Posted by: GMoney : Category: Aggression, Aggression, Aggression….
Many people talk about aggression, but don’t fully explain what it means. First you have the “misguided” aggression, which basically means playing like a maniac. An example of this can be seen with players that race with Ace-rag from early position. It’s most likely that this hand is beat and in the long run you will get knocked out of any tournament quickly or go broke in a ring game.
Second, you have what I call television aggression. This aggression can be seen regularly on your favorite poker TV shows by aggressive pros like Gus Hansen and Gavin Smith. Viewers watch these moves and think that this is the way these players have played the entire tournament. This is not true.
The aggression I am mean must take into consideration several important factors. First is strength and/or weakness of the other players at your table, second is position, and third is the blind levels (when you are in a tournament).
Next you must consider position (where you are sitting at the table in regard to the button). To explain simply, in early position you should be playing stronger, bigger hands in late position, closer to the button, you can play more creatively. There is a mathematical equation that could be given, so you could take into consideration every hand that is potentially better than your hand in the position you are sitting. An easy example of this can be seen if you are playing against another player, heads up. Let’s say you are playing heads up with another player and you are dealt Ace-Nine, just think about the hands that are better pre-flop against Ace-Nine. First you have Ace-Ten thru King and pocket Nines thru Aces. All of these hands dominate your Ace-Nine. You also have pocket Deuces through Eights which are favorable against you. So, you have 17 hands that you are a dog against, in a “heads-up” situation. This is with only 4 cards being dealt. What if 6 cards are dealt with 3 players, or 8 cards with 4 players and so on. Your A-9 doesn’t look as good as it did, does it? More players, more potential hands.
As I always believe it is important to become aggressive and take advantage of weaker players, it becomes more important as the blinds and antes go up. If you are in mid to late position with an average hand and make a pot-sized raise, it could be likely that your opponents will fold, or call you and fold with a bet on the flop. In the early stages of a tournament you could make $50 or $75 with your aggression, but the latter parts of the tournament you take pots worth thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on what stage you are in. The way to be competitive in tournaments is to be aggressive at these higher levels.
Hope this helps – GMoney.
Aggression, Aggression, Aggression…. Many people talk about aggression, but don't fully explain what it means. First you have the "misguided" aggression, which basically means playing like a maniac. An example of this can be seen with players that race with Ace-rag from early position. It's most likely that this hand is beat and in the long run you will get knocked out of any tournament quickly or go broke in a ring game. Second, you have what I call television aggression. This aggression can be seen regularly on your favorite poker TV shows by aggressive pros like Gus Hansen and Gavin Smith. Viewers watch these moves and think that this is the way these players have played the entire tournament. This is not true. The aggression I am mean must take into consideration several important factors. First is strength and/or weakness of the other players at your table, second is position, and third is the blind levels (when you are in a tournament). Next you must consider position (where you are sitting at the table in regard to the button). To explain simply, in early position you should be playing stronger, bigger hands in late position, closer to the button, you can play more creatively. There is a mathematical equation that could be given, so you could take into consideration every hand that is potentially better than your hand in the position you are sitting. An easy example of this can be seen if you are playing against another player, heads up. Let's say you are playing heads up with another player and you are dealt Ace-Nine, just think about the hands that are better pre-flop against Ace-Nine. First you have Ace-Ten thru King and pocket Nines thru Aces. All of these hands dominate your Ace-Nine. You also have pocket Deuces through Eights which are favorable against you. So, you have 17 hands that you are a dog against, in a "heads-up" situation. This is with only 4 cards being dealt. What if 6 cards are dealt with 3 players, or 8 cards with 4 players and so on. Your A-9 doesn't look as good as it did, does it? More players, more potential hands. As I always believe it is important to become aggressive and take advantage of weaker players, it becomes more important as the blinds and antes go up. If you are in mid to late position with an average hand and make a pot-sized raise, it could be likely that your opponents will fold, or call you and fold with a bet on the flop. In the early stages of a tournament you could make $50 or $75 with your aggression, but the latter parts of the tournament you take pots worth thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on what stage you are in. The way to be competitive in tournaments is to be aggressive at these higher levels. Hope this helps – GMoney.
06.06.07 WSOP GOLD BRACELET Nine players went behind the mystery curtain at the first ever WSOP webcast event for the $1500 Limit Hold'em event – after 7 top secret hours Gary Styczynski emerged victorious! In the last few years, Styczynski has made 2 final tables and 3 cashes at World Poker Tour events to go along with his 1st place finish at the World Series. He will also be playing in many more World Series of Poker events and hopes to continue his strong performance. RECENT EVENTS: One of the highlight events that he took part in was the "
The World Poker Association congratulates one of it's Founding Members, Gary Styczynski, on winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2007. Gary urges every player and fan of the game to visit