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Many times in tournaments, I see players who are aggressive beyond all measure, going beyond what most poker authors call \”loose aggressive.\”  I\’d like to find a new term for it so if any of you have suggestions, let me know.

In most cases, I find that these players are transplanted cash game players.  They tend to think they can read players better, that aggression is better, that pushing all the time is better.

I ran into one during a live tournament recently.  I\’ll describe some of his actions and we\’ll see if anyone comes up with a term for this style of player.

In one hand, he was in the big blind, with five limpers.  He made a bet of 10 times the BB, only to get re-raised by someone in early position with Aces.  He was pot committed and sheepishly turned over Queen-7 off-suit and doubled up another player unnecessarily.

Later in the tournament, when we broke to another table, I raised under the gun with pocket 10s, and got no action.  That\’s fine; I\’ll pick up the blinds with no contest.  The next hand, there was a limper, the small blind called, and I had pocket 9s.  I raised enough to put them both all in, and he said loud enough for everyone to hear, \”Fold.  If he\’s betting, he\’s got a pocket pair.\”  It killed action, which again, was fine.

Two hands later, I raised in the cut-off with 8-9 suited.  He and one other player called.  The flop came 7-7-10, not a bad flop for me really.  I knew if I checked, he\’d bet and I\’d come over the top.  He did, which was perfect, but the other player stole my thunder and came over the top before I could.  He didn\’t have as many chips as I did, but I knew I couldn\’t make the call.  If it\’s heads and I move over the top, the super-aggressive player would lay it down.  As it turned out, he had K-J off-suit, and the all in player had pocket 6s.  My read was dead on.  The turn came Ace, the river was a Queen, making a straight.

I made the final table as the short stack, and he doubled me up when I hit quads against two pair.  Again, he was trying to push the table unnecessarily with J-4 off-suit on the button.  I checked with Q-10.  The flop had two tens.  I checked.  He checked.  A four came on the turn.  I checked and he bet.  I called.  The case 10 hit the river and he moved all in out of position.  I called. He said, \”Boat.\”  I said, \”Quads.\”  He said something which I won\’t repeat.

I don\’t mind playing the overly aggressive players in tournaments.  They sometimes last a while, but it is very satisfying to see them bust out early.  Sometimes it\’s even more satifsying to see them bust out later in the tournament when they think they\’ve got it well in hand.

We call the middle stage of a tournament \”Moving Time,\” as a lot of players are moving all in with marginal hands, then moving out the door when they run into a big stack willing to gamble or a big hand, or both.

Several times over the past couple of weeks, I have made it to the middle stages of tournaments and gotten involved in hands where I have a calling hand, but not a hand that I want to isolate with, so I\’ve limped in with the thought of calling an all in, or merely calling the all in if they act before me.  On a couple of occasions, someone has limped in, let the short stack move all in, I call to double team them, only to have the original limper move all in with the side pot dry.

Here is the most recent example:

Blinds were 100/200. The woman in the big blind had about 600 left.  I limped with Q-10 hearts and another player, Jeff, also limped.  I was wary of Jeff because he is a stupid player, capable of anything.  The woman put all in and I called.  I looked at Jeff, hoping he would do things the right way, but he shoved all in.  I tossed my cards to the dealer Jeff turned up A-7 off suit.  The all in had Queen-8 suited.

I said, \”Jeff, what the hell are you doing?  Why would you raise into a dry side pot?\”

He said, \”I thought I was ahead, so I shoved.\”

The flop came 7-5-3.  Jeff said, \”There ya go!  That\’s why I did that.\”  The Queen fell on the turn, putting the short stack ahead, and she more than doubled up when a deuce came on the river.  Instead of being knocked out, she was now capable of playing a little bit before having to shove.

I said, \”That\’s why you don\’t do that.  I had Queen-10 and she\’d be gone.  That\’s a stupid move and completely unnecessary.\”

He said, \”What the hell, it\’s only $30.\”  I said, \”That\’s why you never finish in the money, Jeff.  It\’s not a $30 tournament.  It\’s a $650 tournament.\”

I don\’t know why players offer protection to short stacks when they have calling hands.  To me, as a tournament player, it\’s a war of attrition.  Knock players and keep moving up.  To shove a raise into a side pot is the dumbest thing a player can do.

