How to play with aggressive poker. Aggressive betting in poker

A long time ago, when I first started playing online poker at the micros, all the regulars that I met every day were extremely passive and tight. So passive that every time they 3-bet preflop or raise postflop, you could be 99% sure they had aces or a set.

But times have changed, and now even at the lowest limits you will sometimes meet very aggressive players. They will 3-bet you light, raise and float you post-flop with different kind hands.

In this article, I'd like to share with you some of the key ways you can beat aggressive regulars in low stakes cash games.

Don't get involved in a war with regs

One of the most annoying things in poker is having a very aggressive player to your left. That's because he's 3-betting you all the time every time you open. And more often than not, you will be in the red due to lack of position.

It quickly gets boring, so in such cases I usually either change the table or move to another place. But more often than not, I stay at the table for one simple reason - Fish sits to my right. Therefore, I do not want to leave such a table.

So, if you do decide to stay at the table, what do you do with this aggressive "thorn" to your left?

So first let's talk about what most people do.

Most players let their ego get the better of them and they lightly 4-bet and 5-bet aggressive players with all sorts of stupid hands. They also start calling out of position 3-bets and then float postflop with some trash.

Both of these strategies are doomed to failure, and here's why.

If a player has position on you every time, it will always be a losing game. This is the same as voluntarily agreeing to a fight with your hands tied behind your back.

The aggressive reg to your left will always have a big advantage over you every hand as he will be the last one to act. In other words, he will first see your action before accepting his own.

You will be accepting all my decisions are blind, without the slightest understanding of how the opponent will react. And this is too big a handicap for the opponent so that you can overcome it.

Moreover, you will not play against a fish, but against another reg, who will probably not be very far from you in terms of skill level, and therefore, your edge will be minimal.

Once you start playing with regs, you will forget about the main reason why you are sitting at this table, because of the fish! And this is a problem.

Thus, with all of the above, it is very important to be able to remain calm and sane and avoid the so-called "reg wars". Even if you win one battle, you will still lose the entire war.

Narrow your opening range and widen your 4-betting range

The rational approach in this case is to realize that your opponent is lightly 3-betting you and simply narrow your opening range. And don't look at it as a sign of weakness.

This is nothing more than a balanced and rational reaction to the prevailing circumstances. This is especially true in late positions and the blinds, as this is where aggressive players start to get especially brazen with 3-bets.

So, for example, from your standard stealing range of 30-40%, exclude a lot of weak speculative hands, especially those that do not have a strong high card, that is, suited and offsuit connectors (ex. 5 4 , 6♣5♣, 7♦6♦, 9♠8 , J♣T♦).

Get rid of the dominating Broadway and trash aces and kings too. These are hands such as: Q♦T♦, K T♣, A♣8♦, K 9 .

On the other hand, you should expand your 4-betting range as well.

Because we know that an aggressive regular will 3-bet us with all sorts of broadways, pairs, suited connectors, and suited aces, we know that most of the time he won't be able to continue against our 4-bet.

So if you normally only 4-bet with hands like AA, KK, QQ, JJ, and AK, now add TT, 99, AQ, for example. Also mix in a couple of blocker bluffs, like suited aces (A 3 or A♠5♠).

From time to time with fairly strong hands, you should also call 3-bets out of position to balance your ranges.

Yes, I know that in my books, articles, and videos I have always advocated against calling 3-bets (and just open-raises) out of position. And if you're playing at NL10 limits or lower (or just new to poker), then I don't go back on my words - that's how it should be done.

However, once you get to NL25 and beyond, where the regs are already a lot stronger, you can't just 4-bet and fold out of position, as you'll make yourself a very exploitable target. So, as you move up in the limits, you still need to develop your OOP calling range a bit with relatively strong holdings.

How to play 4-bet pots out of position?

Well, an obviously aggressive player won't fold to your 4-bets every time. Sometimes he will call. Just like we will sometimes call his 3-bets.

