- Playing Tight and Aggressive
- Importance of Position
- Bluffing Effectively
- Reading the Board
Playing Tight and Aggressive
Tight Aggressive
Tight Aggressive is a crux central loosely coupled tactic in Texas Holdem, which contains choosey initial hands as well as forceful playing.
Starting Hands Selection
You want to play high pairs (Aces, Kings, Queens) and high suited connectors (i.e., Ace-King suited, King-Queen suited) most of the time. For example, if you have pocket Aces you have an 85% chance of winning with that hand against a random hand pre-flop.
Example Hand Play
Hole Cards: A♠ A♦
Flop: 7♣ 9♦ K♠ (Top Poker Pair Tens with King Kicker)
Turn: The turn card is 3♣.
River: The river card is 2♥.
In this situation, your pocket Aces hold up pretty much throughout the hand.
Betting Strategy
This will intimidate the opponents and they may be compelled to take tougher decisions. For example, if you have K♠ Q♠ and you get J♠ 10♠ 4♦ on the flop, you have an open-ended straight flush draw. Aggressive betting here will do two things: it will build the pot and it will make the weaker hands fold, which are the main ways to win a poker hand.
Example Betting
Pre-Flop: You raise with K♠ Q♠.
Flop: Flop shows J♠ 10♠ 4♦. You bet again.
Turn: Turn is 2♣. Keep the pressure up with continual betting.
River: 9♠ completes your straight flush. Aggressively bet to build the pot.
Positional Awareness
Did you know your table position is important? If you have to play your hand early in the game, play it as you would from an early position, so that you create the right image at the table and you can play aggressively from the late position. If, for instance, you are on the button with A♣ K♣ and the action folds to you, both calling and raising are correct since you have premium hole cards and position, giving you a good chance to win the pot pre-flop or post-flop.
Positional Play
Hole Cards: A♣ K♣ (BTN)
Open Raise (Pre-Flop): Action folds to you.
Flop: The flop is 6♦ 8♣ Q♠. You missed the flop but still bet with the positional advantage.
Reading Opponents
Observe their fold/bluff rate and then adjust your play iteratively (playing fewer hands). If a player calls more often than he raises, maybe he is a passive player. Taking advantage of this by making large bets with your good hands can be very profitable.
Importance of Position
By and large, positions at the poker table are classified in three classes: early positions, center positions, and late positions. The dealer (button) and the next two positions to the left (the small blind and big blind) are known as late positions because they are the last players to make a decision post-flop, and therefore are in the most powerful position post-flop.
Early Position Play
Playing from early position is tough since you have the least information about your opponents. And like they play tight early position as well. For instance, when you are under the gun (UTG), you have to play nitty and wait for the very nuts such as Aces, Kings, or Ace-King suited.
An Early Position Hand Play Example
Hand 1: You are dealt A♠ K♠ UTG
Pre-flop: You make a raise with your A♠ K♠ because you can play strong cards like those even from the early positions.
Flop: 10♠ 7♦ 2♣. The flop came out, you have missed it, but a continuation bet may still work.
Turn: The turn is Q♣. Keep on betting with two overcards and straight draw equity.
River: The river is 3♥. If opponents show weakness, then another bet will grab the pot.
Middle Position Play
You can afford to expand the range once you are in a middle position because you have a bit more information about what the early position players did. Other hands such as Queen-Queen, Jack-Jack, and Ace-Queen suited from a late position or cutoff open can be played.
Hand Play Example: Middle Position
Hole Cards: Q♣ Q♦
Pre-Flop: You raise to reduce your opponents and keep weaker hands.
Flop: The flop is 9♠ 6♥ 3♣. You bet because you have a powerful overpair.
Turn: The turn is J♠. Bet to protect it and bet for value.
River: The river is 5♦. The final bet can get paid off by lighter pair holdings as well.
Late Position Hand Play Example
Hole Cards: 8♠ 7♠ on the button
Preflop: Several players call, and you opt to raise to build the pot and take control.
Flop: 6♦ 9♠ J♣. You have a straight draw. Open-ended. Bet to pressure opponents.
Turn: 10♠. Your bets should be heavy; kick it up a notch to five times the big blind!
River: The river is 3♣. Bet until you hit something and achieve a peak by keeping the stakes alive on your side.
Defensive Line (OPP) Indicator Stats
Early win rate: Players in early positions win less often than those who act later in a hand, up to 25-30% more often for those in the late positions.
The most common raise success: Although in a super aggressive player pool you might not call here with A7o (shove or fold is better), a raise from the button will result in winning the blinds about 80% of the time.
Bluffing Effectively
Being able to bluff in Holdem is a great skill to learn as it could have a far-reaching impact on your game.
Bluffing more or bluffing less will certainly do more harm than good. Our balanced bluffing frequency should be, ideally, 20-25%. This keeps your opponents guessing and makes you harder to read.
Example Hand Play
Hole Cards: You get 7♠ 6♠
Flop: (K♦ 9♣ 2♦) You completely missed, but you have a great bluffing opportunity.
Action: You shove 70% of the pot… The idea is to pretend that you have AK.
Turn: The turn is J♠. Finish the tale by betting again, with a value hand.
River: The river is 4♦. End with a value bet if your opponent acts weak.
Detecting Bluff Opportunities
Bluffs tend to work better when the board is usually a better fit to your hand than your opponents. Any high card board with high potential straights and/or flushes are boards good for bluffing. For example, if the board comes A♠ K♠ 3♣ 10♦ 4♠, you can tell a story about how you tried for your flush and failed or you have a really big Ace.
Example Betting
Hole Cards: Q♦ J♦
Flop: The flop is K♠ 10♦ 4♠. You are on an open-ended straight draw.
