Tips to use playing against LAGs

[Shells]

Loose-aggressive players also known as LAG's can potentially give us problems at the poker table. So, Ashley Adams offers some things to consider (or remind us) as we attempt to take their chips. It certainly doesn't hurt to have these reminders in our back pocket when we are faced with LAG's at the table.

Is there anything more that could be added to his list?

Winning Poker: 5 Quick Tips for Playing Against LAGs

 

[Pimp 007 x]

Yep, in theory you should wait until you have a big hand and let them be all the loose and aggressive they can be and then let them have it...

In reality, pokerstars loves these players and will get them there more often than not, regardless of your big hand

 

[pirateglenn]

Poker Strategy Topic How to play versus LAG style.

Good evening all

Its your friendly roving reporter Pirate here with another latest Cardschat News article on the topic of how to play against loose aggressive players.

Ashley Adams gives us a low down on how to utilise this approach - https://www.cardschat.com/news/winning-poker-5-quick-tips-for-playing-against-lags-107044/

A good read for players looking to develop their game or established players who have/do encounter difficulties against these type of poker players.

Ar!

 

[alien666dj]

Great article just missing examples of how to play hands against loose-aggressive players.

 

[alien666dj]

There are no examples of hands to play against loose-aggressive style opponents with opening ranges.

 

[Shells]

There are no examples of hands to play against loose-aggressive style opponents with opening ranges.

There may not be any examples in the article, but can you think of any hand you have faced or even witnessed, that the tips could apply?

 

[alien666dj]

There may not be any examples in the article, but can you think of any hand you have faced or even witnessed, that the tips could apply?

I don't divide my hands based on the playing styles of my opponents.

 

[Shells]

I don't divide my hands based on the playing styles of my opponents.

Ok. I think I understand.

Do you review your hands on occasion?

 

[SopianaeExtra]

My advice would be: Let others deal with them. Either they self-destruct or they drag some of your other rivals down the pit. I treat them like a ticking time bomb - handle with caution!

 

[skavenger]

Loose-aggressive players also known as LAG's can potentially give us problems at the poker table. So, Ashley Adams offers some things to consider (or remind us) as we attempt to take their chips. It certainly doesn't hurt to have these reminders in our back pocket when we are faced with LAG's at the table.

Is there anything more that could be added to his list?

Winning Poker: 5 Quick Tips for Playing Against LAGs

play to the right, with minimum stack, select a reasonable range, and go to the ground. This is a tip I use often.

 

[Clutchdenier]

Ranges, ranges and ranges

as a player who used to be considered a LAG, opponents who could adjust and mix up their play with a good understanding of what they are representing tend to have a knack of making the LAG make the decision which is not what that gamestyle is suited for

 

[TomCj]

The right moment

My favorite technique for LAGs it to be patient and wait for a top hand
then, if I hit my cards, slow play them into all in

Most of the time they will recklessly put all their chips in and LOSE! lol


TC

 

[SopianaeExtra]

play to the right, with minimum stack, select a reasonable range, and go to the ground. This is a tip I use often.

What do you mean by 'play to the right'?

 

[blueskies]

Tighten up your range, especially if you don't have position. POSITION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Don't call loosely preflop and then chicken out post flop. Don't inflate the pot unnecessarily. If they have a high aggression factor, let them do the betting.

LAG exploit others when the opponent calls loosely and makes weak/mediocre hands and then calls a bet or two but folds to continued aggression. They use position to their advantage.

Either don't play, or be ready to stick it out. When you play against LAGs, you're gonna have to make some uncomfortable calls. It's ok to be a calling station when the other guy is betting with a wide range.

 

[alien666dj]

Ok. I think I understand.

Do you review your hands on occasion?

I analyze hands daily

 

[CapdeCraniu]

Wait, slow play and trap.

Indeed, having to act before a LAG is such a bummer.
Nevertheless, I enjoy slow-playing them when I finally get a nice hand to set a trap with.

 

[Joselmb31]

I always use the same strategy, wait calmly for a hand that is comfortable for me to go all in without any problem, then depending on the position I would be looser and more aggressive than normal, in those situations, a LAG player, in general, does not detect those situations and end up getting into the trap, only key, on the turn we already have to be all in or the hand folded.

 

[blueskies]

I always use the same strategy, wait calmly for a hand that is comfortable for me to go all in without any problem, then depending on the position I would be looser and more aggressive than normal, in those situations, a LAG player, in general, does not detect those situations and end up getting into the trap, only key, on the turn we already have to be all in or the hand folded.

Depends. The bad LAGs you are referring to aren't the tough ones to play against. The good ones know when you likely have it and will not pay you off.

If you are comfortable mixing in occasional bluffs in there to balance your raising range, then ok. But when OOP against the good LAGs, it's very hard to play profitably by trying to out-aggression them. That's why POSITION is still the most important.

But the safer route is usually just to play good hands, and check down and let them do the betting. Once they see that when you check it doesn't always mean you are weak and they hand you some extra money with river bluffs, they will slow down. Then you can start to float the flop and start bluffing at small pots.

But if bluffing isn't working, revert back to mostly conservative check/calling or check/raising with strong hands.

 

[plan]

I play PLO. It is convenient to play with a short stack against a maniac on the left (in front of the aggressor). I got a strong hand, call, the maniac raises, someone calls (or raises) and you go all-in and wait for the holiday. This game is even better than PLO8.
Again, the second guarantee on the Party 750 is PLO8 KO. Something needs to be changed in the final game.

 

[Fahrenheit451]

Ranges against fear and unpredictability

I think that LAGs use fear and unpredictability to win.
When they bet big you cannot know - they have nuts or nothing.

But if you put them on the range and calculate your equity against their range you can call / reraise their bets without fear or fold without regret - you will win in the long run.

I don't say that it is easy, but it works.

 

[Recreationalplayer]

Play tight ranges and defend well post flop.

 

[Hermus]

3-bet light against LAGs. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet. Tighten up and wait for a hand is terrible advice because we give them exactly what they want by folding out our equity share. Rather, put the pressure on and punish them for their weak range.

 

[blueskies]

3-bet light against LAGs. I'm surprised nobody mentioned it yet. Tighten up and wait for a hand is terrible advice because we give them exactly what they want by folding out our equity share. Rather, put the pressure on and punish them for their weak range.

This works when you have position, which is not hard to play against an LAG.

The prob is when he is on your left. Threebetting him oop and getting called and you miss, then that is the tricky situation.

 

[Hermus]

This works when you have position, which is not hard to play against an LAG.

The prob is when he is on your left. Threebetting him oop and getting called and you miss, then that is the tricky situation.

That's not really an argument, that's a doom scenario. Sure, if you 3-bet OOP and you miss, you're going to have a hard time, but that is just poker. The question is, is this uncomfortable situation on average better or worse than just folding more pre. Against a tight passive nit that only plays 5% of starting hands, you're better off folding the weaker parts of your range that you normally would've 3-bet. Against the LAG that opens 35% you're better off opening up your 3-betting range.

The point is, in any scenario where villain is raising too many hands, the exploitative adjustment is to open your own re-raising range. Then, the LAG villain is not presented with an auto-profit bet anytime they play against you, and if they don't tone down their RFI range accordingly they'll eventually have to make either calling or folding mistakes. If you do the opposite, by tightening up, you're essentially exploiting yourself by under defending and presenting the LAG auto-profit bets.