Getting out of your groove

[AcidJazz]

I'm relatively inexperienced but understand the concepts pretty well in the game. I thought outlining this main point might help more of the beginner players realize something. I read an article somewhere and I thought it was a really good generalization of how poker works and it kept things very simple. There are basically 3 types of players. Calling stations, People who bet too much, People who fold too much. The greater players have a lot better combination of this and know when to handle each a lot better. Those guys are just tough to beat :P Once you understand the fundamenals of poker, then you need to start thinking more on how to play your opponent rather than playing your hand.

I was always intimidated by the tables that folded all the time, but in reality they have a lot of weakness too as ... well they fold too much. They fear aggression. I much prefer the extremely aggressive tables as I have no problem being tight. Calling stations just give you both ends of oppurtunities.

Basically, I think understanding the fundamentals of poker (what cards to play and why) and understanding what situations your in as the cards come up is the most important thing. After you've got a good understanding of that, then understanding how players work becomes extremely important. You're always playing against someone's mistakes. A perfect player would be pointless to play against.

This may seem like no [censored] to everyone, but I really study the game and the more I can get complex ideas to really simple ones, the more I feel like I've progressed in anything.

comments?

[Leader]

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I much prefer the extremely aggressive tables as I have no problem being tight.

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That's not the correct solution. Poker is a situation game. There are spot in an aggressive game where you should be tighter, but there are also spots to be looser. There are spots to be more aggressive then normal and spots to be more passive then normal. Like most things in poker, playing correctly in aggressive games does not have an easy, simple solution.

[btk202jazz]

I agree...poker is fundementally about situations and opportunity and then analyzing and playing accordingly.
As a new player ..are you playing online or live? Tournies or Cash?

[MatusowIsBald]

Good post. Let me first start by saying I'm by no means a great poker player, so take what I say with a grain of salt... It's funny though, while it seems like most people like playing at aggressive tables, I'm the exact opposite. I love tables that play tight and fold a lot because then I feel like I can "force the issue." It's also easier to isolate opponents at tables like that, which can be very beneficial. You can wind up winning some very big pots at aggressive tables, but you can also be dealt a lot of bad beats because more people tend to stay in the pot. I may be in the minority, but it's harder for me to read aggressive players and they can throw me off my game more than the passive players.

As for playing tighter at aggressive tables, I've heard A LOT of people say this. Maybe I'm nuts, but I've always loosened up a bit more at tables like that. That is to say if it's a LOOSE aggressive table. Personally, I would rather be in more pots than less at a table like that. If opponents are playing a lot of hands then a not-so-great hand like K,10 could actually be profitable in a game like that. I'd love to hear thoughts on how others typically play at aggressive or passive tables...