Turn: The turn is 3♣. Bluffing: Bet as if you have a good hand to put your opponents in a tough spot.
River: The river is 9♣. An even weaker bet could have gotten your opponent off his straight.
Reading Your Opponents
In other words, effective bluffing is based around watching the table and picking up on your opponents’ potential playing tendencies. Players that frequently fold to aggression are excellent candidates for those bluff attempts. As for the other side of the coin, do not try to bluff calling stations who never fold.
Example Opponent Reading
You (Hole Cards): A♣ 8♣
Flop: The flop brings Q♠ 5♠ 2♥. Your opponent checks.
Turn: The turn is 9♦. You bet, your opponent calls.
River: The river is 7♠. Your opponent checks again. If you have seen them fold to river bets before, a powerful bluff here can work wonders.
Sizing Your Bets
At the time of bluffing, bet sizing is more important. Do not be a jack of all trades, and your bets should reflect the story you are telling. Bluffing bets are generally in the ballpark of 60-80% of the pot. If it is too small, then you may invite calls that you do not need, but if it is too large, you might be scaring the fish away.
Example Bet Sizing
Hole Cards: The 9♠ 8♠ dealt to you.
Flop: The flop is J♦ 5♣ 3♣. In other words, you did not hit, but with a pot-sized bet around 70% — your opponents might mistake you for having a high pair.
Turn: The turn is Q♥. We make another 70% pot bet to keep the bluff alive.
River: The river is 2♦. That is enough to help the remaining players believe you are holding a premium hand, and they will be left on their heels.
Bluffing in Position
One instance where bluffing is more powerful than others is when you are in a late position as you know more about your opponents’ play. You can best observe and adjust your bluffs based upon how they react by acting last.
Example Positional Bluff
Hole Cards: J♠ 10♠ from the button.
Flop: 8♣ 4♦ 2♣. Everyone checks to you.
Turn: The turn is 7♣. Bet to represent a flush.
River: The river is K♦. One more bet can support your narrative of having a good flush or high pair.
Semi-Bluffing
A semi-bluff is betting with a hand that is not the best at that moment but has an opportunity to pick up.
Example Semi-Bluff
Hole Cards: A♥ 4♥
Flop: The flop is 6♣ 7♥ Q♥. You have a flush draw.
Turn: The turn is 10♠. Semi-bluffing a bet, representing a powerful hand and a draw.
River: The river is 2♥. If you hit the flush, you will win a large pot; if you don’t, the bluff may work anyway.
Reading the Board
One of the most important aspects of Texas Holdem is to be able to rapidly discern how to read the Board.
The community cards therefore determine the strength of a possible hand. The straights, flushes, and full houses that could potentially come. Now, let’s say the flop is 9♣ 10♣ J♠ — this screams straight/flush draws.
Example Hand Play
Hole Cards: Q♠ 9♠
Flop: 8♦ 10♠ J♣ (dealer). This gives you a gutshot straight draw.
Turn: The turn is K♠. Now you have a straight.
River: The river is 3♦. Your straight remains strong.
Assessing the Texture
A dry board, like K♣ 7♦ 2♠, can’t hit many draws and is less likely to help the hands of your opponents. Compared to the dry board, the wet board (9♥ 8♥ 7♦) has a lot of draws available.
Example Board Texture
Hole Cards: You have A♦ K♦.
Flop: The flop is K♠ 7♣ 2♥. On this dry board, top pairs are the nuts.
Turn: The turn is 4♣. A dry board means less threatening.
River: The river is 6♠. The mush will almost certainly continue when you have your top pair on this dry board.
Evaluating Potential Threats
For example, if the board reads 10♠ J♠ Q♦ and your opponent fires while putting you all in — they could have any possible straight, two pair, or a set.
Example Threat Evaluation
Hole Cards: You have 8♠ 9♠.
Flop: The flop is 7♠ 6♠ 5♣. A straight and flush draw.
Turn: 10♠. The turn empowers your flush.
River: The river is J♦. Decide if that flush is still good or if a higher flush or full house may be out now.
When To Bluff
If you read the board right, you could also identify the spots to bluff. For example, on the A♠ K♣ 5♣ board and your opponent checks, it opens the door to representing a strong hand with a big bet, particularly if you are on the button.
Example Bluff
Hole Cards: You have Q♣ J♣.
Flop: The flop is A♠ K♣ 5♣. You have a flush draw.
Turn: The turn is 7♦. The board didn’t really help, but your opponent checks.
River: The river is 2♥. Make a larger bet to represent your hand.
How to Plan Your Moves with Board Reading
Being able to read the board and plan ahead is essential to success. If you have a draw with the flop, make a plan for the turn and river, assuming/acting as if you hit or missed your draw depending on the outcome you expect, and your perception of your opponent’s hand actions.
Example Planning
Hole Cards: You have J♥ 10♥.
Flop: The flop is 8♥ 9♥ K♠. You have a gut-shot straight draw and a backdoor flush draw.
Turn: The turn is 2♣. If you whiff, maybe check and semi-bluff.
River: The river is Q♦. For an equally completed straight, you can bet for value.
Evaluating the Final Board
Reevaluate the final board against your hole cards on the river. Based on both the board texture and the opponent’s actions, you should be many times blocking your checking range, either stating out to the opponents that you have the best hand or just folding.
Example Final Evaluation
Hole Cards: You have Q♠ Q♣.
Flop: The flop is 7♣ 8♠ Q♦. You have a set of Queens.
Turn: The turn is 10♠. If you go all in to any of the two remaining opponents, you get/see two straight draws possible.
River: The river is 9♣. Before your final bet, consider whether a higher set or straight is probable.