I know you\’re not supposed to let anyone know when you\’ve picked up a tell on a player, but this one went against anything I\’ve ever read.  This one talked a lot about his ability to play junk hands, \”like Hansen,\” he said.  He was constantly splashing around in pots and catching cards early.

We tangled in a pot about one hour into a 80-person tournament.  He limped in, along with two others.  The small blind called and I found Ace-10 off-suit in the big blind.  I didn\’t really want to isolate anyone, and I didn\’t feel that a big bet would necessarily allow me to take down ALL of the limpers.

The flop came 10-5-2 rainbow and I led out with a bet of about 3/4 the pot.  Talkative boy raised, and everyone folded to me.  For some reason I knew I was beat, because he was playing something weird.  Normally someone who connects in a big way looks away from the flop, but he was staring at it, like he was afraid it was going to change if he looked away.

I turned up my top pair, top kicker and said, \”I fold.\”  He very proudly showed his 10-5 off-suit for two pair.  \”That\’s the strongest opening hand in poker,\” he said.  \”You can\’t make a straight without a 10 or a 5, so I\’ll play it against anything, any time.\”  I asked what poker books he\’d been reading because I\’ve never seen it in any of the ones I\’ve read.

During the first break, a friend told me that he was on a table with this guy and asked if I had anything on him.  I told him he compared himself to Gus Hansen and stared at the flop if he hit.  By the second break, my friend severely crippled Mr. Talkative using the information I\’d given him.  Mr. Talkative was playing a junk hand and hit two pair and, true to form, he stared right at the flop.  My friend flopped top set, so he was a virtual lock to win the hand already.  They both slow-played the flop, and when the board paired on the turn, Mr. Talkative led out with his full house, never taking his eyes off the board.  My friend raised with his bigger full house, and was put all in with a re-raise.  He called for the rest of his chips and Mr. Talkative was reduced to hitting a one-outer, which did not come and was crippled.

I didn\’t last much longer in the tournament, but my friend put himself in position with a huge double-up to make a deep run.  This was personally a lot more satisfying than some Gus Hansen wannabe making a run.  I know you\’re not supposed to let a player know when you have a tell, but I couldn\’t help sharing this one for the betterment of a tournament.  I\’d much rather see better players at the final table.

Sit down at any limit table and you\’ll see a lot of a lot of players who are willing to give money away trying to make a hand.  Because it is limit, it becomes a game of pot odds and sometimes paying to make the hand, which doesn\’t always happen.  Players say it is impossible to bluff in a limit game, but under the right conditions, it can be done using position and the texture of the board.

When the flop comes out ragged and it checks around, no matter how many players are in, I will usually semi-bluff the turn if it continues to be ragged, especially if I make any kind of big flush draw.  This is the one chance to define my hand and the other players\’ hands.  By betting the turn, I\’m representing a set, and usually that\’s enough and I pick up the pot right there.  If I get a call, in most cases, they\’re chasing an inside draw playing suited connectors, or they\’ve got a small pair with an Ace kicker and their trying to make two pair or trips on the river.  I\’ve seen a lot of pots checked down and someone wins with A-6 off-suit when he makes a pair of sixes on the flop and no one wants the pot.  I refuse to let someone playing that win the pot without a fight.

Depending on how the river card fits the texture of the board, position determines if I continue with my bluff.  It is widely accepted that players will not fire a second bluff into the pot, but sometimes it is the only way to win the pot when the board is ragged.  Position becomes the factor.  If the third card in the suit falls and a player in early position bets out, it\’s very easy to release the hand.  If a flush cannot be made, and it\’s checked to me, I\’ll fire the second bluff at the pot.

If an inside draw can be made using the cards on the board, usually I\’m content to shut it down, but if I feel the player is playing over-cards like I am, I will continue my bluff.  Usually that\’s enough to pick up the pot.  If I get raised, I know I\’ve been had, but that can also be a positive.  It advertises loose play, and will generally net some action when I do make a hand later in the session.

Well-timed bluffs work even in limit play,  Knowing your opponents, using position and understanding the texture of the board allows you to pick up an occasional pot, even if you don\’t make a hand.

I was at Binion\’s in Las Vegas playing in what could only be described as a drunken home game.  Almost everyone at the table was wearing a Wisconsin logo.  It was a limit game, and usually I expect to see a lot of questionable hands played in questionable ways, but this one stands out.

