Be Aggressive and Be a Winner

by Dougie Goguen | Feb 14 2012

Find out why you can (and should) be a loose aggressive player…at least sometimes.

When you first start playing poker, you play in too many hands and you learn your lesson. After you've had your bankroll slapped around, you learn to become a tight aggressive (TAG) player because that's the overall most profitable way to play. The problem with this is that it makes you play very exploitable. If you bet a lot, the other players fold, and you don't make as much money as you could. While you can slowplay more often, there's an alternative that you might want to consider: being aggressive.

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The loose aggressive (LAG) style of play isn't for the faint of heart. Being LAG requires a higher skill level than TAG but can also result in (much) higher profits if you are good at what you are doing; however, the downside of playing LAG is that variance can be quite a bit higher, which can result in tilt if you lack emotional control. If you know when to say when, though, LAG play can energize your game, throw your opponents off and help you make more money when you win.

Switching between LAG and TAG can give you the best of both worlds. After your opponents begin playing back at whatever style you were using, switch to the other one and they'll be unable to draw a bead on you. For instance, one of my favorite moves to do, especially at live tables in poker rooms where I'm not known is to play very loose for the first half-hour or so. I raise a lot and I push after the flop. This leads to the other players raising a lot and being more aggressive after the flop and re-raising me.

Then, I switch back to a tight-aggressive style and let them throw money into huge pots that I collect on. The losses that I take from the LAG style are quickly covered and my strong hands mean that I get to really take a toll on the other players. Of course, after a while I have to switch back. Aggressive play means that you get to set the tone of the table so you can always play the opposite of your opponents, even when you're leading them along.

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Even being called out on a bluff is enough to make the entire table think you are a lot looser than you actually are. Being chatty and casual can also give off the impression that you are a recreational player and more likely to spew chips. How you appear to play and how you actually play can be two entirely different things.

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