Aggression in Poker
In some weak poker games, you’ll see a lot of “Raise, Call, Call and Call” type action going on. Limping into hands, or flat calling raises both have their place in a game of poker, but they should be the exception rather than the rule. Raising is often going to be better if you have a hand worth playing. Here are the two main reasons why you should be more inclined to play aggressively and raise:
1.Just calling shows weakness
2.The player who raises controls the hand
If you have a strong hand you need to be in there raising, firstly because it gets more money in the pot when you are probably the favourite, and secondly because it increases the chance that you will win the hand without a showdown, as the strength you have shown by raising makes it likely your opponent will fold to you when you bet on the flop.
Obviously there are exceptions to this rule; you wouldn’t raise a pot with merely TT if there has already been a raise and a re-raise pre-flop, for example. Just calling here might be the better option. But usually, you want to be rasing.
Just Calling Shows Weakness
Everyone knows that raising is what you do with good hands. So by just calling, you are in effect saying “My hand really isn’t that strong”. Just calling get you into trouble most of the time, because you won’t be able represent a strong hand on the flop, and therefore you have less chance of taking the pot down with bets later in the hand. If the hand isn’t good enough to raise, then often times it might not be good enough to play in the first place.
By just calling you leave yourself open to your opponent betting you out of pots you should have won simply because you didn’t re-raise pre-flop. When you raise pre-flop you show great strength, and most players will either fold to you pre-flop, or to your continuation bet if they missed the flop.
Raising Puts You in Control
When you raise or re-raise aggressively you show your serious intentions about the hand. If your opponents miss the flop, this aggression will be carried forward to your flop bet, and you are very likely to take the pot down. Your betting has shown a consistent story: “I raised preflop because my hand was strong, and now I’m betting the flop because my hand is still strong. You better get out of my way, because I’m going to win this pot!”
After raising preflop, most aggressive players will bet almost any flop as long as there are fewer than three people in the hand. The strength you have shown pre-flop will make it hard for your opponents to call, even if they hit the flop weakly themselves. Even if they do call, they will usually play passively for the remainder of the hand because you have shown so much strength, which might let you hit another card to take the lead, or might give you the chance to bluff them out later on.
Here’s an example of why aggressive players raise pre-flop:
A player limps in pre-flop and you raise with Ace-Queen. The player who limped calls your raise with pocket 9s. The flop comes K T 4. The player with 99 checks to you, and you bet. The player with 99 realises that since you raised preflop you could have many hands that hit that flop, so he folds. You win the pot with only your Ace-high. Your aggression has let you win the pot, even though your opponent had the better hand on the flop.
Such is the power of aggression.
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