So how should we play our postflop play in these situations? Let's first talk about what we do as preflop aggressors.

When it comes to 4-bet pots (assuming effective stacks were 100bb at the start of the hand), we don't really have much wiggle room. I mean the stacks will be very short.

Typically, the preflop raise order would look something like this:

• 3bb open raise > 10bb 3bet > 22bb 4-bet

So, before you see the flop in a 4-bet pot, about 1/4 of your stack will already be in the pot.

Since the current pot size will be close to 50bb (if you have one opponent), if you c-bet, there will already be about half of your stack in the pot.

And this creates such a low SPR that if you hit an overpair, top pair, or a good draw, you have almost no chance to fold.

Most of the time I'll just c-bet and push with any made hand. Draws are a little different because I don't want to just call with them. So most of the time it will be a good spot to check-raise all-in on the flop, putting maximum pressure on your opponent and gaining maximum fold equity.

How to play 3-bet pots out of position?

Playing 3-bet pots out of position is a difficult task. Most of the time you will miss the flop and have to act first in an overblown pot.

But since we're in such a mess, what should we do?

So we're up against an aggressive player with initiative, so if we check we'll just get a c-bet from him most of the time.

3-bet pots are completely different from 4-bet pots. The SPR will be much higher here, so we can still get away with a lot of our hands if we think we're behind.

However, we will often have to fight for the pots too, or calling out of position will be a disaster for our red line and for winnings in general.

This is where most people play wrong.

Here you will need to mix a lot of lines such as:

• Check/call
• Check/raise
• Donk bet

When specifically you need to use this or that line, this is already a topic for a separate article or even a series of articles. Although I will say that a lot here will depend on how a particular opponent reacts to a particular line.

That's why I'm a big proponent of installation so that you have all the information you need at your fingertips and you can quickly use it.

But generally speaking, you should just balance your game with all types of hands, from top pairs and medium pairs to draws, semi-bluffs and bluffs (in some cases).

Against extremely aggressive regs (those with high 3-bets and frequent c-bets on the flop and turn), you can simply smash them with your check-raise shoves on the turn with lots of value hands and strong draws.

However, don't get me wrong, you don't have to fight for every sweat. A good number of times you should just fold on the flop. Trying out of position to take every pot from a competent reg is not a good idea for your win rate.

Final Thoughts

Fighting back aggressive players to your left is never easy. In fact, it will be very frustrating, no matter how well you play.

Allowing your ego to come out and return fire with fire is usually a mistake, simply because you will almost always be out of position.

In general, it’s worth killing with regs, of course. I do it all the time myself, so I make them tilt. But this must be done especially carefully and with a cool head.

No need to fight constantly "on their territory." Meet aggression with more aggression (or beat the enemy with calls) when you are in position.

If you are out of position, the only correct decision you can make is to hide. However, you can also expand your 4-betting and calling ranges out of position if you play at higher stakes.

In one of the previous lessons, we talked about the rules of poker, the basics of betting, raising and calling. In this lesson, we'll take it a step further and teach you how and why to bet in different situations.

Remember that an aggressive style is more profitable during long game, so in this tutorial we'll look at situations in which you can use this style. Aggression wins more money and reduces the gain of opponents.

Preflop betting

There are many reasons to raise preflop in No Limit. We have already talked about this a little. It is important to think about the outcome before placing a bet. Here are the goals you should be pursuing:

ISOLATION OF LIMPERS. As the antes increase as the tournament progresses, the money in the pot becomes more and more valuable. If your stack decreases as the pot grows, then you need to become a more aggressive player. Good tournament players know this, but the main thing about poker is that not every player is a good player. You can see that many poker players do not play with raises, but simply limp, hoping to see without much cost. Such players usually hold cards like suited connectors, suited *, or.

