Poker Articles

Constant aggression is the mantra of winning poker players these days, and most of us could stand to turn it up a notch. For anyone who tried to learn the game in the early days of the poker boom, the poker literature was much more focused on tight-aggressive play. Phil Hellmuth’s Play Poker Like the Pros is a prime example of how NOT to play poker. I still have a long way to go before I am comfortable “floating with air,” or “firing that third bullet on the turn,” but I think it is also time to take a reality check on where this LAG gospel is taking us. Go big or go home is all well and good, but sometimes tight actually is right. 

The general perception is that when a successful player talks about “switching gears” he or she means ramping up the aggression factor to put pressure on your opponents. This is certainly not always the case. If switching gears always means taking it up a level, we will inevitably end up out of control. Route 1 in California is widely regarded as the most scenic drive in America. It twists and turns and clings precariously to the Pacific coast and driving aficionados flock to it every year. Of course, if you try to drive Route 1 without ever taking your foot off the gas you are quickly going to find yourself headed off a cliff.

Is this reality check necessary for most players? I would say probably not. I for one could still benefit from learning how to play more hands and play them more aggressively. I guess the main goal of this article is to pose the question: are we raising Loose-Aggressive to the level of doctrine? What happened to the days when “it depends” were the watchwords of our faith? I think we all agree that there is no one right way to play poker. It’s that uncertainty that makes this game so special, in my opinion. 

Too often on the boards, a wild hand is posted and heated arguments ensue about whether or not J 6 off suit could ever be profitable to play. The answer? It depends. However, when any two cards are justified solely on the basis of “he was playing LAG,” I think we are missing an opportunity to look at our choices more critically. Why, because it DOES depend. It depends on your stack size, the stacks of your opponents, your image at the table, the phase of the tournament, calling ranges, etc. etc. Do we really want to play any two cards (ATC) poker, where if you fold more than twice an orbit you are labeled a nit?

I’m not saying that pushing all-in with ATC isn’t sometimes the right choice. I’m saying that it’s not always the right choice, and often clearly the wrong one. When it comes to analyzing our game, if we do so only through the lens of one school of thought, or one strategy, we are doing ourselves a disservice. Loose Aggressive play has been so successful, and will continue to be successful because it goes against the grain of established poker thought of decades.

Aggressive play can put people back on their heels and often forces them to make mistakes. Since poker is a battle of avoiding and exploiting mistakes, anything that makes our opponents uncomfortable is a good thing. What the best players aren’t telling you is that they know when to slow it down as well. Predictability is the death of good poker, so it should occur to us that LAG doesn’t mean all-out aggression all the time, but I’m not sure that is clear to the general public.

At the end of the day, aggressive poker is winning poker. Passive play will never get you anywhere, and you would have to run like God to win a tourney playing top ten hands. Also, the ultra-aggressive are successful because people still don’t know how to react. As stevie444 told me in a recent interview, “Weak players adapt to super aggressive players quite badly.” This is what makes LAG and super-LAG profitable today. I think the average online player is catching up to this style quickly, and even live players understand that they have to play back at you in order to stay competitive. The best players don’t ever rely on one strategy. They are constantly shifting gears both up and down in order to take the sharp turn smoothly as well as rocket down the straightaway. So, be kind to your transmission and your bankroll, and know when to take your foot off the gas.