Date: 2006-11-01
Author: Mike_m235
Everyone pretty much agrees that you have to play aggressive to win playing NLHE. But what does that mean? It doesn't mean you have to fire on every street, or try to take down every pot.
The problem with aggression post flop is that you have to apply it in the right spots, or it turns into a losing play instead of a winning one. As a general concept, try to act in situations that give people something believable a rational play. Most 25NL players are not examining your betting patterns from hand to hand, but a lot of them will notice flaws in an individual hand, so it is important to tell a story that makes sense. So here are some general and specific thoughts that you can use. Some you probably know, some you might not. Pick a couple and try to work them into your game.
To properly play aggressive post flop, you need to do a couple of things preflop.
1. Make sure your raises are big enough. If you are not thinning the field, increase the size of your raises. You want to be against 1 or 2 players after the flop when you have a premium hand like AK, AQ, AA-TT. You don't want 5 guys in the pot. So make sure your raise is getting it done for you. Never raise just 3x. Make it 4x. And for every limper, add one BB. So if there are two limpers to you, look to make your raise 6x. 5x at the smallest.
2. Reraise preflop to force your opponent to define his hand. When you have a good hand, but not AA or KK, you have to find out where you stand as early as possible. The earlier you find out, the cheaper it is. For example, you hold QQ on the button and a mid position player raises to 4x. One guy calls the raise and it's on you. The original raiser (OR) has about an 8% PFR, so he could be on AK, AQ, AA-TT, and maybe even a suited AJ. A lot of guys make the mistake of just calling here. You have to raise! Now if he was a 2% PFR guy who never raises without AA or KK, that's one thing. But against 90% of players a raise is the correct play, here's why: it tells you where you stand. If he has KK or AA and he's out of position, he is very likely to push on your raise, at which point you can safely fold your QQ and get out of a bad situation. Sure, you lose $4, but it's better than losing a $25 stack with QQ to AA. More importantly, it puts you in control of the hand. There are so few reraises preflop at 25NL that guys get scared. You've only got QQ, but he's probably giving you credit for KK or AA. And that's going to allow you to control the hand post-flop. He is probably going to check to you post flop, or maybe he will put out a weak bet that you can squash. Mostly he is going to call you preflop and then try to hit his hand on the flop, but when he misses the flop, he is going to lay it down to your continuation bet almost every time. So by reraising preflop, you are setting him up for your aggressive continuation post flop, where you will take down a nice pot.
3. Do not call raises from poor position. The ONLY hands you should call raises with from out of position are pairs and AK, MAYBE AQs or AQ at a weak table. Fold all other hands to a raise when you are out of position. Because you are being set up to NOT be aggressive post flop. Your opponent is leading the action preflop and he is also got position post flop. It is almost impossible to recapture the lead in the hand unless you hit a monster like a set.
4. Do call raises from good position, especially against weak players. The easiest guy to take advantage of is the guy who plays aggressive preflop but passive post flop. So when you identify these players, call their raises when you have good position. Call with pairs, suited connectors, and other good drawing hands. Also, once you learn this skill, you will find you can call with many, many different hands and win. Because if a guy is playing weakly post flop, you want to be in pots with him in position, because you are going to take the pots whenever he misses the flop.
Post flop thoughts.
1. Attack weakness every time you get a chance. Tell yourself this every hand, if he doesn't want the pot, I am going to take it. And then do exactly that. Take the orphan pots that nobody wants. I am going to talk about some specific examples. Obviously everything is read dependent, and mostly applies when in position. If you are at an aggressive table, there will not be a lot of weakness, so you are better off not trying some of this, but if you aren't trying it, odds are someone else will be, so you will know how to defend better.
2. Remember fold equity. It is always better to bet than to call. In many, many cases a $1 bet on the flop is a good play, while a $1 call with the same cards and the same flop is a fish play. Because by betting your $1, you are showing strength, which might make other people go away. For example, you hold 88 in MP on a flop of K92. The blinds check to you and you bet the pot, $1 the button holds A9. He decides it's not worth it to chase second pair and he mucks. You win. Now go the other way blinds check to you, and you check. The button with his A9 figures nobody has TP, so his MPTK is probably good. He bets pot $1...and if you call you're drawing to two outs. Sure, he might call you on the flop with MP anyway, but at least you have a chance to win the hand by betting. If you call you have almost no chance. A second example: you hold AK on a low flop your opponent also holds AK. If you bet, it is a smart bet if he calls with the same cards it is a marginal call at best.
3. Pick your targets. Since you want to play in position, look to your right. Pick two players to your right that you want to play against (the weakest 2!). Now do your best to get into situations where you can play against those two players heads up, with position. Look for guys who are tentative post flop or better yet guys who totally tip off their hands. I will talk about some tells later in my examples. There are very few 25NL players who know how to defend themselves against aggression. They might know that you are pushing them around, but they don't know what to do about it. If you find a guy who can protect himself, change your target!
