How to play semi-aggressively

One of the biggest contingencies that goes along with hold' em strategy is when to be aggressive and when to be passive. So many players nowadays see their chips wither away from being either too conservative or too reckless. Being too conservative can lead to becoming predictable, which is a cue that most experienced players feed on. Being conservative can also be extremely mentally frustrating; sometimes, the cards just won't fall your way. One of the most fundamental basis behind poker is "you can't control the cards you get but its how you play your hand," but by being too conservative players fail to capitalize on many of the other aspects of poker: stealing blinds, bluffing, trapping, raising, check-raising, and even having a winning mentality.



In other words, being too conservative takes a lot of skill away from poker and makes players one dimensional in simply waiting for good cards. Being too aggressive has just as many implications. The majority of recklessly aggressive players in the World Series of Poker Main Event fail to ever get beyond the first or second day at the Rio. Gus Hansen, a professional poker player & leading promoter of Full Tilt Poker makes a career off of intimidating his opponents, known for raising like a madman pre-flop while simultaneously getting under the skin of his players. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well this doesn't always work out for Hansen. Why does Gus Hansen continue to fail year after year to make the main event final table? Being overly aggressive simply is not compatible to tournament style poker. Playing aggressively heads up has its own benefits, but thats a post for another time.



In my opinion, the best way to play is to play semi-aggressively. Playing semi-aggressively is playing hands that have the best percentages of winning aggressively. After you know you have a better hand than your opponent, play aggressively. Maximize your chip profits and play smart. If you hit a flush, conceal your hand completely and check; wait until your opponent raises, and then call and continue to let him shoot himself in the foot (this is called trapping). Again, playing semi-aggressively is a strategy to maximize one's profit and a great way to avoid bad situations. You don't want to be caught playing predictably or be labeled as a "donk" and lose all your poker credibility.

According to Rodney Joyce from pokerdiy.com, playing "tight-aggressive" is the way to go. Although this sounds like an oxymoron, it's the way to go: According to Rodney, "Playing tight-aggressive is when you play relatively few hands, but when you play, you play them strongly, betting and raising to put pressure on your opponents."
By doing this, a player is able to avoid playing predictably while also being able to garner respect from his peers by playing smart. Poker is an intricate game: it involves deceiving & manipulating your opponents; it intertwines luck & skill; it can make or break a player and his chip stack. Therefore, try playing semi-aggressively when playing Texas Hold'em poker.

Sources:

http://www.pokerdiy.com/poker-school/texas-holdem-strategy/articletype/articleview/articleid/79/winning-strategies-the-tight-aggressive-style.aspx

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