How do you play against a good LAG.
Just got back from Seneca.
Won $480 at a the soft 2/5 NL table, and left the table when it filled with good regulars.
Sat at a 1/2 200max NL game.
The table was very passive and loose, perfect fish feeding grounds except one person.
The best opponent was a very good loose aggressive player on my right.
The LAG was winning by pushing people off pots on the flop/turn/river.
If people bet into him on the flop he would call the flop and then bet the turn.
I figured the standard strategy of wait for a monster and trap him would work but I never got a big hand to trap him with...
Things like this would happen.
I'm on the button with KJs, 4 people limp including the LAG limp in and I raise to $15. One MP and the LAG call.
Flop misses me giving me a gutshot. AT3r. MP checks, LAG bets $30 into the $46 pot..
LAG is very aggressive postflop. He bets so much that I'm pretty sure he's often betting with air. Do you raise here? call? I folded but I figured I needed to make a stand against the LAG eventually ...
Won $480 at a the soft 2/5 NL table, and left the table when it filled with good regulars.
Sat at a 1/2 200max NL game.
The table was very passive and loose, perfect fish feeding grounds except one person.
The best opponent was a very good loose aggressive player on my right.
The LAG was winning by pushing people off pots on the flop/turn/river.
If people bet into him on the flop he would call the flop and then bet the turn.
I figured the standard strategy of wait for a monster and trap him would work but I never got a big hand to trap him with...
Things like this would happen.
I'm on the button with KJs, 4 people limp including the LAG limp in and I raise to $15. One MP and the LAG call.
Flop misses me giving me a gutshot. AT3r. MP checks, LAG bets $30 into the $46 pot..
LAG is very aggressive postflop. He bets so much that I'm pretty sure he's often betting with air. Do you raise here? call? I folded but I figured I needed to make a stand against the LAG eventually ...
Comments
consider phil gordon's advice for playing against an aggressive blinds stealer: if the LAG is raising 4 1/2 times the BB to steal from you, you can fold up to 4 times and only resteal once and still end up in the positive (4 folds = -4 BB; 5th time reraise = +4 1/2 BB means 1/2 BB profit).
my point is, you can wait for a premium hand to bust him on, but if he's a good LAG player, he should be able to fold preflop to a reraise on occasion. take your lumps from his aggression, but you can't be afraid to pull the trigger every so often without the nuts.
In this situation I have about $170. LAG has me covered. Would you have pushed against the LAG in a semi-bluff gut shot for a Queen or folded?
Would you have raised something smaller say to $90??
I don't even think I raise the hand PF. I wade in carefully knowing that the bluff is coming and when you actually hit you can snap them off...but I'm looking for more than a gutshot on a board with an overcard to get frisky.
If you have to do something, at least let it be with k-j on a 10-9-2 type flop...those sorts of semibluffs..anything less is sheriffing imo
Bingo, that's exactly what I was going to say. Everyone at the table knows the big raise is coming, they've seen it already. So play like you expect it (since it happens more often than not), and go from there.
You need to reraise him. It is going to cost you alot more if you keep letting this guy have his way.
You have raised preflop you have the perfect opportunity to represent the Ace with a C/R.
Here's why, would a LAG just limp call with AT-AK? TT?
So you can rule out any reasonable hand. Maybe he has 33 or T3 suited, but it would be much more reasonable to have KT-QT-JT-9T.
Why would he bet 75% of the pot? Do you really think that he is trying to protect a set or two pair against a gutshot straight?
A check raise here is probably going to get him to lay down XT -
I would go to $75 on the c/r as it will look like it is commiting you to this hand and you have a monster looking to get paid off. An all in bet is risky just because if he does have a set or two pair and completely outplayed you here the chips are going in the middle and you can save yourself the rest of your stack.
If he calls, at worst you have 4 outs to bust him but most likely your K or J are also going to be good so you really have 10 outs.
If he reraises all in, ponder and throw away your hand. Try and get him to show you what he has. If it was air or a ten, then ask for a table change - this guy having position on you is going to kill you all day and there are WAY softer tables at Seneca.
Being alert and ready will make it worthwile assuming your a regular cash game player.