Most of the time I\’d been at the table, I\’d chosen to limp and play only solid hands.  No sense trying to do anything fancy.  I was in the three seat and limped in under the gun with 5-6 suited in spades.  It\’s my favorite hand, limit or no limit and usually I raise with it, but as I said, I wasn\’t doing anything fancy and the Wisconsin boys were doing enough raising.

Two others limped in and the eight seat raised.  Nine and ten called, the small blind re-raised.  The big blind called, so did I and the player in the four seat re-raised.  Then the seven seat capped in and we had six players in a capped pot pre-flop.

The flop came 3-4-7 rainbow.  I checked the nuts and let them take over.  Four people and myself made it through the betting, with only two raises this time.

The turn was a deuce.  Two different players raised and re-raised, and I ended up looking at a big pot with everyone just firing chips in.  The eight seat, the original raiser, capped it.

The river was a King and I knew I had the nuts.  There was no flush on the board, so I led out.  The four seat called and the eight seat raised, the small blind called and the four seat re-raised.  The eight seat called, I re-raised and the four seat called two bets.  The eight seat said \”Cap it!\” and fired chips in.  I called and the four seat did as well.

The eight seat turned over K-7 hearts and said \”TOP TWO BABY!!\” and stood to start receiving the massive mound of chips.  The player in the four seat said \”Damn!\” and tossed his pocket Aces onto the table.  I had already turned up my hole cards and showed the dealer.  He started moving the chips in my direction and the eight seat seat said \”How can you play 5-6 in a raised pot?  That makes no sense at all.\”

I said \”I know, but it\’s my favorite hand.  Besides, with you guys re-raising each other pre-flop, I didn\’t really have a choice but to call every time.\”

\”Yeah but 5-6!\” he said.  \”That\’s ridiculous.  Is this your first time playing poker?  Nobody plays 5-6.\”

I know I shouldn\’t have said anything, but I couldn\’t resist an observation about his play.  \”Why would you raise with K-7 pre-flop?  How could you possible think that is a good starting hand?\”

He said, \”It was suited.\”

While waiting for tournaments to begin at Harrah\’s in Kansas City, I play $3/$6 limit to pass the time and try to pad my tournament bankroll.  Many of the tournament players do this.

A few days ago, I was racking my chips and playing my button before moving on to the tournament.  With two limpers, the guy in the five seat raised.  There was a call and I looked down at Ace-Queen of diamonds.  I called, the small blind called and both limpers called, so we had a nice pot going.

The flop came Q-7-2 rainbow.  Action checked to the five seat, who bet, a call, I raised, the small blind called, the big blind folded and the other two called.

Another Queen fell on the turn, and everyone checked to me.  I bet and the small blind called.  The other two folded and I knew I was well ahead of this calling station to my left.

A six came on the river and Ernie checked.  I bet, and he said, \”If you got a queen, you got me,\” while making the call.  I said \”I\’ve got a queen with an Ace.\”  Ernie said, \”I\’ve just got sixes.\”  He turned up his hand and threw his cards into the muck.  It was not outside the realm of possibilities for him to show down a hand with a pocket pair, so I thought nothing of it.  The dealer was pushing the pot to me and I was hurriedly racking my chips to cash out and make the tournament.

The player in the two seat said, \”Hey, he\’s got a full house.\”  Ernie never realized that the six came on the river, making him a full house.  The dealer never realized it either.  He called the floor over, who got the story from him, and he awarded Ernie the pot.

I protested, saying that he mucked the cards.  The floor ruled that because the dealer could see Earnie\’s hole cards on the muck, they played.  I\’ve seen the muck rule applied differently in different situations, but in my mind, when you give up the hand and toss your cards into the muck the way Earnie did, your hand is disqualified.  The guy in the two seat should follow the rules of etiquette and not discuss the hand when he is not involved.  If someone is too oblivious to know that he\’s won the hand, he doesn\’t deserve the pot.

My wife is friendly, compassionate, involved and supportive.  All of the things I am not at the poker table.  She wants everyone to have a good time.  I just want to play cards.

Ashley is very supportive of my poker playing and my fascination with the intricacies of playing.  She watches a little on TV, buys me books for birthdays and Christmases and Fathers Days and listens to me vent about bad beats.