In late position, it's convenient to play against limpers by pretending you're weak. Of course, it is best to play with passive players or those who will definitely call you. The correct bet size is approximately 3x the big blind + 1 big blind per limper. However, be vigilant and watch your stack. There is a good rule of thumb: you must have at least 10M chips (M = your stack divided by the preflop pot size) to play normally if the game is on passively and around 15M for a loose table. You can play with a small stack size, but in this case it would be better to go "all-in".

What cards do you need to play this game? Our goal is to steal "dead money", this is of course not the best option, but sometimes it's good to get into . It all depends on your image at the table. But if the goal is to make everyone fold with suited , small pair and +, then you should choose better cards than this range.

No free flops

This principle is very similar to the previous one, but it includes the specialization of the battle of the blinds. Once the blinds and antes get big enough, you should always raise from the big blind if the player in the small blind is limping. Remember to watch your game image and try not to be predictable. Of course, there are times when it is necessary to let the small blind get into the pot cheaply, but more often than not, you should not just let a player from the small blind see the flop, but immediately play aggressively preflop.
Post-flop betting

Now let's discuss post flop betting strategies and tactics when playing no limit in particular. Remember to always have a plan and have good reasons for everything you do.

Continuation bets

A continuation bet is a bet on the flop after you did preflop (were the aggressor). They help show what you have good cards and the game is under control. If you play in an aggressive style, then these bets are a must. But you can not ignore the characteristics of opponents and the structure of the flop.

You must clearly understand when it is worth making such bets:

Betting Size - How good are your cards?

Make sure the bets complete the card story. For example, if you raise preflop and the big blind is holding, the flop will come. If you have an ace, what bet should you bet? If you bet only 1/3 of the size of the pot, would you believe an ace if you were in your opponent's shoes? Of course not. Many continuation bets should be around ½ - 2/3 the size of the pot, but there are several factors such as flop structure, game image and your stack size.

Number of players

The number of players who called you preflop is a very important factor in determining whether you should bet or not. good rule- never bluff on the flop against three players. In fact, you have to be careful when you decide to bluff with two players.

Trial bet

A trial bet is associated with a pre-flop raise. Let's say you raised from the big blind having, on the flop the dealer opened the following cards - . Many poker players advise making a trial bet, about 1/2 the size of the pot, to get an idea of ​​the strength of your opponents' cards. However, in recent times there are too many aggressive players, and your trial bet may run into a bluff. If you can read your opponents well and you know that they are more conservative, you can try this bet, in which case they will not raise with weak cards. However, these days it's best to check/raise to determine the strength of your opponents. Only all this knowledge together will paint a complete picture of whether you need to make a continuation bet or not.

Check / Raise

There are several situations in which a check/raise play can be perfectly acceptable. Since all the details cannot be covered in this lesson, you should have a basic understanding of the general situations in which you can check/raise.

Determine the strength of your hand - of course, this can give you information about your cards and opponents' cards, but this is an expensive way.

In online poker - In most cases, check/raise is played with strong cards, so this situation is often used for bluffing, especially if the opponent likes continuation bets.

Force your opponent to make a mistake - You can force your opponent to call, even if it is not so beneficial for him.

Calling a reraise - if the opponent does not understand the strength of such a game and will raise again in response, this The best way get more chips from this player.

The value of the stakes

As we have already noted, aggressive style is crucial in poker. But when the river comes and you potentially winning combination, you need to think about the importance of rates. In this case, you can just relax and stop thinking about the game, but most often there is a situation when you have medium-strength cards in your hands and the question arises of what to do next. Here is a list that will help you figure it out and give you all the answers.

• Are you equalized? There is always a risk of losing when betting, so sometimes it is better to play.
• Will the opponent call to find out your cards? This situation can easily encourage you to bluff.
• Will your opponent check/raise? The answer to this question is hidden in your knowledge of the features of the opponent's game.
• Will he bluff? Everything again depends on your ability to read your opponent and the ability to understand his features of the game.
• If you play , will it encourage your opponent to bluff? More often than not, especially with medium-strength cards, checking the river is the best way to call your opponent.

