A new student started with me last week, and the first thing I always do is I take a look at their statistics and win rates.
It was evident right away that the leading factor in his losses was his preflop calling. Filtering for calling preflop 2bets in PokerTracker 4 across all positions showed a losing win rate of -223BB/100 hands. This means, on average, every hand he called cost him 2.23BBs.
This is a huge (and common) poker leak!
And when calling preflop 3bets? -467BB/100 hands. Another huge leak.
When I see results this bad for a player who calls more often than he raises (his call 2bet % > raise first in %, his call 3bet % > 3bet %), I don’t dive right into calling strategies. Those come later.
Instead, I have them make a 180° turn and skip calling altogether. Let’s NOT do the thing that’s costing you money and instead, make more of the aggressive-style plays that make you money.
This is the quickest way to go from losing to at least break-even. Later, we can build your calling strategies to help you earn more profits.
The Preflop Raise or Fold Only Style
You read that right, raise or fold ONLY.
Your first reaction might be, “But, how can I NOT call with 22 to set mine in the BB?”
Simple; instead of auto-clicking CALL, you weigh the merits of your other options, FOLD or RAISE:
- Folding removes you from a situation you’ve been constantly losing in: calling preflop from OOP with a weak hand. You won’t have to check-fold when you miss your set of ducks.
- Raising with a bluff 3bet could win you the pot right now, and you don’t have to rely on the 11% chance of hitting a set.
Now that you’ve thought about the other options, DO NOT click CALL (because that option doesn’t exist for the time being), but instead FOLD or RAISE. If you decide to RAISE, you have to choose the bet size that will get you what you want.
The Rules for Preflop Aggression
- NO CALLING in any position with any hand.
- The CALL button does not exist!
- No limping.
- No defending blinds with a call.
- No open-raise/call 3bet (even if your 88 is ahead of their 3bet bluffs). Fold or get aggressive with a 4bet!
- No 3bet/call 4bet. Before 3bet bluffing, know he can find a fold. Plan to fold or re-raise versus his potential 4bet (put ’em on a 4bet range and respond accordingly).
- It is OKAY to check in the big blind.
- ONE exception to the rule (there’s always an exception): you can call their all-in shove if folding isn’t a better option.
Play this way for at least the next 3 sessions.
The Reason for Preflop Aggression
The big issue for many poker players is that they default to calling preflop. They forget the other options of folding or re-raising.
This isn’t a permanent style change, just a temporary one to break the habit of default calling and to train yourself to consider the other options.
This will force you to play your hands differently from normal; i.e., more aggressively. You aren’t just going to look at your hand (22, JTs, A9o) and auto-call. You have to weigh the merits of folding or raising, and this will force you to take into account other aspects like:
- The type of player the raiser is.
- Their preflop and post-flop tendencies.
- Their position, raise size and the range these represent.
- The other players still to act (if you raise, how will the others respond?).
If the hand isn’t worth raising, it’s an easy fold and you move on to the next hand.
For those with huge calling losses, this temporary style change is the perfect antidote.
Aggressive poker is winning poker (and more fun). By ditching the passive play of calling preflop, you’re going to use so much more aggression:
- You’ll steal more pots.
- You’ll find yourself post-flop with the stronger range every time along with the cbetting initiative.
- You’ll find yourself in position more often because you’re NOT defending the blinds and you’re using aggression in the MP and LP more often.
My Student’s Early Results
After his three days of Raise or Fold Only preflop, he sent me an email:
“I love playing this way. This is an eye-opener. I did call a couple of times on the first day. But I didn’t limp at all! I’m up a little bit, but what I’m really happy with is the way this style of play feels. Not calling is great! I’m going to try this for the rest of the week and then really dive into my numbers like how you showed me.”
Take Action
Now it’s time for you to play 3 sessions of aggressive Preflop Raise or Fold Only style!
Write the three rules above on a sticky note and follow them. Don’t beat yourself up for any calls you make, as this is a habit you’re trying to break. Just resolve to NOT call again if you do.
Get excited for more aggression and ganbatte!