She\’s a fine poker player, too.  But she doesn\’t play very much and she considers $3/$6 limit \”high stakes.\”  She\’s more accustomed to playing with friends or my family for a $10 buy-in.  So on a trip to Vegas, we rolled in to Binion\’s about midnight and found a $2/$4 game.  It was a little more in her comfort zone but still, she was nervous.

There were a few guys playing who were probably around when the Binion\’s poker room was in its heyday.  A couple of the dealers and one of the cocktail waitresses definitely were there.  They made us feel welcome all three nights we were there, made Ashley feel comfortable at the table and I got to watch my wife rule the table for one night.

It was just about the best night playing poker I\’ve ever had.

From the time we sat down, Ashley had the table under her thumb.  She was the only woman in the room.  She laughed along with everyone, drank a few beers, talked about our twins, told players \”Nice hand,\” when they won a pot and said \”Thanks, Darlin\” when she tipped the dealer.  She has a lilting Southern accent and loves everybody and everything when she\’s drinking.  She talked to everyone and made them smile as she took their chips.  She even took a couple of the dealers to the cleaners when they finished their shifts.  In short, the table was hers and I, along with the other players, were just renting space.

Of course she made a few mistakes which drove me nuts.  But I think it also helped her to take down big pots when she had the opportunity.  A couple of times, when she led on the flop with two suited cards on the board, she\’d still lead when a third card hit on the turn, get raised, and still lead on the river, only to get raised again.  It gave me a headache.

But on one hand, even Doyle Brunson would\’ve lost to her, if he played $2/$4.  So the suckers in the pot had no chance.

Ash was under the gun.  She limped in and the button raised.  She, along with the other five limpers, called the raise.  The flop came out Ace of hearts, King of Hearts, 10 of Spades.  Action checked to her and she led out, I called with my favorite hand, 5-6 suited in hearts, and the button, a kid from California who thought very highly of himself and talked a lot, raised.  Both of the blinds called and Ashley and I called.  She very rarely raises, as she doesn\’t want people to feel that she is mean.

On the turn, the 10 of Hearts came making three hearts and a pair on the board.  The blinds checked and Ash led out, prompting a \”What the hell are you doing?\” look from me.  I just called, thinking maybe I was beat by a bigger flush or a boat.  The loud-mouth on the button raised, small blind folded.  The guy in the big blind was an older guy, a local retiree named Bill.  He and Ashley were sitting right next to each other and talked the whole time we were there.  He raised.  Ashley called, I folded, knowing my flush wasn\’t good, and the button called, looking puzzled and downright mad. 

I was dying in the two seat.  Ash was in the five seat, and she look around, then at the mound of chips and said to the jerk from Cali, \”That\’s a big pot we\’ve got there, huh, darlin?  I\’m gonna have to catch a perfect card to stay on the plus side.\”  She looked at me and said, \”Don\’t be mad, honey.  I think I\”m getting pot odds.\”

The King of spades hit the river.  Bill checked and Ashley bet (AGAIN?!), giving me a small heart attack.  The button raised, and the Bill re-raised, then Ashely said to the dealer, \”Cap it, Darlin,\”  who pointed out that it was only the third raise.  The button said, \”Now CAP IT DARLIN,\” directly to Ashley.

Bill called, and Ashely said, \”Whatever you want, darlin,\” and tossed in the four chips to make the call.

The California kid stood up and showed the Ace and King of Clubs for a full house.  He high fived his buddy and said something like, \”That\’s the perfect card!\”  Bill said, \”I can\’t believe that\” and turned up the King and 10 of diamonds for Kings full.  Ashley said, \”Sorry, honey.  I had you on the turn.  I already caught the perfect card.\”

She turned up the Jack and Queen of hearts for the Royal Flush, taking down a $150 pot.  The kid from Cali didn\’t last long after that.  Bill broke him a few hands later.  He and Ashley talked a lot over the next couple of hours.  Ash learned his life story and discovered that he had twin boys, just like us, and that his wife had passed away two years prior.  One of his sons plays small tournaments in Vegas and makes a nice living doing it.   The other is an engineer who never steps foot in a casino.

I watched as she talked to Bill and had a great time.  Her chip stack kept growing and she won about $250 that night playing $2/$4.  I lost about $40 after eight hours of playing.  If you ask, she\’d be more likely to tell you about meeting Bill than about how much she won.  I should try to be more like her at the poker table; friendly and warm while taking people\’s chips.  And leading out every so often when a third flush card hits the board.