[elysium]

hi diplomat
oh, the KQ or A6 thing.....well, diplomat there are so many possibilities with every hand read that i find it easier to find the two hands that have all of the qualities of the other possibilities. notice two hand selection exclude AA but include Q9. that's the thinking there diplomat. and if he turns over Q9, it's equal to KQ on my A6 to KQ scale here.

if he turns over a small set, that's your A6.

think fast, play better.

i'm reading what you find to be question worthy......oh for crying out loud diplomat. does a bear sit on green moss in the forest? for crying out loud.

as for the first question, whether you want him to be aggressive or not. that question has merit.

i make a distinction between being aggressive and being lively. uncontrolled aggression is not good for many players. yes, if you are very good against aggressive players post flop, you love them. the problem is that many players are not able to get the aggressive heads up, and run into a third opponent who thinks he knows what he's doing, but really doesn't. and the opponents who interfere with your ability to get the aggressive heads up can wipe out your bank-roll even though you are statistically extrapolating positive expectation. remember diplomat, a statistically extrapolated positive expectation is meaningless if your bank-roll is wiped out.

are you ready to bet into the aggressive and call his raise on the river with K high only? that's statistical positive expectation. but with the over-caller in there, you'd get extrapolated in a heartbeat, positive expectation or not. and i know you diplomat. you'd fold. the J high would take it down.

you like lively, not aggressive. you keep these aggressives lively by either raising early, and giving more credence to their holdings on the expensive rounds, or you simply check-call when you have the best of it. you don't make him more aggressive unless your reraises to get him heads up are getting you heads up. if your image is solid both pre-flop and POST-FLOP!!, and you can stomach betting into or raising this opponent with K hi for value, then by all means throw some fuel onto the fire. notice that i mention that you must be feared post-flop.

often, there is more to getting an aggressive heads up than simply reraising him with the best starters. to knock out those behind you, they must not like being in the hand with you because of how the entire hand pinches. the influence you exert at the table should result in everyone feeling a pinch, including yourself. but like the ballerina who does borderline contortion manuevers with a smile, you too must smile as the pinch you set off takes effect. when you smile at the table after setting off a chain reaction pinch by check-raising an opponent who will reraise, etc., as you smile, your opponents feel the pinch tweezing tighter and tighter. yes, it's tweezing you too, but you're smiling. well, whether you win or lose that hand, your opponents don't want to be in another like it. and if you are tweezing with goodly torque, then you should be able to get your aggressive opponent heads up. but notice that it's your playing style, not your starters that give you this heads up ability. and diplomat, K high is all you need, and good tweeze of course.

so you have to ask yourself, 'do i have tweeze?'. well do you diplomat?