4. Think about ways you could be ahead, not ways you could be behind. There is a weak way and a strong way to play the same hand say you have 77 in mid position with 4 people in the pot. The flop is Q 6 2 and it's checked to you with only one player left to act behind you. The weak player tells himself to check, because he's behind anyone with a Q. The aggressive player tells himself to bet, because the blinds would have probably bet if they had a Q, so that means if the one player behind me doesn't have Q, he's probably ahead in the hand.
5. Don't overdo it. You do not want to be the maniac trying to steal every pot. If you steal one $1 pot every 30 hands that is $3+ every 100 hands and that is what you are looking for. Wait for GOOD chances to take pots, and don't push a situation that seems to be going bad.
6. Examples.
a. Limped pots. One feature of 25NL is that there are lots of pots where nobody raised preflop. That should tell you something nobody really liked their hand enough to raise. This is an indication of weakness meaning it is a good time to attack. Here are some good times to attack limped pots.
(1) When the flop has very few ways to connect, but one high card. Qxx, Jxx, Kxx flops are great to attack, especially from position. Because really there is only one card on the board that could hit someone. Also it is very believable that you could have that high card for top pair. People are used to seeing guys play KQ, KJ, etc, so if you bet it, you are just portraying what people already believe. A pot-sized bet post flop, especially with only one player or no players to act behind you is a great bet almost every time. If someone does call, you likely still have position so you can just check behind them on the turn and see a free river.
(2) When you have a draw. I will not push all-in with a draw, but I will try to steal the pot on the flop. For example, I hold A3s on the button and the flop gives me a 4 flush. If it is min bet or checked to me, I will bet 2/3 pot to pot. I have double equity here, either everyone folds and I win, or I disguise my hand if the flush really hits.
(3) When someone shows weakness. At 25NL, a player who shows weakness is usually weak. So feel free to crush him. When one of the blinds leads for $0.25 at a ragged board, it usually means he got a piece of the flop, but not a big piece. Probably second pair or maybe top pair with a really weak kicker. That's your time to take the pot away. Bet pot-sized and watch it fall almost every time. Beware, once in a long while a guy will min-bet with a set. So if a guy min bets and then comes back over the top of your raise, that is a good time to let it go, even if you have top pair. Weak then strong means he has got a monster.
(4) When you actually have a hand. Be aggressive when you hit the flop in a limped pot. Say you limp with KQo in late position and the flop is Kxx, 5 players in the pot. The blinds check and a MP player bets $1 into the $1.25 pot. Attack. This is where you raise and not a crappy little raise, you raise to $3-$3.50. If he had AK, he would have probably raised preflop. If he has a set, you want to know about it as soon as possible to save yourself money. The raise does all of that. If he pushes all in, you can toss away your KQ. If he calls, then he is going to check to you on the turn, putting you in control of the hand. Here is your rule: Never CALL a hand on the flop with top pair. Ever. You can raise, or you can fold, but never call. Unless you have top pair and a flush draw. You really want to take this hand down right on the flop, so bet and try to take it. And be prepared to dump it if someone shows strength back at you.
(5) When you catch a piece of a ragged flop from the blind. When the flop comes 6 4 2 and you have Q4 in the BB, chances are you are ahead. Bet out and take your pot. You do not want to see anymore cards, because your hand sucks and someone is going to outdraw you. Bet the pot. Beware of callers here, because guys with 77-99 may have limped preflop. Obviously fold to any raise (which is unlikely).
(6) The second barrel. Once in awhile guys are going to call your move on the limped pot. They might have a straight or a flush draw, or even second pair. This is a very tricky situation and you really have to read the player. A lot of times firing a second bluff on the turn will take it down bet about 75% of the pot. You want to pick your spots with this, as you are now investing some money into the bluff. But this is better with limped pots, because the price still is not too high. Say 4 players limp, then you bet pot on the flop and get one caller. The pot is now $3. So you can bet $2.50 on the turn if you sense weakness. A TON of 25NL players will call a potsized raise on the flop with a flush or straight draw, but most of them will lay down their hand on the turn to a good bet. So when that flush misses on the turn, that is sometimes your chance to take it.
(7) Just you and the blinds. You limp in early position with KQs, and everyone else folds except the blinds. When the blinds check on the flop, you bet the pot (75c) and take it down. Do not even worry about hitting the flop. If both the blinds have any two unpaired cards, they each have a 30% chance of making a pair. That means there's a 70% chance that each player didn't make a pair. Combined, there is a 49% chance that NEITHER player made a pair. So half the time you will face no pairs. Betting pot-sized, if your play here works every other time you break even. So this is an equal EV play but it's really +EV because they will lay down some pairs. Say one of them pairs a 3 on a 3 7 J board, he's likely to lay that down to a potsized bet. So if you are in a pot with just the blinds, bet. On the other hand, if one of them bets potsized and you missed the flop, go ahead and fold!
b. Raised pots preflop. Stealing pots that were raised preflop is much trickier, because obviously people liked their hands in order to play for a raise preflop. But it is also more profitable, so it is worth doing, but you have to pick your spots. In every case if you try a move on a pot post flop that was raised preflop, cut your losses and find a better spot to make your move. Here are some ways to do it. Notice that almost all of these are very simple bluffs, and always done in places where a bluff makes sense. You do not end up in complicated bluffs for your whole stack, you risk $1-$3 to try to steal some pots.
