Consequences of decreasing aggression

Bodhi · #1 08-18-2005, 01:34 PM

This isn't a stats post, but I will mention a few numbers for reference. For a long time my postflop aggression has been around 3.5, and for the last 6000 hands (since I got back from vacation) it's been around 2.5. I haven't been playing more 'passively' in order to change my aggression factor, that would be dumb. What I have done is to look for more opportunities to snap off bluffs, and I have learned that given ample opportunity, the fish, donks, and even the rocks are capable of bluffs that I wouldn't try. These bluffs were not revealed to me previously because my aggression discouraged them, whereas proper strategy against players who bluff too much is to encourage them to bluff more. It requires me to call in heads-up pots where I would normally be betting or raising in an effort to make the opponent fold, and previously they did fold because they had nothing. Make no mistake, these are specific situations that have nothing to do with bad flop calls in multiway pots that are raise or fold decisions, my aggressive tendencies are still there when I need them. Here are some example hands:

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (7 handed) converter

Villain is a fish who is around 45%, 0, .8

Preflop: Hero is Button with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
UTG calls, 3 folds, Hero raises, 2 folds, UTG calls.

Flop: (5.50 SB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

I would normally raise this flop.

Turn: (3.75 BB) A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero calls.

River: (5.75 BB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] (2 players)
UTG bets, Hero raises, UTG calls.

Final Pot: 9.75 BB

Villain has: K7o, wtf???

Party Poker 1/2 Hold'em (9 handed) converter

Villain seemed fairly tight, though I hadn't seen many hands at the time.

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. MP3 posts a blind of $1.
1 fold, UTG+1 raises, 6 folds, Hero calls.

Flop: (5.50 SB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero calls.

Normally I hate this kind of passive play. Previously I would checkraise.

Turn: (3.75 BB) J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero calls.

River: (5.75 BB) 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 7.75 BB

Villain has: AQo, nice try. If I had taken a WA/WB line here I'm pretty sure the villain would have folded the river.