Playing a profitable LAG style

What are some tips for playing LAG? How do I balance my aggression and be smart so I dont overplay marginal spots bad hands and not be a donk per say? I need to start playing like this because a lot of the players in the micros I play at are either NITs or complete calling stations.

You don't need to play LAG at micros mate, a solid TAG, even mostly ABC poker style should stand you in good stead to be profitable. I had a spell where I thought LAG was the way to go because at micros you can feel like you're not making near enough money for the amount of hours you're putting in. But you're only at micros. You're only still learning and improving.

There are plenty of bad players at the micro-stakes, which if you stay disciplined and wait for good spot, you can extract maximum value.

Also, playing LAG style against calling stations isn't always the best thing. If you're loosening up you'll have air a lot of the time and you won't be able to bluff them off. You need to be a very, very good player and have immaculate reads to be a good LAG player too. Lots of people class themselves as LAGs but really they are just bad aggro players.

akaRobbo said:

...a solid TAG, even mostly ABC poker style should stand you in good stead to be profitable...

Click to expand...

I agree. Oh, and don't think that donks bluff all the time, so don't call too much. Then you should be fine

You need to be very good to play LAG successfully at any level. I mean VERY good. If you are not, you will lose money hand over fist.

The problem with microstakes is that you will get called to the river by fish that have hit any part of the flop. You cannot bluff except against the regs; And they will turn you over very quickly if you are not good at hand reading.

Your best bet is to play TAG and master that. You can then loosen up as you become more confident at hand reading.

I play a bit LAG/Small Ball myself six handed, but TAG nine handed. I trust my reading skills six handed because I love playing lots of hands. In Micro's, tight is almost always right. ABC is the way to go with pretty much all people. Do not bluff often at micros or even never against others.

Playing Loose-Agg successfully requires being able to read players and situations very well. It's difficult to do, particularly online. The only time I would consider doing it would be if I can tell another player is doing so. If I know someone is calling as wide as say 9 6 suited, then playing J 9 off against him is fine. Ultimately though, you need to get people folding to play LAG.

Otherwise playing loose-aggressive doesn't work out. You are playing hands that are generally not winning hands. It's that simple.

There are some ways to intermingle LAG plays into TAG style, and I think it actually enriches your play. Refining your 3-bet range from the blinds to include hands like AJ/A10 can be good. These are hands that generally winning hands but hard to play out of position sometimes. 3-betting those will generally get a fold, are usually getting flat called by hands that are behind, and usually getting 4-bet by hands that are ahead (AQ being the exception). But it also amps up the frequency in which you 3-bet, so might help you get called or 4-bet when you have KK/AA.

Similarly, once every 50 hands or so, it's not bad to play a "bull shit" hand. If you get lucky and hit, people don't give you credit for that hand, and when you do show, it makes you that much of a scarier player to play against.

"in the micros I play at are either NITs or complete calling stations.[/quote]"
The key isn't necessarily to play lag it is to quickly identify each players weaknesses and exploit them. (having a hud helps)
Steal the blinds from the nits EVERY time if they aren't defending. They are often also easier to bluff if they don't go to showdown without the nuts.
When you actually have a decent hand value bet the calling stations with BIGGER bets than usual on the flop/turn/river. Dont bluff a CS.

If you need advice on how to play a LAG game, then you should not be playing a LAG game.

Essentially when you are good enough to do it, then you will know how. It turns out that you may never know how to play a LAG style, since its not typically profitable to play even when you are playing 200 nl and 500 nl.

You have to be very competent to play it. So learn to play a TAG game, learn to do it right. If you cannot win playing a TAG game then you have no business playing a LAG game.

Pick you spots, and opponents to bully.
Use good position.
Pay attention to table dynamics; do not just bet at everything.
Switch gears suddenly.
DO NOT SLOW PLAY MONSTERS!

I think when playing LAG at micros folding to pretty any raises post flop is a good idea. If people have made good hands and you are barreling with air, middle pair or draws etc, they will just call you and let you barrel. You can be sure they are very strong when they are raising you anytime post flop.

Since playing looser and aggressive I find decision making to be way easier post flop. Most players give virtually no counter aggression and let you control the table. So when they do, you can be sure they are ahead of you. Most players dont have the capacity to play back at you and bluff back at you either, so stealing, 3 betting light pre, and squeezing (at 10NL) works like a dream. You also get no credit when you make the nuts , so when you are running good the profits are huge.

You're also incredibly tilting to nits and tight players. In the last few days ive had 15/11/2 type regs calling my shoves pre with Jacks, AQ etc and things like TPTK on the flop. They just see me as an aggro donk, but in reality I know what im doing (well kind of )

Playing LAG takes a lot of experience and being a good LAG is way harder than a good TAG. Thing is, at lower stake micros like 2NL and 5NL people don't fold that much.

There was this one pot long ago which I was involved in with pocket Ts aganst Kings. The flop was 9 high and I was the aggressor, I think. I bet every street and on the river the board was 2-paired. I think even the flush got there, but I'm not sure. Long story short, I shoved around 50BBs I had left and he took a long time to decide. He ended up folding.

I think he was actually debating on calling there, so I decided not to play LAG at those stakes all-together. Too many bad players don't know when to fold, so I'd rather extract value from them with my better hands than try stealing pots from them with garbage.

Coolers like that don't happen often though and even if you were playing tight/conservatively you would have lost a decent amount that hand.

It's amazing what people call you off with when they have you down as a donk. I used to think LAG had no place at micros, but you just need to target the right players. Think about it, 2 fish and 4 tags at a table. (often the case with my table selection) you can really pressure and barrel these tags. Most of them are weak tight, multitabling playing ABC. Fair enough you're gonna get caught with your pants down some of the time, but this isn't always a bad thing. The fish, playing 1 table will see you (supposedly) donking around and play 100% of pots with you. Then you adjust and avoid bluffing post flop against them and they will pay you off with even worse garbage than normal. Players at these stakes tilt massively as well, especially when they think you're a bad aggro donkey.

Loads of value I've been getting is pre flop, I happily shove AKo+ pre. People call with JJ AQ, AK and QQ all the time. Makes such a difference as usually people only call with at least Kings if your stats are tight.