venetian contains several regulars who are in-your-face aggressive at the table, constantly pounding on the pots with marginal hands like suited connectors, and in some cases, with less than marginal hands such as 9-8 offsuit. While their hand selection is too loose and they often find themselves making the second-best hand because of their likelihood to be facing superior starting hands, there is a method to their madness that somewhat counters that weakness and adds value to their game, although maybe not enough to make them top producers.

When facing weak and intimidated opponents, overaggressive players tend to pick up the pots in which nobody makes a hand. That can add up to serious dough at the end of the year. Also, those aggressive players who have good recall and hand-reading skills tend to be able to read their opponents better than they themselves can be read. This creates additional value for aggressive players, enabling them to bluff in more correct situations and pick up extra bets when they do make a hand.

This is in large part due to the fact that the aggressive player's range of potential hands and plays is so great that it is difficult for even a great hand reader to narrow them down. When facing opponents who make such plays, one needs to utilize a different strategy. Getting into wars of aggression with such players puts you in some tough-to-play circumstances in which you don't have a clue where you are, causing you to make incorrect decisions. If you sit back and play dead-solid poker against the good hand-reading, aggressive player, he will notice your style and shut down action to you.

So, how do you take advantage of the weaknesses of your opponent's overaggressive style of play? Several poker concepts are applicable in such circumstances. You can sit directly behind them and isolate them with strong hands. Taking the best hand and best position against such an opponent should get you his chips.

Another effective method is to play your hands meekly, either by calling in front of aggressive players with marginal raising hands (by this I mean hands that are borderline to raise, not a borderline to play) or by just calling their raises behind them even if you think your hand is superior to theirs. By playing your hand in this manner, you are inviting other players to call the aggressive player in an effort to create a volume pot, thereby making the pot more likely to be won by a hand rather than by a bet/bluff. That takes much value away from the aggressive player, eliminating the value of the pots he would win with a bet(s) when no hand was made. In short, you reduce the value of his bluffs and, if he has any card sense, his propensity to bluff, significantly impairing his general strategy. When responding to an overly aggressive player in this way, other opponents' hands will be easier to define, making your decisions clearer and more correct. It also enables you to transform the aggressive player into a check-raise station (if he is on your left) or an isolation station (if he is on your right).

By utilizing the aggressive player as a check-raise station, you will get good value out of your good hands when he bets and traps players between him and you. When the aggressive player's on your right, utilizing the isolation play with hands that are easily drawn out on can either get you heads up with the aggressive player (hopefully with a superior hand) or put serious pressure on the rest of the field to continue play of the hand. Remember that aware players will notice your isolation plays, and give your raises of the aggressor less respect than they might otherwise.

For example, suppose you are playing $40-$80 limit hold'em and are to the aggressive player's right. You're in middle position with K-Q offsuit, not a hand with which you are generally comfortable calling preflop raises, and the aggressive player raises an early limper. He could have a legitimate raising hand - after all, wild men and assorted others pick up their share of big hands - but he is not likely to. You just don't know.

You flat-call, letting in several players behind you. You would rather not have quite so many opponents, but you also don't want to put in three bets with a hand you must improve to get to the river against an opponent who is going to maintain pressure on the situation. The flop comes K-9-4 rainbow, the aggressive player leads into you, and you raise, making it two bets to players behind you, who also must face the risk of the aggressive player reraising, making it a tough call on their part. Only one player, the button, calls, and the three of you go to the river. You bet, the button calls, and you show down your K-Q, beating his K-J. The preflop call created the ability to make it two bets to the field, and also likely let in a player from whom you got action who had an inferior hand. Of course, you must understand that sometimes you will get action from hands that end up beating you; it is part of the price of this strategy. But overall, it should win you more chips than it costs you.

In another example, the positions of yourself and the aggressive player are the same. You hold A-Q offsuit, and once again the aggressive player raises an up-front limper. This time you have a hand that can win without improving, and the correct play is to reraise with the intent of blowing out players behind you and possibly folding the up-front limper, creating a heads-up situation for yourself, most likely with the best hand, with position. Because the aggressive player has not seen you constantly three-betting him, he senses that you have a very strong hand, very possibly a high wired pair, and is less likely to play back at you without a hand. All the other players at the table fold, and the limper and the aggressive player call. The flop comes 7-5-2 with two hearts. They both check to you, you bet, the limper folds, and the aggressive player calls. He checks the turn, you bet, and he folds. You protected the best hand and, as in the previous example, lowered the aggressive player's propensity to play back at you.

Conceptually, in poker you need to adjust your play to your opponent's style, ability, and thinking. You need to play beyond the conventional wisdom. Nonstandard situations deserve nonstandard responses. These adjustments need to be made at the table in the heat of battle, based on your opponents' styles. Take the time to develop a plan and actualize it. Do it effectively and you are on your way to becoming a world-class player.

Roy Cooke has played winning professional poker since 1972. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. His books are available at www.conjelco.com/cooke. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a freelance writer in South Florida.