July 2, 2009
Starting Hands in Aggressive Games
Some poker hands you will play at just about any expense (hands like pocket Aces, Kings, and maybe Queens, high suited connectors and the like are safe bets at just about any price) but at an aggressive casino game, marginal hands start to look nigh-unplayable when the stakes get raised.
When you are at an aggressive table, the blinds are likely to be raised and re-raised before anyone gets to see the flop. In light of this, many hands that you may choose to limp in with become unviable options to play. If you have pocket 8’s, and you are at a passive table, you can comfortable pay the big blind, say $10, and hope for a third eight on the flop. It’s not a bad idea-with such a minimal investment on the table, you can fold without much regret if the flop doesn’t help you.
At an aggressive online poker table, if you limp in with $10, it’ll probably get raised to $30, $40, $50, or more before you get to see if the flop will even help. If you do the smart thing and fold, you’ll be out $10 that you could have saved for a better hand, and if you decide to call and the flop missed you, you could be out $50 or more. If you find yourself in a particularly aggressive game, you should also find yourself re-thinking the value of your starting hands and play a bit more conservatively than ususal.
