How to be aggressive

I'm a college kid and i play 3-6 at the local cardroom here, but the last few times (i know it may be too early to gauge) i've gone, i've lost about $75-$100. I'm starting to re-consider my play. I think my table image needs to be worked on. I think others see me as tight/passive because i fold a lot. If i have second pair and there's a bet to me, i almost always fold. I need to take into consideration position more, and when to be aggressive. I've been reading posts here and am barely beginning to understand when to raise for value or information, but was wondering if there are some more general tips for being aggressive. i can't think of any hands off the top of my head, but i know i'm getting bullied around, and when people see me sit down, they probably think they can beat me. I've read Lee Jones' book, and he seems to advocate folding almost anytime you don't have top pair, so that's what i did...maybe i need to re-read it. I eventually want to be aggressive and keep people on their toes, because i think i am easily read. Any info. would be appreciated.

you probably have realized, after folding that much, that many times you folded the best hand. the reason is because most average 3-6 players will bet into you, especially if its been checked to them, with middle or even bottom pair. i think you should try to use this by raising when there is a bet to your right and trying to narrow the field when say you middle pair and a strong kicker like an A or K. you will be making the draws pay and more than likely the original bettor will check to you on the turn if he hasn't improved. the 3-6 players that i play against when raised on the flop usually shift into check-call or check-fold mode, unless they were betting bottom or middle and improved, or if they bet on the come and completed the hand. raising might not knock alot of people out of the hand, but it will definitely slow them down, and you can see the river for free if you choose too. with your image as a tight player, raises should be even more respected. use the checkraise a occasionally so that your opponents don't think they can run you over whenever you check, if you get 3-bet at any point in the hand, especially the river, i'd lay it down unless i was extremely strong myself, or drawing to the nuts. 3-6 players will not try to "outplay" you by raising you out of the hand, they will have a legitimate powerful hand.

One thing to do is skip a couple games, take the $150 you would have lost and go pick up some more books. I just received "The Theory of Poker" from Amazon today, and while I've only had half an hour to thumb through it, it looks very good. Much less rigorous, but an interesting read, is "The Zen of Poker," I forget the author (he does not appear to be a pro, but you can get some good tips out of it).

You need to focus on hand reading better and play appropriately.


All those times you fold with second pair, etc. Is it legitimate that someone called pre-flop with a hand that would make top pair? What hand? Can you draw out on it? What sort of hands are people playing?


My guess is that your weak-tight play may be a money winner, but you don't have enough hours in to know. However, you need to know when you can bet or raise with less than top pair and it sounds like you are not doing this well.


Getting more aggressive is partly a mind set. You have to want to punish inferior players and weak limpers. You probably need to push marginal drawing hands a little harder and not be afraid to three-bet things like top pair, top kicker.


Good luck,


Paul Talbot

I had this problem for awhile too. I read the Lee Jones book and started playing 3-6. I didn't put that many hours into poker, and when I went to Vegas, did okay because they're pretty tight-passive there. But when I'd play in CA, I fared really badly at the loose-aggressive tables.


What probably helped me the most was watching (that is, actually being able to see the two starting cards of) a winning aggressive player. Also, nothing can compare to putting in the hours at the tables. When you're playing, you should constantly be trying to place people on hands and then see if you're right during showdowns. When you're better able to judge what people are holding, you'll have a better sense of when you can pump your good but non-nut hands. Lastly, I like the Lee Jones book, but I also think you should read "Hold'em for Advanced Players".


Good luck.

When I first read that advice about dropping second pair, I was sceptical. It seemed like I'd be folding a lot of good hands.


What I started doing was mucking them and paying a lot of attention to what the winning hand ended up being. How would I have done?


What I discovered was this: unless I could very confidently put my opponents on specific hands (which is hard to do, especially with people who will call anything with Ax and Kx) it was very hard to make any money on these hands, and easy to lose it. The problem is that you can't play aggressively since you might be up against a better pair. That means that when you do win, you'll win small pots. When you're genuinely up against a better hand, they'll raise you at every opportunity, meaning that it'll cost you a lot to keep them honest.


I mean, you always have to ask yourself, "If I bet here, what do I do if someone behind me raises, or if there's a check raise?" You'll see a lot of check-raises from decent players with top pair in early position (since a bet from them might fold the table) and a lot of late-position players will bluff you unless you showed a lot of strength pre-flop (and they were paying attention, which isn't always the case in LL games).


So really the best you can do is reluctantly call three bets (if there are no raises), which is hardly strikes me as a way to make much money.


Possibly better players tham me can make money with these hands, but for the time being I'm convinced of the validity of Jones's advice for a player of my skill.


Aggresion isn't about how often you fold. Aggression is about what you do when you don't fold. Tight=folding a lot=good.

I think that for this level, Ronaldo is pretty much dead on. At low limits, tight play makes money. You will usually have several weak players at the table, playing any Ace, any two suited, or any two connected cards. This adds up to some bad beats for you. On the other hand, you will rarely be administering the bad beats. At $3-$6, I absolutely refuse to chase without a significant number of outs, and without enough players in to make it worth my while when I hit it. Lee Jones is right--it doesn't matter if you sit there and fold hand after hand. When you hit a hand that you can play aggressively, they'll still play with you. Check out Foolproof: A 30 day course to Hold'Em success by Richard Allen. You may be able to check it out from your local library system. It has a decent guide for starting hands, plus some thoughts on certain hands, but overall I wouldn't spend the money on it.

one way to change your "image" into an aggressive player is to raise pre-flop. If your going to call, raise. It's a cheap bet, it gets the Ax, Kx's out, and it makes the limpers pay. You can play tight post-flop and nobody will notice. They just keep thinking "How could he raise with that". You say you play three hrs a night, try it for an hour and see how you do.

I just started playing low limit hold'em about 2 months ago, since then I've logged over 70 hours of live play and have been making about $15.00/hr (started 2-4, moved to 3-6 and now I'm at 6-12). I had a friend help me out, but basically he referred me to the following resources:


1. Memorize (not just read!) the Lee Jones book. (I don't recommend reading HPFAP just yet. At this stage, most of the concepts are a little advanced and won't work at low limit tables.)


2. Read the Small Stakes forum at this site its a great free resource.


3. Practice online - Put $100 into PardisePoker.com and started at the .50/1.00 tables - without losing too much you could log in hours of practice.


4. Keep a spreadsheet - Wins/Loses, Hours, Earnings/Hr, etc. It will keep you truthful.


At the low limit tables, you don't need to make any fancy plays, just learn the fundamentals and play solid poker. Learn how to read the board and how to read your players (ie are they passive/aggressive, loose/tight). You'll learn when and how to be aggressive as you gain more experience.


Hope this helps.