That one LAG motherf*****r!!

[poker_bro]

I just leveled up in 6 max Holdem cash games (online). I made a good profit for a few days, and then BOOM I met a devil. This crazy guy 3bets and raises almost with every hand and giving a hard time for everyone in the table, and he always builds a huge stack. I first thought he is just maniac fish, but no, he is just a maniac. Very good player. I have tried to use a regular playing style against LAGs like 3betting widely in preflop and sometimes I can successfully exploit him. No problem. But it needs a lot of focusing and the problem is that he makes me tilt so easily. And I tilting when I WIN big pots. Losing is not so bad but when I make a good profit it gives me so huge adrenaline rush and my heart is beating so hard so I start to become a ****y and it makes me do overconfident decisions, and this b***h makes me crazy.

I am playing in a small poker site that doesn't accept HUD. So I get reads and tells old fashioned way. No table selection, it is not even possible while multi-tabling. I think the benefit of playing in a small poker site is that you can get familiar with your opponents easier than in big poker sites.
My goal is to level up so I want to play against guys like this in order to get better. Now I am having a break from poker for a couple of days and using this time to learn the theory of how to beat LAGs. Usually, I make automatic decisions and making steady profits, but then this guy joins a table and all hell breaks loose.

So, as I told, my problem is my tilting problem. In theory, I know how to beat this type of players, but when I win (or lose) big pot with him, my brains shut down and I start to play a similar way that I am not comfortable with, I am TAG. And yes, he is not a fish, he is a very skillful player with LAG playing style.

Tell me your experiences about similar situations? Success stories. How did you solve this problem? This guy has made me so angry so I want to kill him (in poker of course).

 

[GreenDaddy1]

Super agro guys who can't seem to lose tilt me badly, takes a lot of patience to not get wound up. See them time and time again turn up with awful hands and get lucky on rivers. Try to be patient and then isolate them with a good hand, get it all in, and bam they suck out on the river again and take your stack! Or for once they actually have a great hand and of course it was against me. Of course, mostly this is just variance and perception/remembrance of the bad times. We should know that a solid TAG style against people like this is going to be profitable in the long run, if you can keep your cool. It is not always easy for those of us who are not pros to do so!

Funnily enough, my next least favourite villain is the super tight passive rock. This type of player also winds me up pretty badly. They wriggle away from me hand after hand when I get decent hole cards and I can't seem to crack them, and this can lead to me tilting a bit as well, getting too aggressive against them.

Successfully combating both of these extreme ends of the spectrum is a challenge for me. I suspect though a lot of it does come down to variance and perception in certain spots/runs of hands. The same passive rock that I crush without much noticing in one game might give me a massive headache in another, depending on how the cards play out. And that extremely agro LAG/Maniac might bust out against me easily in several games, but the time I see him with a giant stack going bananas and winning every flip might be the time that sticks in my head.

Particularly in spin and go's, the bad occasions against both these player types can send me into a tilt when things aren't going my way. Try to remind myself to just stick to my game and let the cards do what they do.

 

[Hujiko]

Seems to me that you know your problem as you state that you 'tilt' when winning a pot and getting overconfident. So when you win a big pot just play even more tight like a ROCK for a full round. The adrenaline rush will quickly go away and then you can start playing your best TAG poker again.

Also be aware that a bigger/deeper effective stack means that you should adopt your play.

Also try to identify his weaknesses is he a real maniac as that he plays to aggressive post flop. The more you know about the player the more easy it is to play and not play to over confident.

 

[8bod8]

Keep in mind there are two acronyms LAG
1) Loose AGressive
2) Lucky AGressive
When you spot the seconds one: leave the table before it's too late.

 

[poker_bro]

once they actually have a great hand and of course it was against me.

This!

So when you win a big pot just play even more tight like a ROCK for a full round. The adrenaline rush will quickly go away and then you can start playing your best TAG poker again.

Good advice. Usually, I just take a short meditation break. I have a bad impatience issue.

Keep in mind there are two acronyms LAG
1) Loose AGressive
2) Lucky AGressive
When you spot the seconds one: leave the table before it's too late.

Haha. I think this guy is that first one. Giving me so hard time cause it's impossible to read his hand and when I finally have some decent pair so of course, we go all-in, and he has aces.

 

[bakreni]

LAGs like 3betting widely so you need to 4 bet this guy widely end go from ther

 

[AKQ]

Against a lag/maniac you should be folding or 3betting. Your 3 bets need to be much larger than usual and make sure you have a plan if you get called.
If he calls and shoves on the flop and you have no plan and/or position...hes gonna be cleaning you out


I always think Is he exploiting you or are you exploiting yourself?