Using Aggression in No Limit Holdem

Aggressive poker is winning poker. This is a statement that Phil Gordon likes to use frequently talking about No Limit Holdem especially. Many people have a hard time using aggression properly or even knowing when to be aggressive at the table. Let’s take a deeper look at aggression at the table.

Aggression at the table is when you are either taking the lead in a hand or taking the lead away from another player. Let’s look at some times to be aggressive at the table.

The most commonly used phrase in poker, especially No Limit is to play your position. What this should mean in many cases is to play your position aggressively. Phil Gordon has stated many times that he will seldom limp into a pot and that he will come into a pot raising. This is a form of aggression. When you raise, you put people on notice that you are taking charge of the hand. Also, you are making the other players decide whether they really want to invest money in their hand. This helps to thin down the field and increase your chances of winning.

Another time to use aggression is again really tight or weak players. Tight and weak players are relatively predictable and there are many times that a raise pre-flop or a bet on the flop will take the pot. Sometimes you can make these bets with any two cards. If the players play back at you, it is time to get out of the hand.

The most common time to be aggressive is when you have a big hand. When you pick up a big hand, such as pocket aces, you need to be aggressive. This seems logical to most people, but there are some that will limp in with a big hand because they are afraid that they will scare out players. A big hand does not typically want a lot of callers pre-flop as the percentage that the hand will win goes down.

When you are beginning to become short stacked in a tournament, it is time to try and use some aggression to get it healthy again. If you let your stack become too small, then players will not give it any respect. Using aggression can sometimes force the middle stacks to fold to your hand as they don’t want to risk making you short.

When you begin to approach the money bubble in a tournament, this is a great time to be aggressive. Player will be trying to squeak into the money and you can use their fear of busting out to your advantage. Open up your hand ranges. One great example of this was during the 2007 World Series of Poker. At the bubble Lee Watkinson had enough chips to where he could put anyone at his table all-in and it would not hurt him, and that is what he did. Every single hand, he raised to over 100,000 and kept taking down pots. The bubble is a great time to pick up chips.

The above are some examples of how aggression can be used in No Limit Holdem. As always, be sure you have a decent read on your opponent before going too crazy with the aggression. Remember that calling stations will not fold and if you have too loose of an image, your raises will not get the same type of respect. Good luck at the tables.

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