Aggression on the River

Aggression plays an important part in winning poker. However, deciding exactly when and how to become aggressive is not an easy task. One of the themes that develops late in my book, Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, is that the most likely position for the aggressor changes between the turn and the river. On the first three streets, the player who's last to act can benefit the most from an aggressive posture. On the river, it is the out-of-position player.

Let's analyze the reasons. Before the flop, if you are in late position, aggression can significantly help your cause. Not only can you see the action coming and respond to it, you can play hands from the last three spots in a full game that you never should play from up front. More importantly, you can raise with a large variety of hands to vary your play, isolate players, take control, build pots, eliminate players yet to act, or put pressure on the blinds. Most of these tools are not available to early-position players.

On the flop, you have a green light for aggression from late position. If everyone checks to you, you can bet, trying to win the pot immediately. If someone bets, you can raise for value, to eliminate players yet to act, or to try to get a free card. It is quite difficult for early-position players to counter these plays, which is what makes them so powerful.

On the turn, you can subject early-position players to a blistering variety of raises. As an in-position player, you can raise as a bluff or semibluff, planning to take a free showdown without improving, or, of course, when you have a monster hand.

Pivot on the river: On the river, however, all of this seems to change. I am not saying the late-position player does not have an advantage; of course, he still does. But, if you are the out-of-position player, the option for aggression still falls on you, for the following reasons:

• You no longer can make up ground on later streets.
• Your opponent can end the hand, being reluctant to reopen the betting.

You no longer can make up ground on later streets: If your opponent raises the flop and checks the turn, you still get another chance to bet. Sure, you may have lost half a bet, but you still can gain a big bet later. Notice that this is another time that you will be the aggressor from out of position.

If your in-position opponent raises the turn and then takes a free showdown, you may believe that you should have done more, but you still win two big bets (assuming that you have the best hand). This breaks even, with you betting twice and getting called twice, so you lose nothing but the opportunity to make even more.

But if you check the river, you may never get another chance. This puts pressure on you to get a bet in if you believe that you still may have the best of it.

Your opponent can end the hand, being reluctant to reopen the betting. Many in-position players believe that they need a very good hand to bet the river. I am an advocate of value-betting here, but I also face more check-raises than most people would be comfortable with. Even aggressive players may find reasons to check the river. They may fear the river card, have a lesser hand than they had represented, or just get cold feet.

The point is that you cannot assume they will bet your hand for you, or that you will get to check-raise them. Not only do they not like the discomfort that comes from being check-raised on the river, they feel foolish that they allowed it to happen when they could have prevented the whole mess by checking the hand down. Betting your hand when out of position is often the best option.

Hands to bet on the river: Assuming that you accept the idea that you should be more aggressive from out of position after the cards are out, what types of situations should you bet? Here is a partial list:

• You make your hand.
• A scare card comes that does not help you, but you think your hand may be the best anyway.
• You would call a bet, and your opponent is passive.

You make your hand: Here is a situation in which many players check, planning to check-raise. I think you should usually bet. You called on the earlier streets, hoping to make your hand, and now you did. Bet. It serves several purposes:

1. It guarantees that you will make at least one bet, or your opponent will fold and never know if you were bluffing.
2. You may win more bets from a skeptical opponent who holds a big hand himself and will raise with the second-best hand.
3. You build credibility later in the session (or year) when you do bluff, having established a reputation as a player who bets when he has it.
4. You never give your opponent the satisfaction of outplaying you simply by checking the river.

Of course, there are exceptions. The more well-hidden your hand is, and the more aggressive and value-oriented your opponent is, the more likely it is that you can check-raise successfully. But you need to be quite sure of both parameters before you risk missing your river bet entirely.

A scare card comes that does not help you, but you think your hand may be the best anyway: The problem with a scare card is that even if it misses you, it may frighten your opponent into checking. If you are going to collect a river bet, you will need to get your money in now. Recognize that rarely will an opponent raise you unless that scare card made his hand, as he has to fear that you made the hand that you are representing. Against most players, you can safely fold if raised in this situation.

You would call a bet, and your opponent is passive: Passive opponents have several characteristics that tend to reward your betting: They often check; they rarely bluff, so you can't induce one by checking; and they almost never raise without the nuts. Given this, bet most hands with which you would call. You still will lose when you are behind, but you will make extra bets on calls when your opponent would have checked.

Conclusion: Even if you have been checking and calling, consider betting the river. Since the option of aggression swings to you, recognize your opportunities and realize the rewards.

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold'em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies, both available at www.CardPlayer.com. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].