The Aggressive Rookie (1 Viewer)

[shorticus]

I have found that one weak point in my game is playing against aggressive rookies. They are hard to read because if they hit a 2 on the flop, they think they are playing top pair. My only play against this type of player is to get tight aggressive whenever I'm in a pot with those players.

Have any of you ever encountered this? How do you handle it?

 

[Ethan]

Yes. You said the answer. Play (Ultra) tight aggressive. Raise them much higher than standard pf raise sizing. Don’t ever bluff them. If they bust you... oh well. Rinse and repeat. You’re getting in good most of the time. EZ game.

 

[JustinInMN]

My answer is the opposite.

Raise less, call more.

It's really that simple. They are trying to make you lay hands down because they think bullies win at poker. What you really have here is license to play speculative hands because even your medium improvements become bluff catchers. You won't be going for thin value much, but I wouldn't worry about that, villians like this bluff their chips a lot. Thin raises may not get paid and only provide you an extra opportunity to lay the best hand down.

Just catch them whenever you have medium-good strength.

 

[shorticus]

My only issue with your assessment is that they truly don’t understand the game. You really can’t tell if they have 7-2 and hit a 2 on the flop or AA.

I’d be worried about that and play conservative. Wait to catch them with the big hit and chip up at that point.

 

[Jimulacrum]

"Cannabis is legal, which is why it's so important

My answer is the opposite.

Raise less, call more.

It's really that simple. They are trying to make you lay hands down because they think bullies win at poker. What you really have here is license to play speculative hands because even your medium improvements become bluff catchers. You won't be going for thin value much, but I wouldn't worry about that, villians like this bluff their chips a lot. Thin raises may not get paid and only provide you an extra opportunity to lay the best hand down.

Just catch them whenever you have medium-good strength.

Pretty much.

Play a little more loosely, more passively, and more straightforwardly against him than you would against a normal unknown. The goal is to let him hang himself for stacks when he gets on bluffing rampages, and he'll often oblige. You still should protect your hand on wet boards and stuff like that, but bring your slowplaying threshold way down.

If you play TAG against this kind of player, you'll be leaving a lot of money on the table. Getting aggressive first (or countering his aggression with aggression) is the one thing that will usually signal a player like this to duck out. All those hands where he had squat and you bet instead of letting him, you win a 20BB pot instead of a 200BB pot because he folds instead of repeatedly trying to steal it with 0% fold equity.