Using chips as weapons

As you can see, there are several factors to consider when placing a bet or raising it. Your image, stack size, and opponent behavior are just a few of them. Aggressive play is also important. Use your chips as a weapon, but think about what outcome you want and bet accordingly.

To succeed at the lowest stakes in today's poker, it is simply necessary to have an aggressive strategy both pre-flop and post-flop. In some situations, it will be more preferable to play aggressively not only strong value hands, but also some marginal hands that other players will usually just check with. In other situations, you should bluff aggressively, taking pots that other players are afraid to fight for.

Either way, the key to success at these stakes is aggression. But once you get above the micro limits, you will run into many players who have also learned this lesson well. An aggressive game is a profitable game. And here we have a logical question. If aggression always wins, how do you beat aggressive players?

When making forays into higher stakes, micro-limit players usually get a serious rebuff. They have learned how to fold weak hands, but like all other players, they have such hands most of the time. They understand every such fold as correct, so when they look at their results, they wonder what they are doing wrong.

The problem is that these folds were indeed correct at the lower stakes, but only because their opponents weren't aggressive enough. However, when playing against overly aggressive opponents, "correct" folds become costly, and most players, sooner or later, realize that they need to change something.

At the next stage, many players come to the strategy of "fight with fire" and try to counter aggressive players with retaliatory aggression. After all, a little more aggression never hurts, right?

However, this approach is doomed to failure for two reasons. First, you are not creating enough advantage. If your opponents are pushing too often with weak hands and you are also expanding your shoving range, then neither you nor your opponents are winning in this situation. You are simply playing a high variance game with minimal benefits.

Secondly, if you play a full ring by creating an ultra-aggressive dynamic with some opponents, you create an advantageous situation for other players who are not in your "arms race" to wait for strong hands and take pots. That is why this approach usually does not bring the desired results.

The correct counter-strategy against aggressive players is to play passively in the right situations, but for most winning players this will be a very difficult adjustment, as they don't have the best associations with passive play.

To understand why passive play might be the right fit, you have to understand that what you think is aggressive play can actually be overly aggressive.

Very aggressive game best strategy for microlimits in vacuum. If you're ripping nl10-25, you're most likely doing it because you're expanding your ranges a little preflop and applying extra postflop aggression in certain key spots.

This style is considered overly aggressive, as additional preflop hands give more weak hands postflop. At the micros you can capitalize on these extra weak hands by playing them aggressively, but you will be vulnerable against an opponent who understands the concept and plays accordingly.

An overly aggressive player's worst nightmare is an opponent who plays tight preflop (and therefore gets hit more often) good hands post-flop) and often and unpredictably opens his bets.

It is this kind of counter-strategy that beats overly aggressive players. You want your opponent to always be guessing what your hand is, which means you need to call him more often before showdown.

Example

$5-$10 live limit with $2000 stacks. A very aggressive player raises to $50 from middle position. The player on the button calls. You call in the big blind with QJ. There's $155 in the pot.

Flop: 983. You check, the preflop raiser bets $100, the button folds, you call.

turn: Q. You check, preflop raiser bets $300, you call. There's $955 in the pot.

river: A. You check, the preflop raiser bets $800.

This is a good calldown situation against many aggressive players. The ace on the river is definitely a scary card as it closes the flush and is also an overcard to the board. Chances are you're behind now, but the pot odds are $1,755-to-$800, or just over 2:1. This means that you need to win just over 31% of the time to be worth the call.

At the micros, pot odds of 31% would be a hopeless hope. Micro-stakes players would never be aggressive on this river without a flush, or at least a straight. Of course, sometimes they can decide on a big bluff, but this probability is definitely not even close with 31%.

But smart, aggressive higher stakes players often see this river as a great bluffing spot. C-betting on a flop like this will be the standard for many players, regardless of their cards. The queen on the turn seems like a terrible overcard to such players. where they simply have to keep bluffing.

