Today my poker free online training article is about passive and aggressive play, specifically I’m looking at when and why one style is preferable to the other. To do this I’m looking at a real life hand played out in a pro game to try and illustrate the factors involved and things you need to consider in regard to your playing style profile.

The basis
An aggressive player, traditionally, bets and raises. In turn the passive player will call raises and bets. 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’d play such a hand possibly by check-calling or placing only small bets with an aim of value-betting at the end if the table if it looks safe enough. But being too passive, as in this example, can lead to destruction.

The Blinds – 3000/6000

The Preflop:

A with As-Ah raises to 16k
B with Ks-Qs calls 16k – the pot is 50k

Since B has a position over A and his K-Q is suited, he 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.

FLOP: 7s-2d-Qh

A now bets 23k
N now calls with 23k – the pot stands at 96k

A is betting his Aces based chiefly on its value (and not so much on his perceived 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 too thinks his Queens hold value though he knows not enough should a King or Ace fall – an option now is to put A on a bluff with Ax or Kx, so he just calls.

The 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 forces 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 does not slow down as most players do (even with Aces most players think that it is still just one pair, so they may check only, or if they feel their Aces are good, then they may try to check-raise) and instead pushes B all-in.

B thinks his Queens are good; that is why he has continued to the river. Then he does the orthodox maneuver. Is he up against A-Q he thinks? Unlikely he thinks so…

B calls all-in 121k

A aggressively hammered at B all the way from preflop to the post river all in death and B just kept accepting the hammering. At no time did A allow B a chance to play gracefully. B just call-called all the way to his chip death.

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 bets at Flop and Turn bets might offer cheap call spots and even if he thinks he is beaten then he can still draw, but by the river stage bet is not cheap and is enough to finish him off.

So, yes aren’t there a lot of things to think about in this hand, and of course the same it true 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.

Perhaps easier said than done so practice makes perfect. As ideal way to practice what this free online poker training 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.