Jesus this table was loose

[Marklar]

I was at a casino last night and the table I was at $3/$6 limit holdem was very loose. Three or four would show down hands with one guy top pair weak kicker. Other guy middle pair, and third guy yelling "Ace high!".

Everyone limped in in the two hours that I was there only one guy raised the whole time (except for me). He had AA. If you raised preflop everyone called.

I was thinking "omg let me catch a strong hand please!" So I figured the best way to play a loose-passive table was to play tight-aggresive, which is my usual style anyway.

So I get QQ and I raise.. Of course everyone calls. Flop comes Q62. I bet and get called. Turn card is a 4. River a 5. I'm betting the whole way and get raised on the river. Opponnent turns over 63 offsuit to make runner-runner straight.

I end up going broke in the end to a guy who had already gone broke three times. I had only $15 left so I re-raised until I was almost all-in with KK and i got beat by a full house fours full of aces.

I will be going back but I got to figure out how to play these maniacs. I'm sure tight aggresive is it but should I be raising even with AA KK and QQ since I'm gonna be against atleast 4 players to the flop anyway?

I consider myself a smart poker player but I cannot figure out how to play bad players. I cant get a read on them and I cant beat them.

 

[myxiplx]

If it was me I'd be chomping at the bit to play these guys, it sounds very much like the cash table I'm playing online.

Personally I'd take a bankroll of 5x the amount you'll be playing on the table and play a normal tight aggressive game. You'll be winning and loosing some huge pots against oppponents like this so you'll need the bankroll to counter the unlucky losses you'll have, but by playing a solid game you'll take a lot of money in the long run.

I'd also suggest being over-aggressive against players like this. They don't respect raises so you'll need to raise harder than normal. Be aware that they'll chase any draw so be cautious when something hits. You may find that even all-ins are called with junk. In the hand you describe with someone calling your bets with trip Q's I'd probably have put in a huge raise on the turn, possibly all in. Even if you loose everything occasionally these guys will pay you off more than enough to make it profitable, and the occasionall all in loss will just make them feel you're one of them ;-)

Myx

 

[Bombjack]

I'd also suggest being over-aggressive against players like this. They don't respect raises so you'll need to raise harder than normal. Be aware that they'll chase any draw so be cautious when something hits. You may find that even all-ins are called with junk. In the hand you describe with someone calling your bets with trip Q's I'd probably have put in a huge raise on the turn, possibly all in. Even if you loose everything occasionally these guys will pay you off more than enough to make it profitable, and the occasionall all in loss will just make them feel you're one of them ;-)

He's playing Limit so doesn't have this option.

Obviously continue to raise with your premium hands - getting most value in the pot when you're most likely to win.

Probably the best theoretical play against loose-passive players, if you have a big bankroll is to loosen up a bit because you're getting really good implied odds, and playing against mediocre hands. Playing tight you'll decrease your variance, but you're losing out on some value. However if you stand the risk of going bust you obviously won't get any value at all, so play just tight enough to reduce your variance to acceptable levels and stop you going on tilt.

 

[myxiplx]

D'oh, thanks Bombjack...

In that case ignore all my advice, I haven't tried limit yet