Called on the turn and possibly perfect scary card on the river, such players simply cannot help but bet the third barrel. Therefore, if you call on this river, some aggressive players will show literally any two cards they started with, regardless of the strength of the hand. Their aggressive play was driven by board texture and turn and river runouts, not by the strength of their own hand. And even if your opponent bluffs a little less than in this example, you will still win more than 31 times. So this call will be positive.

Conclusion

Learning to play against aggressive players can be a significant shift in your understanding of poker. If at the micros the main winning strategy was the one according to which you should always show aggression, and without a hand just fold with aggression in your direction, then at higher limits you should already understand that your opponents themselves will try to squeeze you out of the pot, and skillfully recognize these situations. That's why best weapon against aggressive players, there will sometimes be a regular calldown.

Greetings PokerOFFa readers!!! Having glanced at my leisure in the translation group, I decided to do something similar. The translation is certainly not of the same quality as that of sandr1x, but I hope it is not so terrible. In the article we are talking about the loose-aggressive style of play (LAG). I think all of you have noticed how little information you can find on this topic compared to the tight-aggressive style. The author partially explains why this happens, and also gives interesting recommendations on mastering the loose style of play. I would not agree with some points, some have long been known to us, but for myself personally, I discovered something new in this article. Be that as it may, we would like to thank the site beatnolimit.com for such high-quality and useful material.

Loose-aggressive poker strategy

Usually, we label LAGs (loose aggressive players) as losers. It's good to have such opponents at the table, as they usually put a lot of money into the pot and constantly pay us strong combinations.

In most cases, it is. But have you ever played at a table where LAG seemed like an unstoppable player? He most likely had a big stack and seemed to always bluff when you were weak and fold when you had a strong hand. If this has ever happened to you, then you know how hard it can be to play against LAGs.

Sometimes, it's just stupid luck. The loose player left the table just in time, catching some big hands and throwing the rest of the players off the hook. But what if he was really a good player who does it on purpose? You know that there are such players.

Good LAGs can unbalance the whole table and use their image to make them pay more when they have a strong hand. Well-timed bluffs also add value, making a loose strategy more dangerous if it ends up in the right hands.

The main concept that works to win LAG players is excellent post-flop play that can be compensated for bad game on the pre-flop. Playing hands like 7-5s pre-flop is a losing strategy in and of itself, but if you can play them superbly post-flop, you can turn losing hands into winning ones.

It also creates an image of a madman at the table, causing players who would otherwise fold their weak hands to pay more. When LAG players play so many hands aggressively, their opponents have an incredibly difficult time trying to read his hand.

Position is EVERYTHING!

Position is the final adjustment, no matter how good you are. Strong loose players know this and avoid playing trash hands out of position. They may play more hands from early position than the rest of the players, but they still play fewer hands from early position compared to the number of hands they play from late position.

When they create an aggressive image at the table, position becomes an even more powerful weapon. They make the most of this image by stealing the blinds, raising from the button, and buying the button with a cut-off raise.

LAGs should use every advantage they can get because the very nature of the loose-aggressive style is to put your opponents in all types of difficult post-flop situations. Playing marginal hands is challenging task, but for loose players, doing it from position is much easier. They end up post-flop with draws, pure bluffs, mediocre hands, and everything in between. By playing in position, it's easier to read your opponents' hands, so LAG can exit the hand cheaply if someone has a strong hand.

Position is everything for LAGs.

Dumping power

Loose players fold more power than any other type of player. They raise with weak hands not because they think they are good hands, but because they can win the pot in one of three ways:

1. Catch a well-hidden monster hand and make it pay.

2. Win the pot by making your opponents fold the best hand.

3. Earn extra money by stealing blinds.

On top of that, the table image created by loose players results in extra profit later on in the game because players are less likely to believe in a strong hand.

