Is loose/Aggressive poker the way forward?

Many players have a different style of poker wheter it is loose aggressive or tight aggressive or some like to play trapping style poker, it seems that those who play aggressive and loose can run the table, does not mean they get the results in the end but there are definite benefits to this style, how do other players see this?

mortimccarthy said:

Many players have a different style of poker wheter it is loose aggressive or tight aggressive or some like to play trapping style poker, it seems that those who play aggressive and loose can run the table, does not mean they get the results in the end but there are definite benefits to this style, how do other players see this?

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If I'm playing cash, I play more aggressively. But if I'm playing a tournament, I play tight. I realized that playing hands with value is always the best choice. And if I'm playing live, I look for the player's tells.

Different styles of players, I see as normal.

Aggression is at the heart of the game of poker, its philosophy! Most of the winnings in poker are based on bluffing. If you only wait for premium pairs all the time, you won’t win!

In tournaments I try to play a TAG game early on while I get the chance to watch the others at my table make plays. A lot depends on how the other players are approaching the game. If there are 2 or 3 LAG players I keep it tight looking for a chance to catch them with a monster. As the tournament progresses I stand ready to adjust my game if the cards aren't going my way. Since this happens more often than not I eventually loosen up. I expand my ranges and look for opportunities to bluff. If my LAG play works I mix it up by going tight again for a while.

tournament start play valuable hands to have a steck to play values

With smaller player pools and poker sites going to the unlimited re-entry format to boost prize pools, loose/aggressive seems much more common. There have always been loose/aggressive players in the game. But let's not confuse loose/aggressive players with bingo players that want to see a lot of flops, but do a lot of check/calling and check/folding.

LAG style requires a certain understanding of the game that allows players who avail themselves of this style to have a feel for where they are in a hand, when to push and when to let go. Because of that, there seemed to only be so many players using that style and even fewer who were actually successful at it. But now, with unlimited re-entries available it's quite common to see players getting in there mixing it up and throwing chips around with a much wider range of hands. For instance, it's not uncommon at all these days to see someone jumping into a four-way all-in situation with something like 5-8 suited. The odds don't seem to favor them. But if they win, they'll take down a huge pot. If they lose, they can simply re-enter.

I don't think players are necessarily utilizing LAG style more effectively. Instead, they seem to be taking advantage of the ability to re-enter multiple times. It's like I say, skill usually beats luck, but todays unlimited re-entry format gives luck more chances.

Sure seems like a lot of players are loose agressive. It becomes very difficult to pull off bluffs since these players will call anything.

I think you need to be every kind of player that is possible to be all mixed up

mortimccarthy said:

Many players have a different style of poker wheter it is loose aggressive or tight aggressive or some like to play trapping style poker, it seems that those who play aggressive and loose can run the table, does not mean they get the results in the end but there are definite benefits to this style, how do other players see this?

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I think that it is important to have all kinds of different "styles" in the poker tool-kit. Important to adjust to the table dynamic and play whatever style will help you win!

In MTTs most of the good regulars in mid stakes games do in fact use a LAG style most of the time. And this makes sense, because with often somewhat shallow stacks and antes stealing blinds and winning many small pots is just so valuable. To play LAG well is more difficult than playing TAG though, and for that reason most of the winning regulars in micro MTTs are more on the TAG side of the spectrum. Low stakes games are somewhere in between with a solid population of both LAGs and TAGs.

I think the way to success in winning poker is to balance aggressiveness with passivity. Everything will depend on the hand that the player has and how to open the cards on the table.