Advanced Poker Advice: Patience Equals Profit

“He who knows how to be aggressive, and yet remains patient, becomes a receptacle for all of Nature's lessons.” – Lao Tzu

Sept. 5, 2007

By Josh Arieh
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

I doubt any amateur that has ever sat at a table with me describes my poker game as tight. I have that full-speed, balls-to-the-wall, push-and-push-harder image at the table, and I love it.

What players don't realize is that my aggression is different from the aggression that seems to get people into trouble on the felt. My aggression is very selective.

"Selective aggression" is what determines suicide or survival at the table.

Watch the successful players on TV, in the online poker rooms or at your local casino that walk away from the tables with consistent wins day in and day out. These players will undoubtedly have a similar selection process as I do.

They don't chase cards. They sometimes make you think they do, but that's all for show to increase profits from the table in the future. Successful, winning poker players do not chase. Players who constantly chase go home broke. These are the players that feed my family. They bring the money to the game, and then patient players take their money. Sure, sometimes you'll see those players hit their card and take a win or two home, but when their luck runs out, so do their pockets.

Let's say your image at the table is raise, raise, raise.

"Did I catch cards again? You're going to have to pay me to find out."

Your opponents don't know that the last three raises from late position were made because you read the table and knew that it was a good time to raise. Sometimes you had it, sometimes you didn’t, and the cards in this case don't matter as much.

Then you pick up the Ah-Kh in middle position. You raise the same amount you've been doing: three times the big blind. The big blind calls your bet, and you'll see a flop.

The flop comes down: Ad-Kc-4s.

While, most of the time, this would seem like a flop to check, you bet out because that's what you've been doing anytime any of your pre-flop raises were called and you went to the flop.

Your opponent might have an ace here and be required to call a bet or two from you, but chances are you'll get called here by a king too, and maybe even a pair of 7s!

By selecting the right times to make your moves, versus raising with no consideration for the feel of the table, you've now earned yourself a call-down from a player that thinks you're just another table bully. He can't help but call off his money to your made hand, because you’ve made him think that you're playing with blind aggression.

On the flipside, if you are sitting back and have shown a strong hand along with every raise for the last hour, then this would be a good time to mix it up and try a bluff or two.

Showing your strong hands can earn you respect for when you need to bluff a pot.

A raise here from late position with a 7-8 offsuit isn't the worst play in the world, because if you get called and make a continuation bet, they might have to show you respect, and if they all fold, you win the pot that way too.

Most often, the table will have to respect the play you're making because you have shown down so many monsters. Now you've earned their respect, and you've earned yourself a pot with nothing.

Now, trust me, I'm the last person you'll find playing tight. I'm not talking about playing tight. I'm talking about playing selectively and aggressively with patience. You pick your spots when to gamble and when to bluff, but overall, playing winning poker is all about getting your money in good.

In poker, the most basic form of who walks away a winner versus who walks away a loser from the tables comes down to being the player that made the least mistakes. The more selective you are with the cards you play and when you bluff or draw, the more likely you are to be making the right decisions and the fewest mistakes.

Remember, at the end of the day, poker is about profit. No one plays to lose, and that is reason enough for you to choose your moves wisely.

TOP PHOTO: Team Bodog poker pro Josh Arieh.