Dealing with LAG players

Hey guys; im pretty new to poker and looking for any advice on how to deal with loose and agressive players. (preferably use their loose play to my advantage)

I usually play quite tight, only calling with a strong hand; if i don't hit anything on the flop then i fold.

Would you guys just recommend waiting for a strong hand then betting hard, or possibly trap them/slow play them?

Though im always end up playing with scared money against LAG players - but realise it's something i need to confront!

Make them uncomfortable playing you. 3bet lighter than you normally would because their range is huge. Since they'll bet at anything, use the check-raise as a tool. If you think they'll keep firing, check-call all the way to the river when you hit a monster that's likely to stay a monster and then raise all-in on the river if they have any chips left. Don't call with junk just because that's what they're playing. Stay tight, get more aggressive.

MrJoe said:

I usually play quite tight, only calling with a strong hand

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This is the problem right here. You need to be the aggressor! LAG's are opening a HUGE range, so you can take advantage of this in 2 ways:

1) Make aggressive moves with weaker holdings. Say you have 98s on the button. The laggy 35/28/3.6 player opens from the cut off. You should be 3-betting those hands on the button. More often than not, the LAG will have to fold, unless he's a bad player. And if he does call, you have a well disguised hand that flops well.

2) Trap with your stronger holdings. Be more inclined to call preflop with hands like AA, or limp if the LAG is in late position. Since they're more inclined to be raising light, you need to take advantage of this by trapping in money with your monsters.

c9h13no3 said:

1) Make aggressive moves with weaker holdings. Say you have 98s on the button. The laggy 35/28/3.6 player opens from the cut off. You should be 3-betting those hands on the button. More often than not, the LAG will have to fold, unless he's a bad player. And if he does call, you have a well disguised hand that flops well.

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Thanks alot for the help!

I'm pretty new to poker, so excuse me if this is a stupid questions - but wouldn't betting hard on low cards like that not just loose me money?

If he calls the 3 bet, and I hit nothing on the flop; would it be best to fold, or keep betting hard in the hope i hit something?

See, this also really depends on what kind of player you're dealing with. I'm giving you suggestions on how to play a good loose, yet aggressive player. These players will still understand how important position is, and will respect 3-bets, especially from a tight player. So 3-betting with an implied odds hand in position is fine, since a good LAG is going to be folding a large portion of his raising range to a 3-bet from a tight player.

However, if you're playing just loose/bad players or maniacs, you have a whole 'nother issue entirely. Those players require a different playstyle.

There's a world of difference between a good LAG and a bad LAG.

3-betting light against a bad LAG who is going to raise/call/reraise/push all the way any 2 cards at any given time probably isn't the smartest of ideas. Against these players it's better to catch something decent and let them dig their own grave. Remember to bump the strength of your hands up a bit in your mind accordinly! Against a bad LAG for example a holding like TJ which hits top pair on say a 38J board should be considered much stronger than you usually would.

Pay attention to see if the villain gives tells away with betting.. many of them will bet a standardish amount all the time every time with nothing up to a decentish holding and then suddenly kick it up another notch (bigger bets etc) with an actual good holding. Some do this predictably some do it randomly.

Against a good LAG the advice c9h13no3 gave is good.. you have to be more aggressive back at them than you might be comfortable doing. If you fold every time you miss with no fight or without something strong you are the type of player good LAGs exploit to death.

I think it is also a big mistake to call preflop and fold when you miss, especially against a LAG player. You should be 3-betting often, and if you call you need to make plays at flops that you feel your opponent has missed. You should also be raising with your draws instead of calling on the flop.

Alright, thanks for the advice everyone! I've always been somewhat intimidated by LAG players; and realise it's something I need to sort out if i want to take control of the table. I'll give some of this advice a try and see how it goes!

If anyone has any more advice they could add then im all ears!