Dealing With Aggression

Dealing With Aggression

Why Is It So Tough?  It’s

hard to hit hands

 Good

players hand real well

What Can We Do?  Lower  Play

our calling requirements

back more often

 Strengthen  Stay

our ranges

out of the way

Lower Calling Requirements  Worry

less about scare cards

Lower Calling Requirements Thought Process  How

wide is opponent opening? (20% tight from co, 35% tight from button)

 How  How

often will opponent cbet flop?

often does opponent barrel blank turn?

Lower Calling Requirements Thought Process Cont’d 

On the river how thin will opponent vbet?



How likely is opponent to bluff the river with missed draws?/ Turn made hands into bluffs?



Does my opponent think I’m a station?

Play Back More  Think  Take

ahead about turns and rivers

them out of their comfort zone (slowplays, thin craises, double floats, check back strong hands)

Strengthen Our Ranges 3

ways:

Slow playing preflop - Slow playing postflop - Less calling flops -

Slow Playing Preflop  People

play better now/disguises hand ranges  Strengthens our calling ranges (pre and post)  Allows us to take more heat postflop

Slow Playing Postflop  Protects

our calling range  Allows us to bluff turns and rivers more credibly  Should slow down barrelling from opponents (value and bluffs)  Induces bluffs on “scary” turns and rivers

Who To Slow Play Vs?  Players

who fold to lots of 3 bets

 Players

who barrel lots of turns and

rivers

 Players

who tend to be suspicious postflop

Who To Slow Play Vs Cont’d

 Players

that you think are good

 Players

that you play vs frequently

Ugh, The Turn…  Questions

to ask yourself on the turn:

-

Does my opponent bet the turn “medium”? (40% low barreling, 50% + high)

-

How much does my opponent cbet the flop? (70% around average)

Ugh, The Turn…Cont’d  How

wet/dry was the flop? Was it multi way?

 Did

any backdoor draws hit on the turn?

Do They Bet The Turn/ River Thin?  Take

notes to find out (what do you see at showdown?)

 Changes  Your

equities substantially

image/history affects the answer to this question

Turn Equity  Q8+

air

 J9+

air

for value and any gut shot+ for

for value and any gut shot+ for

River Equity  34+

 QJ+

for value, half of missed draws

for value and half of missed draws

Help They Won’t Stop 3 Betting Me! 

Questions to ask yourself:

-

Am I in position or out of position?

-

Has this opponent been 3 betting me a lot?

-

Does this opponent generally 3 bet a lot?

-

What does this opponent think of me?

Help They Won’t Stop 3 Betting Me Cont’d  Want

to 4 bet mostly polarized until you have a reason not to.

 Call

3 bets with slow played big pairs/ hands that make good top pairs/ hands that make good broadway combo draws

 Tighten

up opening ranges

Help They Won’t Stop 3 Betting Me Cont’d 4

bet hands that you can’t/don’t want to call with as well as monsters  Can get away with bluff raising over cards or backdoor draws due to strong ranges  Don’t start 5 bet bluffing until you have a read  Don’t 4 bet jam a small pair more than once in a small time period vs someone.

3 Bet Scenario

3 Bet Scenario Cont’d  Questions

to ask ourselves:

Does this opponent 3 bet a polarized range? - Does this opponent 3 bet lots of hands that he can 5 bet jam? - How aggressive is this opponent post flop? -

Final Tips  You

don’t have to play the 3-4-5 bet game

 Try

to show up with hands that your opponent wouldn’t expect you to have

 Don’t

try to counteract aggression by flatting 3 bets without a plan

Final Tips Cont’d  Don’t

adjust too quickly

 By

showing up with stronger ranges you won’t feel powerless vs aggression

 It’s

always ok to fold or leave a table