All of a sudden my nice comfortable NLH 1/3 game, where i am a solid winner playing TAG poker against loose passives, becomes a 5 handed aggro-fest with two other players who normally play higher (PLO) in the room.

I should really leave the table, but I've heard that if you want to improve your game, you have to play against these kind of opponents.

I didn't post this in BBV because I would like some sensible feedback from other live low stakes players. The question really is how to defend yourself against being exploited by overbets, 4 bets and so on, without spewing off a ton load of chips?

Hand 1

Villain has the button and covers Hero in SB ($300). He has been engaged in a levelling war with the other higher stakes player at the table. I have also seen him overbet the turn and get a fold from one of the tighter fish. He perceives me as TAG.

Villain raises to $12. I elect to call with TT, thinking I am ahead of his button range and not liking to 3 bet an aggro, better player who could easily 4!

Flop ($28) Q 9 4 rainbow. I check, villain bets $20, I call.

Turn ($68) 7. I check, villain bets $150. Hero figures that villain wouldn't overbet a queen. Hero also thinks villain is super wide on the button. Hero has seen villain overbet the turn against another tight player. Ultimately hero doesn't want to get bluffed. So hero ships...


Hand 2

Half an hour later. I have $620. Villain covers. We are now 6 handed

Villain limps UTG+2 (he has limped only once or twice in the session) I raise AJ to $15 from CO. Button calls, BB calls, Villain completes.

Flop ($64) 2:5:J Villain checks, i lead $40, everyone folds back to villain who raises to $140. villain is repping a set of 5s or 2s, but he isn't the kind of player to limp small pocket pairs, and he would have limp reraised pre with AA or KK. So I am ranging him to other jacks, or bluffs - possibly 3 4. I call. This was possibly a mistake. He knows I have to have a Jack or better. Is he really going to bluff raise me with air here?

Turn ($280) 2 This card polarises villain's range to 55 and bluffs (22 much less likely) bets $180. I have about $450 left. Is folding ok here, or does it just give him carte-blanche to run over me for the rest of the session?

Are they skilled/winning aggro players or more of the rich gambly aggro players? If they are solid players I remove some of the 3bet bluffs from my range so I can fight back against all the 4 bets.

Hand 1: call pre and call flop are good. If you think V is weak what is a shove accomplishing. V folds worse hands, so this is really a bet to protect your hand which given Vs line probably gets called often enough by a Q. I think your better off letting this hand go to the overbet.

Hand 2: pre is good. Flop is good. Call turn. Aggro players can show up with JK and JQ here often enough.

You should defend against overbets by folding a lot, not punting your stack because you're worried about getting bluffed.

Hand 1 3-bet/GII pre for only 100BB SB vs. aggro BU. Turn is a clear as day fold as played. You block a ton of straight draws and you just don't need to defend very much against such a large sizing. Shipping is also terrible because you're blocking bluffs.

Folding Hand 2 on the turn isn't okay, but calling/folding river unimproved probably is, although I doubt I would against a hyper-aggressive player. I'm not sure why you want to take a stand in hand one but fold hand two.

My guess would be one that one of the first fundamental things you learn about playing with better players is that you'd be better off not playing with better players.

Gjustsayin'G

Hand 1. 3bet preflop. As played I probably check call flop and check fold the turn. The shove seems really bad especially against this bet size. Against a tough player as described, I would call down a little lighter here with some of your Q's.

Hand 2. You are playing the hand fine until you fold the turn. Your analysis is good, but you got intimidated. Yes it appears this guy is capable of raising you with air here. Hard to believe he has anything that beats you here except 55. Call turn and evaluate the river card. A turn shove may appeal to some but I can't see him calling with worse and folding to better with anything.

TT hand you should be comfortable 3! TT and 5b shipping if you get 4b. You're only 100 BB's effective at an aggro table. Raw equity should drive your decisions.

AJ hand either size down your bets and pot control or hold on tight. 10x SPR pots can get scary with one pair hands.

My advice for "tougher" players is that they're probably not wizards -- they're just solid all around and make fewer mistakes. The way to beat them is not fancy plays or hero calls.

So that said, 3bet H1. His button range should be super wide and TT is way way ahead. I do not expect a solid player to decide to 4bet light, even btn vs sb, without any history. And if he does find a 4bet with hands like AK and AQ, just fold and wp to him -- we're "being exploited" by like 6% of his pfr range.

as played fold turn -- yes his bet is polarized but calling here is super exploitative. If you have a read on his bet sizing then fine, if you don't then fall back to fundamentals -- he's betting 2x pot, it needs to work 2/3 of the time, you only need to defend with 1/3 of your flop calling range -- you can safely fold everything worse than Qx here.

(also if you WERE going to bluffcatch here, TT is just about the worst hand to do it with as you block both plausible OESDs)

If he calls and turns over like KQ after you ship then you got super owned.

h2

I'd go smaller on the flop (maybe 30), AP call turn and call down, as you note it's a great card for you and this is as safe a runout as you could have hoped for.


edit after reading replies: yes 3b/GII with TT if V has a 4bet button. It wasn't clear whether or not that's the case, seems like we just assume he does because he's "good"

Thanks for the feedback all.

I actually shipped my stack in both spots, figuring that calling the turn in both cases was pot committing. Is this bad logic? The villain's turn sizing in both cases indicates that he is aware of this.

I got owned both times. Villain had KK in the first hand and 52o in the second hand.

Check your ego when playing people who play bigger than you.

My ego is so screwed there was a time in my life in which I totally would have wrestled a lion (I’m very weak too.).

Don’t get eaten.

Grunch. Hand 1 - one pair is still one pair. I don’t like the shove. AP I’m ok with the thought process for flatting pre, and flatting the flop. The turn over bet by the villain and call, not liking that so much.

Hand 2 - villain range almost look like turned trips. 14 outs at best which I can make arguments for both a sigh call and a fold.