Here lemme help you, you said your having difficulty being aggressive. that means your scared. Next time go with your GUT feelings. When you say to yourself I should probably raise or bet here and your gut is telling you too do so. Do it! don't be afraid. It aint money its chips. Its War. Its a battle royal take offense and just go for it. If you lose so what reload and try again some other time. Being aggressive cannot be thought, either you have it or you don't.
Eh? Gut feeling. Really?
Anyway, if you're having trouble playing early or mid position aggressively, play your position aggressively. You should also know how your opponents are playing and be able to put them on a range of hand they are calling or raising with.
Say your in on the button with J9s and you have the blinds behind you. You know know the SB will fold to a raise, but the BB will call you with any A or raise with a pair. SB folds and BB calls. The flop is 5, Q, 7 and the BB checks. Here is a perfect opportunity to C-bet because a) your opponent shows weakness by checking and b) there is a good chance your opponent missed. While you can be aggressive on the button with ATC, I prefer raising with
hands that have potential. Hands like J9, 10Q, 56, etc. Hands like 29o dont have a lot potential.
As a general rule I like to follow, if the flop is rags and I know my opponent will only call a raise with big cards, then I can c-bet with any two cards and be confident my opponent will fold. Also, if you're called you'll need to know when to slow it down and when you can keep on applying the pressure. If there is a flush draw showing and you know your opponent will chase with any 2 suited cards, then you can keep on applying the pressure. On the same note, if you know your opponent doesn't chase without proper
odds but calls your bet, then you might want to reevaluate your opponents hand. They might have an over pair, 2 pair, or a set. Its good to know when you can keep applying pressure, but you also need to know when you should slow it down.
Also, its somewhat easier to play aggressively against short stacks. If they are tightening up and just waiting for the big hand to go all in, you can keep raising them. If you run into any action, fold your hand or call if you have a good hand yourself. At the same time if you're the short stack and you're being hounded on, you'll have to know when turn the aggression back on the aggressor. If your opponent is raising every hand, then you know his hand range is pretty wide. Any A or K hand, high suited connectors, QJ, KJ, hands etc will be good enough to put the pressure back on your opponent. Sometimes, you'll get unlucky and run into a big hand, though. This also works when you're a blind and the button likes to play his position aggressively.
If im in mid position and im first to open, I'll raise with any 2 potential hands. You'll know how your opponent behind you play. If they're a loose bunch, I probably would just fold. But if they're tight, this is a good play. Again, if you are called, be able to put your opponent on a range of hands.
Also, if you flop a big hand...say you raise with 44 and you flop a set, play it aggressively.
