Being aggressive in poker is important to keep your opponents under pressure. It takes some guts to be aggressive in a game of poker. If you were aggressive, you would be making big bets into a pot. Players are often either aggressive or passive. To play passive it to check a lot and not really bet out to see where you are. Aggressive players like to raise it up with any two cards and will keep value betting at the pot and asking the question of you to see if you have anything. The term is used to describe bullies and players who try to bet enough to get you to fold.

If can be difficult to play against an aggressive player as you don't know when he has a hand as he pretty much bets at everything. The only way to play an aggressive player is to stop yourself becoming a calling station. You will only hit your cards on average about 30% of the time and so calling all the time is not the answer. Additionally, you won't know where you are calling bets. Wait for premium starting hands and put in a re-raise when your opponent bets which will ask the question of him. Alternatively you get in and when you hit the flop just call his bets down.

The power of aggression ties in heavily to the value of the pot. The more money that is in the pot, the more aggressive players tend to be, in an attempt to take down a big pot.