Poker Strategy: Exploiting Aggressive Opponents' Unbalanced Play

Playing poker without position is challenging, but playing against an aggressive opponent like Aggressive Andy is even harder. Aggressive Andy is a tight player who loves to put maximum pressure on opponents. His unbalanced strategy in aggressive lines brings more EV than playing GTO.

Aggressive Andy's expectation after a bet increases by 16 bb/100 compared to GTO. However, his entire range loses 6 bb/100 compared to GTO after a check. This is why it's important to understand how to properly pressure his checks, otherwise we won't be able to reveal the downsides of his strategy.

The best cards for the BB are blanks that do not close any draws, as well as the repeated king. The BB player increases both the frequency and size of the bet on almost any turn, except for turns that give the button the possibility of having a nut. The apex of the exploit is a non-peak king: the BB bets an overbet of 253% of the bank with 41% of its range. If we assume that our tight opponent will slightly overfold, we can bet even more frequently - 62%. Another way to increase the frequency of the check is to bet more often with draws. The best turns for the BB in the line 'check - check flop' are cards that change the nut. The missed check bet with increased aggression on the draw loses less EV than with a shift in value.