The Science of Poker

Author: M. Mahmood
Publisher: High Stakes
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Poker-People-Money

wiped out my chipstack on a few occasions, my bank balance has been healthy for a long time thanks to loose aggressive opponents who tried to get cute with me.

There is no consensus of opinion among many of the good players concerning the best seating position relative to a loose aggressive opponent. I prefer to sit to the right of such opponents so that their bets go through the rest of the other players before I have to act. My response will be influenced by who and/or how many players called the bet. Thus, having to act after the bully's bet has gone round the table gives me a great edge which I can exploit to my advantage. It helps me to decide which of the three courses of actions, fold, call or raise, is best for my hand.

Not all loose aggressive players are unaware of the principles of poker. A few of them are masters of the game. I call them the 'phoney loose players'. They are the most dangerous adversaries at a poker table. Their common playing strategy is to call everything when it is cheap to do so. They give the false impression of being loose but in reality they are playing a fairly tight game and will pounce on their opponents when they have the winning hands. They 'give action to get action'. I do not like playing pot-limit against such players because they usually play with large sums of money. If they beat me only once, they will acquire all my chips. I, therefore, try to avoid confrontations with such players unless I have the goods. I prefer to invest my money against the 'honest' loose players.

1.4 Tight aggressive

These are the second most dangerous poker players. Tight aggressive players are very well versed in most, if not all, of the correct tactics of poker. They do not try to win every pot because they know that is not possible. Thus, their basic playing strategy is 'selective aggression'.

Tight aggressive players contest pots with good starting cards. They understand the importance of positional play and therefore play marginal hands only from late position. If the turned cards do not present them with a good chance of winning the pot, their cards are mucked very quickly when somebody makes a bet. However, when they connect with the flop (Omaha/Hold'em) or catch the appropriate card on the fourth street (Stud), then they will try to get the optimum value for their made

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