(1) Look for guys who fail to make continuation bets. Some guys at NL25 will not make a continuation bet with AK or AQ when they miss the flop. Feel free to rob them when you have position. For example, you have 87s and you call a 4x raise with position preflop. The flop comes Jxx and the preflop raiser doesn't bet. You bet the pot and take it down. This is even better if you hit a small piece of the flop, say you pair either your 7 or your 8. You are actually most likely ahead in the hand. Beware if he calls, because if he checks, you bet, and he calls, he has either got two overcards (AK or AQ) or he has a set of jacks and is slow-playing. That is about 99% of a read on his hand (the other 1% he has TT or 99). If an overcard hits the turn, be ready to check behind him or fold to his bet.
(2) Watch for the total donks who tell you when they miss the flop. This happens at least twice a night a guy raises preflop with AK, then misses the flop. He bets out for a very small bet. This is the BEST guy to steal from. There is no way he makes that small bet with AA, he is basically announcing that he has AK. Take him down with a pot sized raise. If you have a pair, that is great, you are ahead. But you can take this pot with any two cards. Again, watch for a huge move by him, one time in 20 he is going to have a big set and be faking weakness. If he does not lay down on the flop, be very careful on the turn, you might be WAY behind.
(3) Make continuation bets most of the time. 25NL players often believe in fit or fold. So if you make a raise preflop, even with 2 or 3 other players in the hand think about taking a shot at it, especially in position. For example, you hold KK. The flop is Axx and there are 3 other players in the pot. Go ahead and bet it. Everyone knows you would raise with AK, make them think about it. Plus, a lot of players are playing for sets odds are good they did not hit one. Most everyone will lay down a low or middle pair with an A on the board if you bet. You will almost never win here if you check the flop because it is too easy to steal from you if you don't bet it.
(4) The reverse of #3 is the Axx board steal. Someone raises preflop and you call from position with 77. You miss your set when the board comes A 5 2. The guy who raised preflop does not make a continuation bet. You bet and take down the pot. Be careful for donks here who can't lay down QQ with an Axx board!
(5) The continuation bet float. This is the advanced version of #4, where you steal the pot even after a guy makes a continuation bet. This is a more advanced play that takes some reading ability be careful with it, it gets expensive when it misses. It also works best when there is nobody left to act behind you. Here is how it goes: you call a preflop raise from good position with 77. Everyone else folds, so it is just you and the raiser and the pot is $2.25. The flop comes Kxx. Now you know he would raise with AA-TT, AK, and AQ, maybe even AJ. So there are three hands that scare you, AA, KK, and AK. On the other hand, he is scared if he has AQ, QQ, JJ, TT, or AJ. Since there is a K on the board, he has got 12 AK combos, 6 AA combos, and 3 KK combos he could have. That is 21 possible hands. On the other hand there are 6 QQ combos, 6 JJs, 6 TTs, 16 AQs, and we'll say 8 AJs if he raises that half the time. So that is 42 combos where he hates that flop. So 67% of the time he hates the flop. But he does not want to look weak, so he makes a continuation bet, betting $2 into the $2.25 pot. A nice play. You figure you are behind with your 77, but you float his CB, meaning you just call behind him. 67% of the time he's hating life, because now the turn comes and he's got to make a decision, is he going to bet again, knowing he could be behind? If he bets again, go ahead and fold. He either has AK or he has got the balls to rebet his QQ. But more likely, the pot is $6 after rake, and he checks. You bet $5 and take down the pot. It is a risky play, but if you steal one $6 pot in a night that is a pretty good boost to your winnings.
There are more plays, but these are the simplest and the safest. The great thing about working things like this into your game is that when you do hit a hand and bet it, guys are more likely to give you action because they think you are making a position steal.
Lastly, make sure you play your made hands aggressively, too. Because you need people to believe that you have something, so sometimes when you bet you need to have something! That means you bet your top set when you hit it. So you raise preflop with AA and you flop Axx. Bet out just like you would if you were making a continuation bet. You have nothing to lose nobody is going to give you action anyway since the A is on the board.
NEVER show your cards. Especially never show a bluff. Never show a good laydown, if you're folding QQ with a Kxx board. The only exception to that is if you are setting someone up. But that needs to be against a specific player when you know exactly how you want to attack him. Generally I'd only do that against someone who is being overaggressive. But that is another story for another day!
|
