Hey y'all,

I've started playing poker again after a ~4 year break, live casino (in the UK), trying to build a bankroll grinding 1/1, 1/2 tables.

Last night I was sat at a 1/1 table with what I believed to be a relatively weak field - mainly rec calling stations who are entering far too wide into pre flop raises (with hands like K7os, J4os). There was however one LAG directly to my left who was constantly raising 20, 35 preflop. He had won several huge pots holding the nuts (or close too) and was sitting on about 1k after only a few hours (max buy in was 200), mainly playing junk cards that kept hitting and using his aggression to bluff out players and also getting calling stations to pay him off in pots they shouldn't be in, with even worse hands than his.

I was card dead the vast majority of the night. I think I had literally one pocket pair all night (44, which I raised and saw a flop with 3 overcards that people bet into) and literally saw only 3 hands approaching premium (AK, AQ, KQ) all night during this 6 hour session. Everything else was literally 10-3os, J3os, 92os etc. The few times I got 78s / 89s I called/raised, with mixed results. Rest of the night I folded, folded, folded.

I ended the night down about 40 and I'm sat here thinking about what I could've done better. Part of me thinks I played ok, that I shouldn't change my strategy and that this is just a natural downswing that I should just play through. Another part thinks I am being too much of a nit, and that if I think this guy is raising junk I should just 3bet him with my 10-2os and just barrell with the right board textures - which immediately seems like a bad idea given his stack size and general stickiness.

Opinions? What are your strategies in these spots?

My only strategy in this spot is to change seats so the LAG player who is also apparently really good is not immediately to my left (or two seats to my left). I would have no problem sitting on his left.

If that isn't possible I will try to change tables.

If that isn't possible either then I would get up and have a meal and come back 45 minutes later. Most casinos in the US will allow you to be on the top of the wait list (well 2nd) so I make sure to go to the desk and tell them I am talking a meal break.

Definitely not 3-betting with T2o. And similarly in this position I would only raise preflop first in from the BTN, CO, and HJ with really good hands. Whereas with a tightish player on my left my raises will always be wide from the BTN, CO, and occasionally the HJ.

You’re in the literal god seat. Limp reraise is now a hugely viable strategy.

There's plenty to discuss on the adjustment front, but another way to look at this is you lost 40bb over six hours of bad-ish cards. That's pretty good. Keping your losses small during dry spells will have a big effect on your overall winrate.

Limp a strong range. Jam over his raise.

I think you played it right.
I agree with the suggestions so far.

1. A small loss when card dead for hours is a win in my book. Going on tilt and losing a large amount is my bread and butter.

2. Get a seat change, a table change or take a break and come back to a new seat or table. There are lots of reasons you can use to change seats/tables without being honest.

3. I do like the theory of the limp-re-raise, but it does have it's flaws.
a. You are still stuck playing OOP against a LAG.
b. Jamming isn't always a reasonable option.
c. There are other players who might re-raise before it gets back to you, that wouldn't have re-raised if you raised.

A couple of thoughts:

1. It looks like you had a bad run of cards. That is going to happen.
2. Variance. Research it. Learn it. Understand it. Variance in poker is a big factor in your results. When you understand variance you will understand that taking the results of one session of poker is almost meaningless. Even the absolute best poker players have losing sessions. You cannot use the results of one session to determine if you played bad or not.
3. I might be wrong, but from what I remember, the rake at most low limit UK casino poker games is absurdly high. Crazy high. The play of the opponents might be bad enough that the games are still beatable, but the effect of the high rake is to drag down win rates. It should also be noted that lower win rates will also increase variance.

If you are looking for feedback on your play, post specific hands. Look for some of the hands that had an outsized influence on your results. Describe the action and why you did what you did.

It’s called running bad

Welcome to the forums .. and back to Poker!

I like what I see here .. When it comes to 'those guys' I don't mind being on their right as it creates a pseudo Button for you .. and this guy is always in the SB for PF action. yes, it can get a bit tricky post-Flop if you miss. But there's a huge advantage to seeing how the other Players respond to the action before you do.

The one thing about 'those guys' is that they like to bet .. and if you take their shiny toy away from them by taking over the betting lead they will stomp their feet and fold out .. OR .. they will overplay their holdings in an effort to prove a point. Thank you value town.

Either way .. if you are card dead then perhaps seat or table change. It sounds as if you didn't give in to frustration .. nice job! GL

You played fine. No one at a small stakes table ever folded too much pre-flop to be profitable.

Realize that poker is a betting game usually played with cards, not a card game usually played with betting... Meaning: You don't control the cards. You only control your bets.

Sounds like your betting was fine. Your cards sucked. That's pure variance. You did well to minimize the loss, -40 is a solid result on a night like that.