Waiting to be aggressive?

[KingOtter]

I have a stupid question about aggression that is tickling my brain after reading the posts about the differences between .5/1 and 1/2, and having a bad night at a couple fishy tables where a lot of my premium hands got drawn out on.

At .5/1 a lot of my aggression is pretty much ignored. They call down with bottom pairs, yada yada yada. That's fine... we LIKE it that way because they're making mistakes.

But I do notice that after I hit some good hands, and drag the a big pot or two my aggression seems to be a little more respected.

Does anyone wait to be aggressive until after they've made a big showing? Maybe that's poorly worded... how about... Does anyone turn UP their aggression after they've dragged a big pot?

KO

[MrWookie47]

At the micros, if you never pay attention to what the other players think of you, you wouldn't be making that much of a mistake. They aren't paying that much attention themselves. However, if you see yourself as having a table image, play on it, i.e., play the opposite. If they see you as a player only showing down the nuts, lag it up for a while. If they see you as raising too many pots preflop or if they realize you're being aggressive with some marginal holdings, tighten up a touch, and you'll still get plenty of action when you hit.

I don't vary my game plan too much unless I really see a benefit, and not just when I drag a big pot, but if my opponents are forming a particular picture of my play.

[Aaron W.]

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone wait to be aggressive until after they've made a big showing? Maybe that's poorly worded... how about... Does anyone turn UP their aggression after they've dragged a big pot?

[/ QUOTE ]

At 1/2, I've noticed that players are beginning to pay attention just a little bit more. So be aware how you're playing and adjust based on that perception. I don't think it has as much to do with how often and how big of a pot you drag, but how you have been playing.

For example, if you've been raising a lot because the hands have been strong, you may not want to raise a marginal raising hand, but rather limp it. You want to encourage some action by playing hands, but you don't want to get LOTS of action by looking like a maniac, because it cuts down on the value you can get with your marginal hands (and there are more marginal hands than strong hands).

The same holds true if you've been folding lots of hands. If you've got a tight image, you may want to raise with a few more hands than you normally would. If they're giving you too much respect for your raises, then you make money by raising more often.

[KingOtter]

[ QUOTE ]
At the micros, if you never pay attention to what the other players think of you, you wouldn't be making that much of a mistake. They aren't paying that much attention themselves. However, if you see yourself as having a table image, play on it, i.e., play the opposite. If they see you as a player only showing down the nuts, lag it up for a while. If they see you as raising too many pots preflop or if they realize you're being aggressive with some marginal holdings, tighten up a touch, and you'll still get plenty of action when you hit.

I don't vary my game plan too much unless I really see a benefit, and not just when I drag a big pot, but if my opponents are forming a particular picture of my play.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah... this was the answer I expected.

At one of the tables there were three bad players (I say that knowing they were playing better than I was at the time, so I considered myself playing pretty bad last night) that were obviously paying close attention. They struck up a bit of a friendship and would comment a bit after each hand.... what they had, some good-natured fibbing, that sorta thing.

They were each well over 50% VPIP for 125+ hands, borderline 1+ TAF, so semi-passive but could go to war when they had something good (and sometimes when they didn't). I couldn't bring myself to leave the table even though I couldn't hit the broadside of a flop with my hands.

They were pretty ideal competition... and they payed close attention to the hands.

Maybe not level 3-4 thinking, but heck, I don't do that either.

KO

[KingOtter]

[ QUOTE ]
So be aware how you're playing and adjust based on that perception. I don't think it has as much to do with how often and how big of a pot you drag, but how you have been playing.

For example, if you've been raising a lot because the hands have been strong, you may not want to raise a marginal raising hand, but rather limp it. You want to encourage some action by playing hands, but you don't want to get LOTS of action by looking like a maniac, because it cuts down on the value you can get with your marginal hands (and there are more marginal hands than strong hands).

The same holds true if you've been folding lots of hands. If you've got a tight image, you may want to raise with a few more hands than you normally would. If they're giving you too much respect for your raises, then you make money by raising more often.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I've certainly adjusted to some players doing things like this... I was just wondering if it was just me or if more people have noticed anything like that.

There's a lot of disdain for .5/1 players, and for good reason, there are a lot of bad players out there. But I think we're often characterizing the limit by the extreme rather than the norm.

KO

[Fantam]

It sounds like you are talking about table image.

I am not sure how conscious other players are of how you are playing at .50/$1, but I think there is merit in varying your play as to how you think other players may perceive you.

I sometimes try to be a bit more aggressive or steal a few more blinds if I think other players are starting to show me too much respect.

But I also try not to get too carried away if I do this, as table image is really a very subjective judgement IMHO.