Playing styles

There are a few basic playing styles tight aggressive and super aggressive. It is obvious that the best players are super agressive style players. To play this way you got to know the game inside and out and you got to know your oponents inside and out. Right now i would say i am agressive, but i always feel like i could become better. I want to become a super aggressive player because thats how the real money is made, but my game has a weakness i cant put people on a hand with confidence. Even when i do put them on a hand like i say they have a flush and i have three of a kind i dont trust my self. Back when i played at cake poker i think this causted me some money. However, i continued to do this because i would find myself winning sometimes when i thought i was beat. So my question is how should practice putting people on hands and trusting my read. I read in a book you should try to guess what the other person has even when your not playing, but it is frustrating cause half the time you dont see their cards. Do you have any other ways to practice this skill?

I'm not sure about the best players being super aggressive. This is generally not the mentality you want to have to learn poker either.

This may seem basic but if people fold, that generally gives you an idea of if they had something or not so that information can be used. Otherwise, just call them down a few times to see if your read was right.

poopnuggette said:

It is obvious that the best players are super agressive style players.

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Incorrect, imo. The best players are those who can change gears and vary their style of play according to the situation.

I've never heard of pros as super aggressive either. Super aggressive can work sometimes, but good players can exploit and trap when they think someone is a bully (which basically is super aggressive). Perfect example: check out the wsop, when watching look at the day 2 and 3 chip leaders...the guys that have ridiculous chip leads. You will find that once the field thins, most of them are gone...thats what SUPER aggressive usually gets you.

everyone's right, so i guess all i'm doing is backing them up. The best player's can switch it up when they need to, and make the moves which may make some think they are more aggressive but really their just making moves at what they think is the right time.

and don't forget, when you watch all those lovely tv spots, you're only seeing about 5-10% of the hands, if that, so the editors are picking the ones with the most fan fury which sure, makes it look as you think

Changing styles during a game is important and I strongly agree with Egon Towst on that. However depends on the blinds level your stack your position.If you have a read on a week tight player for example you can be more aggressive other than a solid tight player.Super aggessive by that you mean a loose aggressive player a tight aggressive or a bully player?

I disagree about the best type being super aggressive. Any style can be fine, as long as you know what you're doing. Dan Harrington was a very tight player and he made the final table 2 years in a row in the main event. You have to realize the intricacies of being a tight player if you are going to use that style, though. For example, assuming the people you are playing with are at least somewhat observant, you will develop a tight image. You must use this image effectively. Later on, it will be far easier to steal blinds and to bluff people out of pots if you have a tight image.

Also, and this is more applicable for tournament play, you cannot use one image for the entire time or you will become predictable. If you can change up styles, then you will be far more successful. Most of the great players can play tight, aggressive, tricky, or anywhere in between. You have to figure out what your best style is and then gradually develop your game from there.

Super aggressive only works for a certain amount of time. After that time is up you better switch gears otherwise EVERYONE at your table is just going to start nut camping then shoving on you. IMO Super Aggro is a terrible strategy but you have to do what works for you.

My style is TAGG. I know everyone says that this is what they want to be and that they DO run it but few actually have the stats that prove it. I run around 16/12 (I would like to increase my PFR%) and these numbers are making me a winning player so far.

But it really depends on how you like to play. If you like to see a lot of flops, you HAVE to trust your reads so you can outplay your opponents post flop. If you think you are beat, lay it down. That simple, unless you think you can take the pot away from your opponent later on. Heres my advice: learn all you can about postflop play. If you want to be a LAG player this will help you more than anything. Good luck at the tables!

Dustin Ranger

all the people who make millions are super aggresive. Phil ivey, negreanu, hullmuth, and hansen. Even harington said super aggrisive style is the best way to make money if you are good at reading

poopnuggette said:

all the people who make millions are super aggresive. Phil ivey, negreanu, hullmuth, and hansen. Even harington said super aggrisive style is the best way to make money if you are good at reading

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First of all, these players aren't "super aggressive." In fact, I don't think I've ever heard of a style called "super aggressive" or even just "aggressive."

There are actually 4 MAIN styles of play: Tight-aggressive (TAG), Loose-aggressive (LAG), Tight-passive, and Loose-passive.

The style that you are describing is LAG. You see a lot of flops and play based on how your opponent reacts, not by what you are actually holding. This style is used by so many pros just for the simple fact that they have better hand-reading abilities than most of their opponents.

For the beginner player (like yourself I'm assuming) it's best to play only the best hands and slowly widen your range as you get better at reading opponents.

Try watching some replays where you can see all the players' cards. Then observe some games when you don't see their cards and try to put them on hands. If it gets boring, try multiple tables at the same time, but remember to be focused, so you take all information in; and what every active player do on every street.

Well first of all, you don't just have to be a super aggressive maniac to win money. There are people that win money, with every style imaginable. That said, Tight/aggressive is the preferred way to play NL Holdem I suppose.

With NL holdem, you honestly have to be good at reading people. I'm not saying you have to figure out everyone's tell, I'm just saying you need to figure out what people have in certain situations. If you can do this, it doesn't much amtter what style you play. Bottom line, if you can read people better than they can read you, you'll win more often than you lose.

In my ring game database, the players whose stats fall into the "tight-aggressive" range are usually the biggest winners, with the occasional "loose-aggressive" also winning big.

The super-aggressive players that I see are the ones who usually triple their money early, then go broke.

Super aggressive is for donkey players. Super aggressive people will push with top pair low kicker all the time, they'll race with low pocket pair, they'll always try to bluff, etc. I think you mean smart aggressive players make the big money, and there's a huge difference. If you know a player is tight and will fold about anything that isn't the nuts, then you should bet a bluff and hope they fold. This is aggression, and players who do that a lot end up with a nice chuck of extra chips than they would otherwise. Also, they are most likely to get more action when they do have a strong hand, because people have labeled them bluffers.