Value Betting

LAG and do well (cash in) by making thin value bets. I mean, loose players make profitable bets with weak hands because their opponents are more likely to call them. The average (regular) poker player will call LAG bets with a much wider range of hands than usual. Value bets are the main source of profit for loose players. By playing weak hands and making tough decisions, these additional value bets provide a good cushion (insurance) for loose players.

hand reading

Hand reading is the most important skill for loose players. LAG players find themselves in questionable situations with marginal hands so often that excellent hand reading is a must. Loose players need to know when to keep pushing for a player to fold, and when to fold if someone continues to be stubborn. They need to understand when other players are slowplaying or check-raising when they hit a set. Also, they should be able to assess hand ranges well enough to know when to bet thin for value and when to bluff.

Gear shift

LAGs should be able to change the style of the game, giving up pennies (explanation of a draw for the sake of a trifle). This skill is almost as important as hand reading and almost as difficult. When opponents start calling every bet made by a loose player, he needs to switch to "longer" mode and play tight, straight-forward poker. What makes gear shifting even more difficult is that loose players only have to do it for specific opponents. Thus, against one opponent, the loose player will have to start playing straight-line poker, but against his neighbor, he will need to continue playing like a maniac. Ability to switch to different playing styles, one of distinctive features great loose players.

mental stability

If huge fluctuations in profits bother you, the loose style is not a good fit for you. The loose style is extremely unstable and is characterized by huge bankroll fluctuations. A few days can result in an 8 buyin loss while other days can result in a 10 buyin profit.

Loose players also experience more bad beats than anyone else because people don't like to fold to LAGs. If you can't deal with ridiculous bad beats on a regular basis, you will probably avoid the loose style, since bad beats are the way of life for loose players.

Learning LAG style

Loose style is based on creativity, hand reading and flair, there are not many recommendations for loose players. Most websites and books only teach the tight-aggressive approach because it's easier to learn and the best strategy for beginners.

The best way to learn loose style is practice. This style is difficult to learn, so you should definitely go down a limit or two when you practice loose style. This way you will have more confidence at the table and crazy swings won't hurt your bankroll as much.

LAG style requires more concentration than any other style of play, so it also helps to reduce the number of tables you play. If you play at one or two tables at the same time, your reads on opponents will be better, as well as the decisions you will make.

Perhaps you should double your bankroll when you experiment with LAG style. The volatility of the style is too high for the usual recommendation of a medium-sized bankroll. Generally, this is not bad idea, to have at least 40-50 buyins in reserve when you play in a loose-aggressive manner.

Conclusion

• The loose-aggressive style can be dangerous in the right hands, but it's not for everyone. Beginners should learn the basics before even thinking about a loose style.
• Only the most experienced players should try to play in a loose manner, because to be successful, it requires more skill. Bad loose players can lose a lot of money in a short amount of time.
• If you decide to try the loose style, move down the limits and cut back on the number of tables you play.

You are a novice player and are still mastering the micro limits. You know very well that you need to fold weak hands, but after an abundance of folds, you suddenly notice that the game is not going as well as you would like. What's the deal here, you ask? And the problem is that your opponents are very likely to playaggressively(that is, actively betting, raising, reraising, even all-ins), conquering pot after pot, and the blinds will begin to eat more and more of your stack.

In other words, you can’t do without the ability to play aggressively even at micro-limits. It will help not only to fight off the attacks of other aggressive players, but also to replenish the stack. In this article, we'll walk you through the basics of playing aggressively at the micros.

When does a tight game stop being profitable?

foldis the right decision only if your opponents playnot aggressive enough. However, sensing that you will be playing tight and folding all the weak hands, they will start to boss the table, raise the bets and take the pot or the blinds, knowing that you will not call. And if the opponents play too aggressively, the blinds turn out to be expensive, so at some point you will have to decide on a change in the strategy of the game.

Why can't you just respond with aggression for aggression?

Then many beginners respond to the aggression of opponents in the same way. And what do you think? This strategy also turns out to be losing!

