Have you ever heard the term, “gird up your loins”? It means to prepare for action, and it's from the olden days and the Bible: Proverbs 31:17.

From the Art of Manliness: https://www.artofmanliness.com/skills/manly-know-how/how-to-gird-up-your-loins-an-illustrated-guide/

This podcast episode is taken from a video in my training site, www.ThePokerForge.com.

Let me help you train yourself to get more aggressive in your poker play.

Listen to this episode as you follow along below:

4 Parts to Gird Up Your Loins

In your studies, you're going to work on bluffing situations and train yourself to realize that bluffing is necessary.

1. Flopzilla Range Work

Run Flopzilla Pro simulations for various ranges and hands to see how often they actually “hit” the flop with top pair or better and the best draws:

KTs only hits top pair or better 25% of the time. So your cbet will be a bluff 75% of the time!

A 25% open-raising range only hits top pair or better 26% of the time. So a cbet is a bluff about 74% of the time.

2. Hand Reading

You have to learn how to hand read first (my epic post on hand reading will help you out).

Go through your database of hands and do full hand reading exercises with hands that went to showdown where you had the opportunity to:

• 3bet bluff preflop
• Cbet bluff on the flop, turn or river
• Check-raise bluff the flop, turn or river
• Triple-barrel bluff

Check out some recent hand reading videos on YouTube:

When you play poker, you must train your mind and your mouse-clicking finger for bluffing.

3. Be Prepared to Bluff with Every Hand

Great Question: “How am I going to win this hand?”

• KTs open-raising
• Recall your Flopzilla training (they frequently have nothing!)

Bad Attitude: “I’m going to hit a flush!”

Worse Attitude: “Please let me hit a flush.”

Best Attitude:

“I’m going to figure out how to exploit this player and win this hand.”

4. Pull the Trigger When He Has Nothing

Use your hand reading work, Flopzilla study and in-game attention to make valuable reads.

Pull the Trigger when he’s weak and can find a fold.

• “How often is he folding?”
• Target folders (TAG’s and Nits, be IP, stack big enough so they’re not committed) and pull the trigger!

“He must have SOMEthing, and I have nothing”.

• Is he able to fold that SOMEthing? If so, pull the trigger.

The only way you’ll learn to get more aggressive is by doing it.

Gird Up Your Loins Sticky Note

You have to train yourself to use aggression to win hands.

Flopzilla range work

Hand reading

Prepare to bluff preflop

Pull the trigger when you reason they can find a fold

“I’m going to figure out how to exploit this player and win this hand.”

Take Action

Study & Play With Purpose: Learn to Pull the Trigger

In your next 5 study and play sessions, choose 1 form of bluffing aggression you want to learn. Do:

• Flopzilla work with ranges & hands
• Hand reading with showdown hands
• “How am I going to win this hand?”
• Pull the trigger when you reason they can find a fold

If you enjoy this, choose another form of bluffing aggression for another 5 days and so on.