How to play against very aggressive players?

Shrops

Shrops

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
May 14, 2018
Total posts
1,083
Chips
0
Not easy

I try to be patient and trap them when I have a fairly good hand and let the chips fall where they may.
 
ammje

ammje

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Feb 25, 2018
Total posts
4,960
Awards
36
Chips
348
I think the first thing is not to bluff against aggressive players, you should expect good hands against this type of players.
 
manolo salazar

manolo salazar

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 15, 2018
Total posts
380
Chips
0
Reading the book Play the player he says: there are two general techniques to beat LAGs .
1.- You will reverse "standard" play against your opponent to give him false information about your hand ranges. Then after you have played against the LAG for a while and he has made his first adjustment to you, revert to a tight strategy of well- balanced mix ranges.
 
R

Rolco

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 30, 2018
Total posts
138
Chips
1
Avoid raising pre-flop unless you have the sauce
 
S

stamark

Enthusiast
Bronze Level
Joined
May 1, 2018
Total posts
49
Chips
12
Don't ever bluff them! Try to play the best hands and trap them when it's possible.
 
Dailon Arroyo Blandon

Dailon Arroyo Blandon

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
May 22, 2017
Total posts
1,402
Awards
11
CR
Chips
37
usually to the players who are very aggressive ... I watch and analyze them for several minutes ... to try to realize which hands they play ... if they make a lot of bluff ... and when I have a strong hand I will try to catch them. ..
 
P

pauloandre100

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Total posts
229
Awards
1
Chips
1
play a tight range who beat the aggressive player
 
bruno13xs

bruno13xs

Legend
Platinum Level
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Total posts
1,543
Awards
4
BR
Chips
97
whenever I play against an aggressive player I try to show that I am not afraid of him always paid or raise the bet he makes so he will be more cautious when he pleads against me
 
TeUnit

TeUnit

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Total posts
4,794
Awards
14
Chips
109
The easiest thing to do is value own them with strong hands.
 
dimon4ik89

dimon4ik89

Visionary
Platinum Level
Joined
Oct 3, 2017
Total posts
623
Awards
3
UA
Chips
356
To play against very aggressive players is not very comfortable

To play against very aggressive players is not very comfortable. If it's MTT or regular SNG tournaments then it's better to wait for a good card. If it's Heads Up or Spin and Go, then you have to play against the aggressor on its own strategy. And it does not matter what stage of the tournament, if you call each raise of the aggressor, then it will take most of the banks with the cbet. Or you will be heavily lucky and you will often fall into the flop.
 
Betmakers

Betmakers

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Total posts
144
Chips
0
It would depend on whether or not they are loose or tight I suppose. I will assume you are talking about a LOOSE aggressive player, who seems to come over the top with a raise on every single hand.

For MTTs, this is my strategy:


Early - I am super tight early. Probably too tight, but I'm comfortable with it. I'll play AA - JJ, AJ+, and that is about it. There are a few reasons for this, based on my understanding of the game and the math:


1) Doubling up early doesn't matter so much, while getting stacked will end your tournament. Even if I'm dealt 8d9d and get into a raised pot, hit a straight flush, and take someone's entire stack, it doesn't really matter early in a tournament. A double-up in the first 2 or 3 stages will probably not even be worth a big-blind by the time the bubble bursts.


2) The risk of losing your entire stack early is the same exact risk of losing your entire stack later in the tournament. If I get caught with a straight vs a full house early in the tournament, and lose my whole stack, my tournament is over. If I get caught with the same hand later in the tournament, my tournament is still over.


SOOOOOO for me, there is minimal reward for winning big pots early and maximum risk for losing them, so I will rarely try to get into a big pot unless my edge is giant (my range as seen above).


The caveat to this is if I am, say, on the button with suited connectors with the blinds being passive and there are a few limpers, I'll limp to a flop and only put my money in with monsters. That way, my risk is minimized (NO I am not betting a top pair of 9s when I had 8s9s, I'm betting the flush or straight only, once again risk vs reward).


3) Most tournaments will see some crazy stuff happen early in a tournament. Some guy shoving with K4 and flopping trips vs KJ. I avoid these weird situations like a plague. Although variance is part of the game, it IS A TOURNAMENT not a cash game. Variance will end your tournament. Variance will not end your bankroll in a cash game. I let the gamblers gamble until they clear up. They will always clear up eventually.


Middle Stage

In the middle stage, I really take a table read and play the exact opposite of my table. If my table is still loosey goosey, as a lot of tournaments will be early, I stay tight. Slowly opening up as my table tightens up (specifically big stacks will tighten up mid-stage, which is great for me. They want to wait out a higher place, which I am cool with because I am about to catch up soon).


Once the ante's start coming in, I will start stealing where possible and 3-betting weak raisers. The blinds+antes are now worth some money. My range opens up to probably J10+, any 2 face cards, 55+. Any hand that I can realistically defend with if one of my steals gets caught. DEPENDING on the table I'll steal with some oddball 62o or something but that's really really rare and depends on a lot of factors.


Late

I'm assuming by late, we mean near the money bubble. This depends much more on my stack size and players remaining than anything. If everything has went to plan, I'll be top 10% of stacks at this point. This is my fun part of the tournament. I start being able to jam weaker hands into short stacks because of the effective blinds and steal a whole lot of chips. I can usually make a run to top 10 pretty quickly once I recognize that the table has realized the bubble is near and they tighten up.




Once the bubble pops, I rinse and repeat in a shorter time frame. Tight > Looser > Even Looser if stack warrants. Same once the final table shows up.




If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
100% true. Listen to him.
 
