There are many different styles in poker that can be affective, but aggression is a key element in almost all of them. Adapting to the game and to your opponents is important, but if you play passively, you are putting yourself behind the eight ball, making it much harder to win and limiting your potential.

Aggression can have tremendous long-range impact on your game and how others play against you, but at the most basic level, every action where you are being the aggressor gives you a way to win the pot without having to make a hand. If you are just calling another player’s bet, you must have the best hand at showdown to win. If you are the one making the bet, you can still win by having the best hand at showdown, but you can also win the pot any time your opponent folds.

In the last couple of weeks, I have talked about the importance of taking a look back at playing in positionand your starting hands. If you combine those two elements with aggression, you have the holy trinity of basic poker strategy. Play good hands in position aggressively. If you go into every poker session with that in mind, you will be ahead of the game. It is simple in concept, but can be extremely complex in execution.

Aggression not only gives you more ways to win any given pot, but it also allows you to control the pot size and win bigger pots when you have strong hands and lose smaller pots when you have medium strength hands, especially if you are playing in position.

A basic example would be flopping a flush draw. Let’s say you raised from late position with Q-J of hearts and the flop came K-7-4 with two hearts. One of the blinds called your pre-flop raise and now checked to you. A bet will often win this pot and, if not, you still have a strong drawing hand that can develop. Plus, you will likely maintain control of on the following streets, allowing you to dictate much of what happens.

The “next bet” implications of aggression can also be tremendously valuable, especially in games where you are playing with the same opponents regularly or at least have been playing with them for a decent amount of time in an individual session. While a player might be willing to call a bet with middle pair on the flop, if they have the expectation that they will be facing a bigger bet on the turn and river, they are much more likely to let a hand go even if they have a reasonable expectation that their hand is the best right now.

Getting the fold equity out of an implied bet that you have not yet made (and may not make in reality) is a huge added benefit of continued aggression. It is hard to quantify, but it’s definitely a real and valuable element of being aggressive and of being perceived by your opponents as aggressive.

Everything has limits, and the same is true with aggression. If you are 5betting and 6betting pre-flop every couple of rounds and continuation betting 100% of the time, then you have made yourself very exploitable. But, controlled and regular aggression should be a part of every poker player’s strategy.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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