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Old 11-04-2005, 12:51 PM
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Default Re: How Do You Play Superaggressively?

Not that there haven't been some great posts in this thread (thanks CSC), but I'm going to try to address OP's question about value bets a little more specifically. When I use the term 'value bet', I usually mean a bet where I think I am a favorite against Villain's calling range. A 'bluff' is a bet where I do not think I am such a favorite, but believe I have enough FE to compensate.

It sounds like when you say 'value bet', you are talking about a bet of a specific size. Implicitly, I think you are assuming that the size of the bet is the primary factor in influencing whether or not Villain calls. Thus, when you say 'value bet' you mean a bet small enough that Villain can call easily, and by 'bluff', you mean a bet large enough that he can fold easily.

If you are trying to play very aggressively, I think it is a big mistake to think in this way. More than ever, you have to be aware of your table image and your dynamics with each individual at the table. I'd suggest re-reading CSC's post about table dynamics in the Anthology.

The key to playing aggressively (or maybe just to playing?) is using your stack constantly to give your opponent's difficult decisions. If you make it very easy for them to call or very easy for them to fold, you are not giving them difficult decisions. Even if you are getting them to make mistakes, by folding when they are ahead or calling when behind, they are not making maximally large mistakes.

Consider your example, where you are trying to get TT to call your AJ on a KJxxx board. If there is 600 in the pot and you bet 100 and he calls, ok, he made a mistake, you profited. But he didn't make a big mistake, and you dindn't make a big profit.

Suppose, instead, that you've been paying close attention to this Villain for about an hour now. You've bluffed him out of a pot or two, and you've seen him snap off a bluff by check-calling an overbet all-in with top pair when the third spade came on the river. If you can really put him on a range as narrow as a pocket pair lower than J's, then consider firing 500-700 at the 600 pot when he checks to you on the river. This is still a value bet, because you think there's a good chance he'll call with a hand like TT.

You can also make small bluffs. Suppose you raise with 67h and the board comes QQJ, with two hearts. Villain leads into you, and you put him on something like an underpair, figuring he would trap with a Q and maybe even a J. Make a small raise, maybe about three times the size of his bet, and let him call you. He checks the turn to you, fire again, for about half the pot. You miss on the river but he checks to you, make one more bet, 1/2-3/4 of the pot. You might consider this a value bet, because of its size, but since you've been 'value betting' all along, he'll be hard-pressed to call you down with 8's. And of course, if he folds even one time out of three, you profit. If all of your bluffs are pot-sized or oversized bets, you have to succeed a lot more frequently to make them profitable.

The heads up game Harrington discusses where Negreanu makes a small check-raise to represent a flush on the river is a great example. The key was that he knew how his opponent would interpret a small raise like this, and he knew that that opponent had seen him play a flush like this earlier in the tournament.

As a super-aggressive player, you should be value-betting ALL THE TIME. According to Sklansky, many top pros don't even consider their bluffs to be +EV in themselves. Rather, they are setting up +EV value bets later. You HAVE to value bet hands like AJ on a KJxxx board, hands that a TAG would have to check behind, because Villain's calling range against you is going to be so much wider.

You are absolutely right that you can't just shove when you are bluffing and make post-oak bets when you are ahead. Mixing it up and knowing exactly how much this particular Villain will call for and how much he will fold for is critical. Especially on the river, when there is nothing left to draw to, many players make calls based on reads more than on pot odds. That means that if they have convinced themselves you are bluffing, no amount of money will keep them from calling. Recognizing these spots and shoving with TPTK is crucial.
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