for about the last month, I’ve been playing much more aggressively in both ring and SNG games with good results.
"aggression" meaning, if I’m going to play a hand, I generally:
- raise preflop 3 - 6 X BB (depending on position, table, players, etc)
- if I miss the flop, hit 2nd or low pair, or have a str/flush draw, AND I’m first in or it's checked around to me, I bet the pot
- rarely limp in, or check the flop
the result has been:
- finding myself with more chips in an SNG when it gets down to 3 or 4 (even with bad cards - e.g. % flops seen < 10%)
- not having a showdown in an SNG until it's down to 3 or 4 (the showdown that knocked me out FTR II in 4th place was the only showdown I saw)
- winning many more hands on the flop and turn
- generally, if it's the kind of flop that looks "missed" by most people that would call my preflop raise, betting first on the flop gets me the pot probably 5 out of 7 times. if they do bet, it's usually a call, and a little more aggression on the turn will frequently fold them
- I’m getting outdrawn a lot less
- putting people on the defensive right away, which can get me a free turn or river card to improve my hand
overall, I’ve been very happy with the results. I’m winning in ring games, which is definitely an improvement.
so my question: in the "one long session" of poker that I play, am I decreasing my overall profits by being aggressive and not letting more hands go to showdown?
now obviously, if I flop a monster, I slow it down a bit to build the pot. but if I’m working with top pair/strong kicker, and I see a draw on the board, I work hard to shut the hand down before I get outdrawn.
thoughts?