Quote:
Originally Posted by curdanol
I was beyond card dead and probably looked like the nittiest nit ever. I was looking for a 75s, 22, or KT in late position to raise just so I wouldn't telegraph big hands. Couldn't get anything playable though. 82, J3, 73....crazy run of crap.
LAG1 kept calling that short stack's 3-bets all-in light (and LAG2's 3-bets), but was folding to other's raises. Played with LAG1 again today. He's actually wicked smart. His family is rich and he doesn't care about money. Today, he was giving crazy action to other crazy players, but giving no action to anyone else. He called $100 pot sized bet on a gutshot against a terrible splashy player, but would instafold to tight players both pre and post flop.
I had two concerns with 3-betting. One was that they'd just fold. The other was that they knew exactly what I had and could play accordingly post flop. LAG1 would essentially put me all-in on any 2 pair+ or any scary flop (like 568 monotone). He'd likely do with a c/r, too; so any bet post flop would be committing my stack. If they both called, then I'd be up against 4 random cards with my hand face up.
If I flat pre-flop, the flop is almost always getting c-bet by one of the lags.
No chance LAG1 would 4-bet from UTG. He'd flat or fold.
You are over-thinking this way too much, dude. Make your life much easier by 3-betting so that you are not called by garbage hands (which can crack your KK) and the hand does not go 4 or 5 ways. If you get no action, oh well. It’s better to win a small pot than to lose a huge one! I am always slightly disappointed when I get no action with my AA or KK, but then I remind myself that it could be much worse and I could have lost a big pot or even my entire stack with the hand.
You cannot “force” value from your KK or control what other players do or don’t do, even when you have been card-dead the whole night. You can only play your A game and hope that you can win big (and don’t lose big) with your premium hands. Don’t make huge deviations from your standard game just to try to adjust to LAG players. This is usually a losing proposition.
You also cannot play scared just because you are facing one or two opponents who are LAG and can potentially put a lot of pressure on you. You just have to do your best to evaluate whether a big bet or raise is a bluff or a value hand. Sometimes, you must take a stand against LAG players — and you may not always be right. And sometimes you catch a big bluff/punt and get huge value from your premium hands. None of this will happen if you fear getting into big pots against LAG players with only a one-pair hand.
One tip in playing against LAG players is to bet big — 70% to 90% pot — on most flops and turns (with both value hands and bluffs), unless you flop a monster hand (e.g., boat, set, straight), in which case a small bet or even a check is better. They are less likely to raise you with bluffs or “make moves” if your initial bets are big, and they are more likely to fold when you have bluffs because of your tight image and big bet. Remember that THEY also have to fear that you have a monster hand (or a one-pair hand that will not fold) and cannot just relentlessly raise you with air. LAG players might be very aggressive, but they are not completely stupid.
Last edited by Nutsaboutpoker; 08-16-2022 at 08:58 PM.