Pro Pickup
Poker Free Online Games Coaching Guide To Aggressive Versus Passive Play Demonstrated By A Pro Game Hand Example
Today my free online poker training article is about passive and aggressive play, specifically I'm looking at when and why one style is preferable to the other. To support the discussion I am reconstructing a real life hand sequence from a professional poker game that illustrates the points involved and hopefully will get you thinking about how you approach various situations when you play.
Background
Aggressive players are characterised by their frequent use of raises and bets. Passive players call bets and raises. To be passive, which is essentially to be cautious, can be a good way to play in major tournaments such as the WSOP where, for example, a J-10 in a flop of 10-8-4 is decent enough for playing with middle of the road care. You play this by, say, check-calling or betting small and perhaps, value-betting at the end if the board is safe. However, another sort of care must be taken in that being over-passive, as I will show in the example, can lead to loss.
Blinds - 3000/6000
The Preflop:
A with As-Ah raises to 16k
B has Ks-Qs call 16k (Pot 50k)
Because B has position over A (and because his K-Q is suited) B can afford a call. In the meantime A plays his pocket A's like any other raising the hand in middle position to confuse B. If A just called his Aces, B might think it is really A-A and will just call or fold later if A shows signs of strength.
The Flop: 7s-2d-Qh
A now bets 23k
N now calls with 23k - the pot stands at 96k
A's gets are based mainly on the pure value of the Aces rather than the possible value of B’s hand. With three undercards falling (and the likely possibility of the Queen pairing someone, especially a caller from late position) his Aces are secure, provided that no face card falls later, because it may pair the kicker of the one holding a Queen. B also believes that his Queens have value, but not strong enough if a King or Ace falls - he may put A on a bluff with A-x or K-x - so he just calls.
TURN: 7s-2d-Qh-8d
Now A bets with 55k
B calls 55k (Pot 206k)
A does again what he did on the Flop, and thinks likewise. B also stays the same. With no draws on the Flop (the backdoor Flush is not so likely, both may think) and still undercards to his A-A, A continues hammering B, and B continues being hammered.
RIVER: 7s-2d-Qh-8d-blank
Now A bets 121k making the pot 372k
This bet is enough to put B all-in. Because all cards are undercards to A’s Aces, and all other board cards are undercards to B’s Queens, A thinks B now has a Queen which he may be willing to be suicidal with. So A keep the aggression going where a lot of players might slow down given that the Aces are only just a pair and so may check to stay safer or check-raise if they feel their Aces are decent, A however pushes B all the way to all in.
B thinks his Queens are good; that is why he has continued to the river. Then he does the orthodox maneuver. Could it be that he is up against A-Q? Unlikely he thinks so...
B moves all in on 121k
A hammered and hammered from preflop up to the end, and B just went with the banging on his head. A did not give B a chance to react gracefully. B played passive in response to the aggression and called all the way to his all in destruction.
But it may be that B sensed an unusual strength in A that he just called and called. But if so he should have trusted his senses once the river was reached and bowed out. The Flop and the Turn bets may be offering cheap spots for him to call, so that even if he knows he’s beat at that point, he can still draw, but the river bet - enough to finish his tournament life - isn’t.
As you can see there are a lot of factors involved in this hand, the same goes for most poker hands. There is no right and wrong way in terms of if you should play aggressive or passive rather a time and place for everything and the trick to winning a lot at poker is being able to play all ways and adapt as conditions change.
Ok that is easier to say than do I accept, so the next advice is that practice perfects the art. As ideal way to practice what this free poker coaching article preaches is to play free poker practice games on sites like NoPayPOKER.com where you can hone your skills with no risk of money loss before going for it on money sites or in face to face play.
Find Pro Pickup On eBay Below:
Recently Purchased Pro Pickup:
fishman pro agx 312 passive wide pickup new in box, fishman rare earth transducer banjo pickup w preamp, bass master pro upright double bass two pickups w pre, fishman pro man ela ellipse aura pickup preamp system narrow format, fishman upright bass pickup bp 100 , fishman pro bp1 00b bp 100 upright bass pickup, fishman bp100 pro bp1 00b standup upright bass electric pickup brand new, fishman pro banjo active pickup open back or reso style, schatten m 02 pro archtop mandolin piezo bridge pickup w mvc jack and volume new, fishman pro res spi nashville series spider style resophonic pickup, fishman pro mal inf matrix infinity undersaddle guitar pickup split format, fishman matrix infinity undersaddle pickup for acoustic guitar narrow format, fishman pro m30 0ma nashville series archtop mandolin pickup 2 pc, fishman pro m40 0ma nashville series flat top mandolin pickup, fishman pro c20 0ce concert series cello pickup, fishman pro v30 0vi concert series violin pickup, schatten mt pro flat top mandolin bridge pickup with top mount mvc jack, new, fishman classic series pro m20 0ma m 200 pro mandolin pickup w carpenter mount, fishman pro fcl 001 full circle upright double bass pickup unc 1 4 20 format, fishman pro fcl 002 full circle upright bass pickup 6 x 1mm format, kk sound violinissimo pro violin viola 3 sensor pickup w side mounted 1 4 jack, schatten v 02 pro passive violin bridge pickup w embedded piezo, jack and volume, fishman pro mak inf matrix infinity undersaddle uke pickup for ukulele, fishman pro v10 0vi v 100 classic series violin viola pickup, fishman pro ago uke undersaddle uke pickup passive ag series for ukulele, mahalo utl 30esb t style soprano ukulele pro bundle sunburst with pickup, schatten m 05 pro stick on archtop flat top mandolin pickup w mvc jack, volume, mahalo ulp 30ech single cut soprano ukulele pro bundle cherry sb w pickup, pro 4 4 black electric violin pro pickup case bow, pro 4 4 pink electric violin pro pickup case bow, pro 4 4 yellow electric violin pro pickup case bow, fishman upright bass pick up pro bp1 00b, fishman full circle upright bass pickup pro fcl 001, pro 4 4 burgundy electric violin pro pickup case bow, pro 4 4 white electric violin pro pickup case bow, schatten vr pro passive viola bridge pickup embedded piezo, mahogany jack volume, schatten vvm pro violin viola stick on pickup w side mount carpenter jack volume, fishman pro v20 0vi classic series v 200 professional violin pickup, fishman pro m10 0ma classic series m 100 mandolin pickup,