LAGs the toughest to play against for me

LAGs are easy to exploit when I get some decent hands and hit the board, but when I don't get hands, I can't even win a pot. I can't try to steal the blinds because they'll call, and they'll raise my c bets.

I have now been at this 4NL table for 75 hands. I have had two pocket pairs (QQ, but the guy hits his A; then 66 but I folded to a big preflop raise), and suited QJ once. That's it. Ace rags is next best.

I have a couple of LAGs sitting on either side of me. I really should leave. But I am stubborn, figuring I can grab a hand and double up.

I've won 4 lousy hands. Down just $1, but it's getting frustrating.

Still haven't figured out a way to beat LAGs when card dead.

Lower your standards for what constitutes a "good hand".

And often good aggressive players get confused for LAGs by people who don't know what they're doing.

HE'S RAISING EVERY HAND HE PLAYS!!! (stats = 20/19)

But yeah, find a hand that's ahead of their range, and punish that LAG.

Get up and change tables. Why play at a table you are uncomfortable in? no shortage of low stakes table games.

You ideally want a table with LAGs and TAGs on your right and the passive fish calling stations and tight passives on your left.When for example you are 3bet in one cycle ie there is an aggressive player skewing your plan, swap tables.

While it's easy enough to switch to tables where you feel more comfortable, that won't do much to help you learn how to play against such players. So you need to decide what weight to put on each of these things. These weights can shift back and forth depending on your mood, but if the more you table select to avoid players who make you uncomfortable, the loner it will take to bring down your discomfort level, and also to improve this aspect of your game.

Against LAGs, position rises in importance. You want to be in position as much as possible so you can choose your actions based on more information.

The sick thing is that I know I should leave, but I am stubborn. At
low stakes I wanna beat these guys. I readily admit it’s stupid.

I feel like all I need is one hand where he hits something but I hit
bigger. Sometimes I get it and double up, but this time I never got
it. Got QQ again after I posted the opening thread, and again got
called by ace rags and he hits the ace on the flop, again. 2 for 2.

I ended up losing about 75c at the table in 100 hands. If it’s any
solace, the LAG on my left went from $8 to less than $2. He was
raising preflop a lot and tossing in pot size c-bets and gave his
stack away; then he toned down the aggression and became a calling
station when his stack dwindled.

You need to be to be patient and realize that 2 for 2 is nothing. I once had 13 pocket aces broken over one stretch.

As others have said. Play ahead of the range and take him to the cleaners hopefully.

I am now at another table with this guy who is shoving preflop a lot. He's had something everytime he's called. KK, KQ, AK twice, 10 10, 88. I've been there only 22 hands as I write this.

Meanwhile the best hand I've had is 66, which I folded to his all in shove. I am just waiting and hoping for a hand now.

It's pretty frustrating in the last several hundred hands. Card dead right now.
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Same guy just hit trips with K5. The dude's on fire right now. At least he's shoving whenever he has anything, so I am not losing much other than the blinds.

Got 33. So in 31 hands now, I've had 2 marginally playable handsm 2 low pps.

Too much focusing on hands. Not enough focus on Villains and position. Also you are confusing LAGs with fish. There are no LAGs that know what they are doing at the limit you are playing.

Sounds like part of the leak righ there ^ (at least the easiest one you can do something about).

Something I'm noticing in your thread (aside from poker strat.) is... you say "I'm down 70cents ..... " When I'm playing cash tables, anytime my stack is below 100bb's I'm topping it up... I'm not focusing on whether I'm down this or up that (although 'up' is usuallyl easier to notice.. although I'm leaving a table as soon as it dries up.. ie. once the biggest fish or two give up & don't reload again). My goal isn't to just focus on being up a bit.. or down not too much... it's more about setting my opponent up during the session so that I'm stacking them (pretty much anyways).. I guess what I'm saying is... I'm going to play vs. villain(s) so that the one hand it's all getting in there (or the more than one hand hopefully)... I'm really,really, really wanting/wishing/hoping to play for stacks. That's what my goal is.. I want it all. You can hang onto 20, 40, 50, or 100 or more bb's for awhile but I'm taking it all (at least that's what my goal is). Maybe I need to showdown a bluff (or three), etc... who knows.. 'it depends'.
Maybe I'm way off base.... idk... just the impression I was getting from reading your posts.

Same situation here. QQ vs. AJ twice. Lost both, to same guy. I had him covered one time, the other time I folded on the turn when he shoved instantly when an ace hit. I raised him big on the flop of 10 10 6 and he stays in and hits his 3 outter. Then he shows me AJ again.

Then AQ vs. Q6. I lose. He flops two pair, I flop top pair. What am I gonna do? I raised preflop. He calls me. Should I fold when the flop is Q86 with two spades?

Poker Orifice, I don't refill because things like that happen. I know that over the long run I am "supposed" to be in the positive if I keep making that play, but in reality, that's not always the case. 0 for 3 today.

If I kept refilling my 100 BB stack today, I would have lost a lot more.

I am just down my original buy in now.

In very short here.... the reasons you want to reload to 100bb's is... so you can play hands that would be giving you great implied odds.. and wouldn't be able to play in some other situations if your stack wasn't deep enough.... AND.. most importantly >> when you stack your opponent off you really want to be taking down the 200+bb pot (you maximize your wins when playing with a full stack).
Play at a lower limit where it's not a problem to play 100bb's.