And that's why:

1. Your advantage is not enough. If your opponents play aggressively too often with weak hands and you also begin to play large bets with all sorts of hands indiscriminately in response, thenyour hand range appears to be roughly identical to your opponent's range. It turns out that the game ceases to be winning for both, since a wide range provides a wide sample for variance, equalizing the chances of both of you. The advantages in such a game are scanty.
2. If you run an ultra-aggressive game with only one opponent and, as it were, play an "arms race", you untie the hands of the remaining participants in the table who are not involved in your "graters". They will calmly wait for strong hands, call at the right time and take pots from you. Usually,playing aggressively against one or even several specific players is a disadvantageous venture.

The main task in the fight against aggressors is to reveal their bluff

Is a raise always necessary?

A smart strategy against aggressors is to play passively - but only in the right cases. And yes, for the bulk of challenging players, passive play will cause a painful restructuring of their own style.

Why painful? Because such players play too aggressively, thinking that they are just playing aggressively. It happens like this: at $0.1/$0.25 limits, you can win by slightly expanding your range of hands preflop and starting to play aggressively postflop in some important moments.

So, this game is too aggressive:extra hole cards preflop give more weak hands postflop. Although this works on an aggressive bluff, this strategy will lose to an opponent who sees you through and plays similarly.

Let's add that aggressive players are most afraid of those who play tight preflop, respectively, they often catch strong hands postflop and often and unexpectedly open their bluffs.

Actually, you understand how to play, right? In order for the opponent to try to understand what kind of hand you have, you need tocall his bet more often, bringing it to showdown.

An example of a preflop to river continuation bet to expose

Let's take a concrete example. You play $5/10 with a $2,000 stack. A very aggressive opponent raises to $50 from middle position. The button calls; you also get involved in the distribution from the big blind, holding J 10 in your hands.

Flop: 8♠ 7♠ 2. You check; the preflop raiser bets $100, the button folds. You call. In the bank - $355.

Turn:J♣. You miss a move, the opponent remaining in the game again bets - $ 300, you call. In the bank - $955.

River:K♠. You check again and your opponent bets $800.

All-in is not our method!

What is bad king of spades on the river? He will first giveflush(if the opponent has two peak cards), and secondly, isthe highest card on the board. There are chances that you are behind. But let's look at pot odds, or pot odds: your call will be worth $800 when there is already $1,755 in the pot. We get the ratio: $1.755:$800 ≈2:1 . Therefore, the gain is needed a little more thanin 31% of casesto justify the call.

Methods for determining a bluff on the board in the absence of a strong hand

Pot odds of 31% at the micros is an unreasonable hope. Microstakes regulars would never play aggressively without a straight or at least a flush. They could, of course, famously bluff, but the probability of winning here was not even close with 31%.

However, experienced "aggressors" realize that a good bluff can be made on such a river. And that's why:betting from street to street on such a flop will be many, regardless of the cards they received. So, a jack on the turn can be considered the highest card, which means they should bluff further. And after calling on the turn, they can't help but make a third bet. And that's why, by making a call on the river in this case, you will receive in response to the showdown of any two cards with which you entered the distribution, andno matter strong or weak handthey will eventually have it.

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Do not let the aggressors rob you!

Thus, your opponent's aggressive play is caused by the cards on the board and, in particular, the ability to hit outs on the turn and river - and not at all by the strength of his hand. Assuming that the opponent bluffs a little less than in the above example, your winning percentage will still be higher than 31%. So calling on this river is the right decision.

Don't let the aggressors knock you out of the hand!

Let's summarize. Education aggressive play gives a correct understanding of poker. So, if at micro-limits you need to constantly show aggression in order to be in the black (and when aggression is in your direction, fold weak cards if they come), then at higher limits you need to understand the following: it is important for your opponent to knock you out of the game, and you need to understand when the opponent uses a bluff to do so. And good weapon against such an aggressive bluff would be a simple check