Switching gears

Up to this point, I've been selling the tactic of passive aggressive play as the main poker strategy in tournament play. That is, to sit and wait for a strong hand then allow your opponents to make the aggressive play against that strong hand.

This tactic works very well in big tables of 9 or 10 players. As the table dwindles to fewer players however, the more aggressive you need to become. By the time it comes down to heads-up play, you are no longer just playing your cards but must now also be playing your opponent.

What does that mean?

If you have been paying attention at how your opponents play, after a few hands or so, you should have a read of how they play. Whether they are tight, loose, a bingo-player, etc. The general idea is, when you are down to a few players, you are no longer just betting on your cards but are now betting against theirs.

To illustrate, if the table is down to a final three, if I am the first to act against two tight players, I would raise at least the blind amount even if I hit nothing after the flop. It doesn't even matter what hand I have, this is me not betting on my hand but betting my opponents have not hit anything on the flop. I am wary of course of the tight player who re-raise in this situation. I'd take the loss and get out of the hand.

Against an aggressive player, you are now counter-punching. You are now betting whether he is bluffing or not. And this is a lot more difficult. Which is precisely the reason why aggression, applied correctly at the end game of tournament play, is often rewarded.