If you're staying at a table with LAGs who've got position on you, that's a mistake you should stop making immediately.

If you're leaving tables because of LAGs who you have position on, that is very, very wrong. I've tried to respond to this thread a few times and within a reasonable amount of words I can't explain it better than WVHillbilly did. All I'll add to it is that loose play works because of position and it doesn't from OOP, regardless of skill (in fact, playing loose OOP is pretty much the definition of not having skill). Don't fear them. Hell, if you are managing to lose to them then my suggestion is to stay at their table and lose so you can get some experience playing against them. People playing loosely OOP to you is the most wonderful and profitable thing in poker.


Also, the 100bb thing. Yeah, never play with less than 100bb. It will cripple your winrate.
You will make the game more simple (bad for the more skilled player/s at the table).
The rake is bigger relative to the biggest pots you can play (this is really, really not good).
And all of the other stuff that people say every time the topic of buy in amounts comes up.

Honestly, I'm the same as you are, TS. I basically become a total nit when I deal with one of those assholes. May not be the optimal strategy, but keeps me from slowly bleeding out to them or crazily going all in.

You should try concentrating on the table rather than talking on forums. Maybe you could figure it out then.

On table now with a guy who has folded preflop 3 times. I've been sitting there for more than 80 hands. I just don't have much luck. I go card dead when on tables with these guys but when I get big hands, no one like that on my table.

I've gone h2h with him 4 times. Each time I was ahead going in, but I've beaten him one time. His wonderful 83 suited takes out my JJ. 67 nails a straight vs. my top pair... And another hand I forgot but I only had A10 so that wasn't so awful.

Managed to win with KQ against his 95 one time... that's it. Still waiting for that one hand to double up hopefully.

How often have you 3bet him preflop?

The Psychology of Poker has a good section on how to play LAG and how to understand LAG players.

But he really doesn't fold and I haven't had a good enough hand to stick'em all in. I wouldn't mind gettng the chips in if I have anything, but I don't feel comfortable building up a big pot wih hands like K6 or 10 4 and air on the flop.

I bet aggressively when I did have a decent starting hand, but he hit his cards, I didn't. Beat me 3 out of 4.

I saw the guy call someone all in on the flop with nothing but K high but hit runner runner straight. He eventually busted out, but he took out three guys' stacks.

Do you practice good BRM? If so losing a stack should be no big deal if you got your money in ahead of his range.

Up your own aggression and lower you're standard for what constitutes a good hand. These guys want to give you their money but if you don't play enough hands against them you're just hoping to get lucky.

This LAG guy 3 bets me all in. I call him with AQ suited. He flips over AJ. Feelin' pretty good until the J hits on the flop.

I lose.

I am sure running bad is clouding my judgment now, but it's really hard to play now.

You got your money in as a ~75% favorite. That's a great result.

Agreed. Stick with the gameplan Blue - it will come against guys like this.

Finally got one of these guys.

Had 88 on BTN with one limper before me. Raised to 4bb. SB and limper both called. Flop comes a dream 8 10 10.

Check check, I bet half the pot. SB raises me, limper folds.

I got it all in and this time no suckout...

He had called with the powerful 10 3 offsuit.

Had I had a big pocket pair, I would have been very angry, but this one time I finally caught a good break. Feel better now. LOL.

Doubled up against another guy who shoved with 10 5 suited. I had JJ so called. Got scared a bit when a 5 hit on the turn, but managed to avoid a suckout.

Today finally making some $ off these guys.

Now if I could just stop myself from playing those DONs. I am doing horribly there but I stubbornly keep trying...

The power of ace high!

I went in there all in preflop with AsKd vs. KcQc and Jh8s.

Flop is 3h5s6h

The turn made me sweat, the magic 7h gave the J8 guy a whopping 20 outs! Add the 2 Qs that would help the other guy and I was in trouble. The last time I went all in 3 way, I was a 2:1 fav. on the river but still lost so I was expecting to lose here.

But the harmless 5d falls on the river and I tripled up.

I guess that's why ppl love ace rags right? If no one hits anything, you win... lol.

Lovin' the LAGs now. My luck finally turned around, hitting some cards.

QUIT CALLING FISH LAGs!!!

...OP, Lags are stealing a ton, 3betting you, playing postflop, making things difficult by using position and applying pressure...not calling with T3 in the blinds to trip mine or getting allin with T5.

Not much of an expert, but I always find a combination of position and tight but aggressive play, is a good way to deal with these guys. I also almost never go all in pre-flop, except with AA, KK, and even then, it all depends on who I am up against, stack size, etc. You will often find that some of these guys have a winning streak, but it eventually fizzles out, and that's when you can go in for the kill.

Blue Skies,
Appears you and I basically have the same problem. What I've been doing lately is when I recognize this going on, I will hopefully have enough chips to raise. I usually raise fairly well and then within a few hands, they begin to fold and then when they start raising back, you get a feel for what is going on. Have caught many sandbaggers here. It's a gamble sometimes, but hey, you are on a gambling table. I struggle with reading their hands, but watch their actions/signs pretty close. It's much better. Hand in there and try to think about things that are going on and make your best decision at the time. I make fast decisions usually and hate slow play. Fast decisions in my opinion will keep me from playing the guessing game over and over. Hate slow play anyway. I wish you luck (and me) in future games.