W

wilywiles

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Total posts
148
Chips
0
With agressive players, you gotta play back aggressively. But aggressive does not mean wild. It just means agressive. Against a wildly agressive player you want to 3-bet with hands like AQ AK , 10s-AAs, and if in position even 3-bet with hands such as KQ, 99s, 88, 77s. It's best to try to isolate the play between the two of you if possible. Thats why I would suggest raising vs calling against an aggressive player. To divide and conquer because most times an aggressive player seems to be playing wildly is because hes been getting away with it. Make him tighten up
 
pirateglenn

pirateglenn

Legend
Bronze Level
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Total posts
2,440
Awards
4
Chips
0
What are some ways to exploit very aggressive players in different phases of the tournament (Early, middle and late)? I have a little bigger notion in early (I think), but the others do not see a cake recipe to follow. Early game - seek to play value hand, giving chance to the very aggressive player to err (this is playing passively and not looking for bleffs)
Hi there,

its all about position and patience when i play aggressive players, i do not play them because they are aggressive, i worry more about my own game but when i do opt to enter into a pot, i will often 3, 4, 5, bet or re raise if i have a hand worth the action...

Regards

pirateglenn
 
X

xexeu

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Mar 23, 2018
Total posts
468
Awards
1
Chips
10
To combat super-aggressive players who apply a lot of 3-bets, I usually use an increase in size that varies from 2.5 to 3 times the big blind, when in final positions or sometimes in intermediate positions. Having to do less of that initial positions as I will often have to fold against 3-bets. So I want to have fewer possible players to play after me, less likely that any of them will have a good hand and will play.
 
M

MarineCJ

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Total posts
169
Chips
0
Sit and wait. Over aggressive players are easy to trap for their stack. You will find they are pushing with bottom/middle pair, maybe top pair, Draws, ect. Just wait and stack them
 
M

mzrbf1gmailcom

Rising Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Aug 26, 2022
Total posts
1
US
Chips
0
I don't think just waiting for a good hands against aggressive player is a good strategy, because in poker you rarely get an assured strong hand to trap bluffer. Aggressive guy is a combination of rarely good hand and mostly illogical courage.
Th best reaction is playing logical and normal with a bit more courage than normal or avoid them as much as possible and not to enter the risky hand with them but logical hand , because you are playing with an irregular player with low percent of good hand, as usual , and high percentage of bluff hands.
 
francisco mendoza

francisco mendoza

Rock Star
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 10, 2020
Total posts
164
Awards
1
Chips
0
I always meet aggressive players, and 90% I've beaten them, I just hope I get my winning hand and I let them bet a lot, and then I beat them, oh I just become more aggressive than them, the idea is to become a chaser , and when you have your cards ready, catch him and take him out of the game.
 
VikK030p13

VikK030p13

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 4, 2022
Total posts
122
Awards
1
UA
Chips
109
I am also very interested in this question, but I have not found a universal answer to it. I wish you to find all the answers and victories
 
darkvick

darkvick

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Total posts
244
Awards
2
BR
Chips
107
Hello guy, I guess you mean loose agressive player, but let's go. In whole cases I like to play the opposite of the table, so if you're in a table loose is better to play tight, because they are throwing chips a lot so if you have a strong hand you can catch them.
 
Gritz18

Gritz18

To Cesar, what belongs to Cesar.
Loyaler
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Total posts
4,735
Awards
3
BR
Chips
559
What are some ways to exploit very aggressive players in different phases of the tournament (Early, middle and late)? I have a little bigger notion in early (I think), but the others do not see a cake recipe to follow. Early game - seek to play value hand, giving chance to the very aggressive player to err (this is playing passively and not looking for bleffs)
There are two types of aggressive players.
The first is the one who is aggressive, but knows very well what he is doing, he has a defined range of hands, he will know how to fold a hand if this is to compromise his tournament, we can consider him a regular player.
And the second aggressive player is the one we know, who wants to play and win every hand, doesn't have a defined range of hands, usually doesn't have a reise pattern, 3bets with weak hands, and won't fold so easily if he hits something, which is what we find in freerolls.
 
B

BrunoFabri01

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Dec 20, 2021
Total posts
332
Awards
2
Chips
128
My strategy against this is to wait until a high hand comes so I can call the bet..
 
nachopaulo

nachopaulo

Rock Star
Bronze Level
Joined
Jun 24, 2022
Total posts
101
BR
Chips
5
I think it's a strong hand, but against players like that you'll probably spend quite a bit of chips trying to see the flop, as they play aggressively from pre-flop. You saw the flop, your hand hit the board, and the opponent continues to be aggressive, just call and let him give you his chips.

I remembered a hand that I played recently that this happened, the player started aggressive since the pre-flop, I called and made a set, because I already had a pair in my hands, and the opponent continued to fret until the river, which was when it happened all in with only a pair in his hands and I won all his chips.

But remembering, this was one of the hands, it doesn't always happen like that, sometimes he can have a stronger hand than yours, it's important to have a game read before calling against aggressive players, to have a number of hands played against him.
 
makisaa

makisaa

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Oct 6, 2015
Total posts
3,059
Awards
10
GR
Chips
279
How to play against very aggressive players? The solution is to be aggressive too! Aggressive and wise!
 
Leandro6803

Leandro6803

Rock Star
Platinum Level
Joined
Mar 19, 2022
Total posts
462
Awards
2
Chips
463
against aggressive players you will 3-bet a lot and play in position.
you have to have a perception of this opponent's range so look at the showdown of his cards.
 
Gallarado777

Gallarado777

Legend
Loyaler
Joined
Jun 19, 2022
Total posts
5,449
Awards
3
KZ
Chips
249
aggressive players bluff a lot, just wait for a good hand and beat them
 
Top