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Old 11-21-2005, 09:14 PM
BluffTHIS! BluffTHIS! is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 375
Default Re: PT stats questions

As I have stated before, I don't use PT, and I am always amused at these types of questions which usually I see in the no limit forum. How aggressive you *should* be depends on a great number of factors like your and your opponents' stack sizes, how good you are at releasing postflop when you have raised preflop, and most especially, on the specific dynamics of any table you are currently playing.

On a very active but passive table, you are going to have to bet your own hands instead of expecting to be able to checkraise. On a loose and aggressive table you have to be more wary of betting marginal hands especially out of position, because such bets won't be able to take down the pot right there as much as on a tight table. And you should generally show more aggression in position than out on any type of table, so as not to build big pots that you can be bluffed out of when first to act and a scare card comes on a later street.

But you should be aggressive about betting very good draws as well as sets or otherwise you will be too easy to read and will get no action on your made hands, or action you don't want, and will always be run off marginal hands that are winning because your opponents know from your previous play that you cannot have a certain type of hand that would fit a certain board. On the other hand, if you are never known to check the nuts to aggressive players behind you, then you will never see a cheap showdown when you want one.

The best players give an illusion of action that gets them action on their good hands in return. They raise with a wider variety of holdings from all positions preflop, but then play the flop correctly. They also bluff when the situation warrants it, even for their whole stack, and don't really mind being called and losing occasionally because they only really bluff a correct percentage of the time and that helps them get paid off when they have the nuts.

Instead of trying to artifically conform your aggression to a certain number, try to fit in with the table dynamics and your position relative to aggressive players. And study those winning players who are appropriately aggressive to see at what stages of certain hands they show the most or least aggression. Most important here also is factoring in the number of players in a pot.
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