Take Control of the Table
By the PokerStrategyKing

What kind of player are you? Do you sit back and wait for monster hands and then hammer your opponents? Do you go out and put the pressure on other players at the table forcing them to make tough decisions? Well, to be a winning player, you have to dictate the action at the table and strike fear into your opponents. Intimidation alone and being aggressive will make you more money long term than players who are timid and passive. It’s survival at the fittest. Just as in real life, the same holds true at the poker table.

Think of the top players you see on TV. Players like Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth and Johnny Chan are better than other players and make more money than most. Do you really think this is because they just happen to get good cards all the time? Of course not.

Let’s look at an example. "Pete" is on the button and dealt the suited connectors, 8-9 of spades. John is sitting just to the right of Pete and he makes it $10 to play. Pete is next to act and re-raises John by making it $25. Obviously, Pete’s move of re-raising a player who has shown strength is a very aggressive move. At this point, John may go back over the top or go all-in, which would force Pete to fold. Pete knows this but he is willing to take this chance in order to take control of the hand and the betting. Even if Pete does lose this particular hand, his aggressive style may help him as the game progresses.

Instead, John simply calls the raise and the flop comes 9,J,3 with no spades. John is 1st to act and he is holding Ace Jack giving him top pair with top kicker but Pete’s re-raising of him pre-flop has made him think twice before betting out. Because of the pre-flop re-raise, he feels Pete has a very strong hand so he checks to Pete, who is in complete control of this hand.

Pete decides to quickly fire out $50 bet that John almost reluctantly calls. The turn is another three and again John is afraid to bet and checks again. Pete senses John’s weakness and would like to steal this pot right now so this time he fires out a $100 bet. John thinks for a while and then calls again.

The river card is a 2 and for the 3rd time John checks to Pete and John’s consistent weakness let’s Pete know that he can push John out of the hand so he announces that he’s all in. John stops and replays the hand in his head. He knows Pete re-raised him before the flop so John has to put Pete on a wired pair that is higher than his Jacks so he feels he must be beaten and must fold his hand. And guess what? That’s exactly what he does!

Pete's aggressive play was the main reason that he won this particular pot. What would have happened if Pete hadn’t been the aggressor pre-flop.

John raises pre-flop AJ and this time Pete simply calls. The flop hits 9,J,3 and John comes out firing because he feels his hand is best and rightfully so. With no re-raise, why would he think otherwise? Now it’s too late for Pete to take control of the action. It's too late and he has no clue as to what John is holding. Now he is unable to be the aggressor. Why? Because he didn't take control of the betting. John did.

Now let's say that Phil's aggressive play gets him in trouble here and there. It’s only natural that it will happen. John hits his trips and Pete gets caught trying to buy a pot with a 9 high. Pete loses that battle but being a good player, he can use this to his advantage as the game progresses.

Later in the game, let's say Pete's holding pocket threes. There is a pre-flop by a tight player named Arun that a few players call. The flop comes 3,A,9. Pete is 1st to act and knows that he doesn't have to slow play his trips because everyone saw him blow a hand earlier on so he fires out a large bet. The other players immediately feel the he is trying to buy the pot and Arun goes back over the top. Now, if a tight player made the same play as Pete in this spot, the entire table would likely have folded. But since Pete had already gotten "caught" playing over-aggressive, he gets win it all back later. Ultimately, this is how the aggressive players make money. Don't be afraid to throw out a bet. You have to if you want to know where you stand in a hand.

The key lesson, take control of the action at the table and you will become the poker player that everyone fears.

Until next time, may the chips fall your way.