How do you deal with hyperaggressive players?

Title says it all. I'm finding the counter to my playstyle is hyperaggro players in NLHE.

I mix up my style, but I generally play the opposite of whatever my opponents are. When they think they've got me figured out, I switch gears. I have no problems being aggressive, especially if the table is soft. I usually adjust according to the table. Tight table, I play LAG. Loose table, I play TAG.

How do you deal with a super aggressive player? One that has no problem reraising and shoving with any two cards because he knows you're not going to call and put your stack at risk on a marginal hand. Meanwhile he loves and has no problem playing bingo.


Any suggestions on how to deal with such a player?

Also, how would you go about dealing with them in tourney play as well as ring game?

My friend tells me you basically either have to go toe to toe with them, or just sit back and let them play their game until you got a hand to butt heads with them and pray that it holds.

Is this really what you have to do?

I've learned that reraising them hard or even shoving will sometimes do the trick to teach them you won't be bullied, but its just too much "gambool" for my liking and... What if they suddenly wake up with a real hand?

How do YOU deal with such a player?

In a tourney?

In a ring game?

Thanks in advance.

john003 said:

My friend tells me you basically either have to go toe to toe with them, or just sit back and let them play their game until you got a hand to butt heads with them and pray that it holds.

Is this really what you have to do?

Click to expand...

thats pretty much it... If they're total donks and raising everything against everyone, they'll be broke soon enough. These are usually the best players to trap also. alot of times if you play it right, you can cripple or stack'em if you get a monster.

I play really tight against hyper aggressive players. Let them do the raising for you and by the time you get to the river, try to get all the money in there.

I only play tourneys well SnGs mostly, but at a ring game I would either wait for a really good hand and let the super aggressor put his/her chips in for me or leave the table. And, most likely I would stand up because I couldnt be bothered to wait, and I don't play ring games anyway.

In a tourney I would open my range up only slightly against them, continue to play tight, and wait for a hand. If you stay tight and only play strong hands you should have an advantage over the aggressor and/or by the time you actually see some good hands they will have already lost to someone else.

Just wait, for a hand, pounce on them .... Works more, then you think.
I should know, for the MTTs, sit&gos, and ring tables. I end up knocking them out every time they try it. Then they stop, and start playing smart..

you should absolutly stay tight with them but lay back on the aggresion even on monster hands they will usually bet into you or raise a small to mid size bet and when they do you simply call to not scare them off until the river then try to get them all in.

If u are playn a hyper aggresive person, u are gonna have no choice but to play tight str8 poker. Tag lag. Play opposite of ur opponnent. You can't really bluff a donk, and or someone without a fold button. Play abc, or flip with the donkey.

Thanks for the replies everyone, its appreciated. Unfortunately, its what I figured though. I just hate the feeling of getting shoved around but that's why they tell you leave emotion at the door, right?

What tilts me the most about them is that when you get a good hand to ride to the river, and they hit: rather than a hand shake and a "that's poker" mentality, they pat themselves on the back. One guy at a track tourney last week raised all in PF as the SB when the whole table folded around and BB called him.

Stack sizes are not important as this is the FIRST orbit. Starting stack 4500 chips, 25/50 blinds.

SB moves all in, BB calls. SB shows A3s (I lol'd so hard). BB shows AA.

Final board 2 10 J 5 4 rainbow.

BB: "that's poker" and holds his hand out to shake.

All In donkey: "Bad call my friend bad call!" Then holds his hand out to shake and pulls it back before the shake to wave it thru his hair like he's Mr. Joe Cool. From someone in their 20s, I might not be surprised as the arrogance might just be a byproduct of young age but this guy was in his late 40s!


Guess there's at least one in every tourney.

If I'm sitting to their left, I'll push back and reraise them preflop and play very aggressively against them so that they will fear me. Make sure you are playing at a limit that you don't mind putting all the money in the middle b/c that's the way you have to play against them. If I'm sitting to their right, well, I'll just wait for a monster hand, and like mentioned before, trap them.

If they're bad hyper-aggros just sit back wait for hand and own them. If they're good just bitch and moan in interviews about how they should be playing with themselves instead like Joe Hachem.

zachvac said:

If they're bad hyper-aggros just sit back wait for hand and own them. If they're good just bitch and moan in interviews about how they should be playing with themselves instead like Joe Hachem.

Click to expand...

+1

Like Zach said, if they are hyper-aggr just be paitent, wait for a hand and make them go broke. Don't get frustrated and start playing hands out of position or hands you normally wouldn't play just because they are raising every hand and annoying you.

yeah man i play against this style all the time in tournys and ring games, for tornys its best to go heads up, its the only way to go bro.

for ring games just catch'em with anything suited, wired or anything that's connected also face cards but with no low kickers :icon_sant