Aggressive actions in poker (betting and raising) are better than passive actions (checking and calling). That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of specific situations where checking or calling is better than betting or raising. But if you had to limit your game to only aggressive actions or passive actions, you would lose a lot less money by always betting and raising.

There is a very basic fundamental reason for this. Aggressive action gives you two ways to win the pot, having the best hand or your opponent folding. Winning a hand with passive action requires having the best hand at showdown.

Simple concepts like this are the building blocks to a strong poker game. Sure it’s very simple, but how come there are so many players who almost always prefer to just call to see what the next card is, instead of raising as a semi-bluff?