Hi guys,

This is my first post here and I'm trying hard to improve my game. I've found a really loose and super aggressive live game in my area but i've been losing the last 2 times i went there.

I'm generally a tight aggressive player (I would like to think that) and have been reading Sklansky - Small stakes holdem however, I've just been unable to crush the game. The players play almost any kind of hand and they always seem to at least hit a pair or two pairs while i hold overcards (which i rarely hit) and I am unable to bluff them out of the pot as they'll call with any pair.

Once I 3 bet with pocket queens and A5o called me out of position and hit a full house on the flop and went all in, forcing me to fold. Another time I had 7h6h and the flop came 7c7s9d, against an opponent holding KTo, and i bet half pot on the flop and the turn came Js, i bet 1/3 the pot and he called and drew a Q to hit his backdoor straight and he doubled up.

I constantly face huge preflop betting, with 3 bets and large straddles and even bigger raises on the flop. What should I do? Should I loosen up my play and re raise them more often? I really want to crush this game as there's a lot of money on the table.

It honestly sounds like you think you are better than you are and don't understand variance yet. Take the hand with 76, you are 96% to win on the flop, you want them to put all their money into the pot with KT. Of course when that 4% happens and they hit runner runner it sucks but that's bound to happen.

I would honestly start with a new more up to date book and go from there. You can check out this and find a book that is better.

We also don't know what stakes these are, stack sizes, etc so it's hard to make assumptions and tell you how to play in that game. Read the threads here and start posting hands from your sessions. Learn how to post HH's so you get good responses.

It is generally best to TIGHTEN UP in loose aggressive games. Also, two sessions is hardly a good sample size to dictate long term results. You will need thousands of hours of play to really get an accurate result.

Understanding variance is one of the hardest things for new players. Reading books can help you get a handle on what it is, but until you really experience the crushing blows it can deliver, handling it is only words. As a new player playing live, first you need to work on hand reading- that is putting your opponents on a range, and adapting. This skill takes LOTS of practice. Being able to crush a game is a long term goal, short term you should be looking to find out if you can even beat the game.

It is true that loose aggressive games can yield some of the biggest profits, LONG TERM, but your variance in these games will tend to be larger. That is, you will have bigger losing...and winning sessions on average than in a tight game because your stack is at risk more often. If you are afraid of variance and don't have the bankroll to stomach this, you're best off either trying to play a shorter stack-buy in for the minimum, or look for a tighter game where you can practice.

Best of luck in learning the game and better results.

Where is this game?

Games like this are tough because you have to tighten up a lot especially OOP and expect a lot of swings. But if you are patient and stick to your game you will come out on top. The keys are to bet value hands bigger and almost overbet at times. Like your 76 example just be betting more like full pot there and gii on the turn. Don't let them see cards for cheap. Don't bluff and bet the crap out of all your strong hands. Don't chase or call light just wait and jam like crazy and hope its good. You can also do things like limp in EP with hands like AA if the game is really agroo and then 3 bet hard to try to take it down pre or get heads up or even GII vs a spaz who thinks 1010 is the nuts. Good luck.

Thanks for the great input guys! I was quite a regular live player a few years back but took a complete 1.5 year break and now i'm just getting back to playing in uni to make some money in the side.

I suppose that my idea that a tight aggressive player will make some money every game (even with variance), but perhaps this is not the case.

This is going to be a really beginner question but in such an aggressive game should I be mucking 98s even in late position with such aggression (im talking 3-betting when even when my opponents have terrible hands)

When your opponents have wide ranges, SCs and the like that make weak top pair hands and rely on implied odds are worth much less than hands like KQo that make strong top pair hands and also flop draws.

And no, a TAG can easily suffer from variance over a small sample. I wouldn't radically change your game based on a couple of losing sessions in a game with spewtards. I do think you should evaluate your game and see whether the ranges you are playing in and out of position make sense against your opponents' ranges.

You can try upping your opening (pre-flop) bet little by little until people start to fold pre. You might be surprised what it takes, I've frequently played games where it takes 8-10bb.

This does't always work. There's often an inflection point, above which the fish start to play optimally. So you bet $12 pre and get six callers, you bet $15 and people fold everything except JJ+. Then they start check-raising you and all that trash. So be careful if you try this. Also you need to bring a bunch of money, because when you think about it, you're turning a 1/2 game into a 2/5 game, so bring enough.

OP, you are on a long journey that despite what you may think, you're just at the beginning. For now, I'd say this game is beyond your ability to exploit. Keep reading and posting in this forum. Eventually, you'll be thrilled that your villains are so bad they call you with back door straight draws and push you out of pots you're losing in.

I've just picked up No limited hold'em theory and practice by sklansky. I'll probably try to finish that and look through old forum threads before I go back to the tables again.

Absolutely don't bluff in games like this. Don't even continuation bet unless you hit some equity. Really no reason to lead out betting much at all. The opps will do plenty of betting for you. I recommend trying to see alot of flops with hands that can easily flop the nuts in situations like this. Any connected cards or suited king or ace is playable against a crowd like this. You will pay to see alot of flops, but it will make you look less nitty and the aggressive guys will pay up when you hit a hand. Also, position means next to nothing in a game like this. Best seat position may be to the right of the most aggressive guy, so you can close the action with your call.

You can make a ton of money calling down a maniac with two pair, but the variance is much miuch higher than a typical game. Just don't volunteer much $$ post flop unless you have some equity.

No you are not calling 3 bets w 98s...but you do want to call a single raise or limp in position because hands like this actually go up in value since many pots are mutli way and they play better and small pairs even more so because you are never stuck with huge draws that miss sometimes.

Just a quick tip: play tighter and put more aggression/ larger bet size on pre with ur value hands u decide to play. Play strong beliving that u are ahead most of time unless u have a good read not to.

Wrong crowd to C-bet with air.

3bet JJ+ AQ+ every time

4bet AA KK AK every time

and even AQ QQ if they are so loose that they will call or shove with worse

play position, literally fold every hand OOP except for super premiums, maybe overlimping small pairs or Ax suited

get it in with combo draws and big flus draws as they crush there ranges, theeseviallins will ctack of with top pair so play equity heavy draws aggressively to strack these idiots

No seriously. Where is it?!

One word: Value

Everything you do in this game should be for value. Play stupid ABC Nit/Tag poker and print money. Ez game.....

With that said I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you probably need a ton of help with your game. "Crushing" a game goes beyond some simple strategy to win in a game. I wouldn't post hands here just yet, but for the next month or so I would challenge you to reply to as many HH threads as possible. Be as detailed as possible. It will give you a good idea of where you are at with your game.