Two Plus Two Newer Archives - On Isolating and 3-Betting Light

OK, since there has been some interest in this topic I started typing this up before the other thread got started. Since I put some time into this, I'm going to go ahead and post it. I'll also be the first to admit I'm hardly good enough to really do this justice.

At the level I play it seems that full ring tends to breed a lot of weak players who are unwilling to commit a lot of chips without really strong hands. There are some aggressive players here and there, both TAGs and LAGs, but weak play dominates most of the games I join. Now there are still enough loose players to nit it up and make a profit without bothering to mix up my game, but I found that I was missing opportunities against these weak players, who come in both a loose variety and a tight one.

Many of the weak/tight players probably think of themselves as TAGs, being very selective with their opening hands and betting strongly with them, however they have difficulty when put to the test by a player with a wider than typical range, and some make the mistake of lumping these players into a single category as "loose". As any good NL player knows, though, there are players who play a wide varitey of starting hands, but have the goods when the pots get big, and there are those who go too far and pay off too much.

Of course, there is your garden variety loose player, and these are the ones who don't think as much about their game. They love the action and love to play. Many really just want to sneak in and see flops cheaply. These are good players to disappoint. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I think of myself as a TAG, even though recently my stats have been 25/15 pf. I guess this is not the norm, but I run a little looser these days because I feel with the weak play there are opportunities for exploitation, and while I might be taking advantage with a wide range of hands, it's still the same 'old TAG game of pushing edges when I see them. When I run into a table of loose players, I go right back to "normal" stats. This is all about exploiting the tendencies of others, and if I'm just raising to generate action, I'm only exploiting my own need to gamble.

OK, so enough to dispense with all of that jazz- here are some of the opportunities I see and how I take advantage of them:

A loose player who's vPIP is 50% (or more) but folds a lot before or on the flop
This player is just giving away chips, and you don't need much to take them. If I have position on this player AND THERE ARE TIGHT PLAYERS BEHIND ME, I will often put in a nice hefty 5x raise when he limps in. I'll do this with all kinds of hands, from AK/AA/KK (obviously) down to stuff like QTs or even j5o if I'm feeling frisky. Really playability doesn't matter too much at all unless there are players behind who I think might jump into the pot as well. Often this player will just fold, though sometimes he will call and then check/fold the flop. As long as you don't do this too often this is easy money. But it doesn't stop there. When I do this my REAL goal is to take a player like this and push him often enough so that he starts playing back at me and making lose calls later in the hand when the big money goes in. It is already in his nature to play loose if he's limping into so many pots, so eventually he'll start taking a stand against aggression. At that point I back off a little and wait for a real hand and get him to commit too much. At this point, though, a "real hand" could be 88. Even if though I normally limp behind with a middle pair for set value, if I have a loose player trained to go too far against me I'd rather isolate for value. I usually don't 3bet these guys very often- if they limp a lot then whatever they are raising with falls into the category of a "real hand" for them, which means they probably have some attachment to it. I don't like to get involved in big pots with lose players who are attached to their hands unless I have the goods.

A loose player who goes to far after the flop
Whether this player is tight or loose before the flop, identifying a player who will go too far after the flop is huge, because these players will make BIG mistakes against me. Of course, in order to win that money I ACTUALLY have to have a hand. Still, once again it doesn't take too much. Medium strength pocket pairs, even high gappers are good enough for me to isolate. My goal is to get this player heads up so that when I make a hand (and top pair is the nuts against these guys) I don't have to compete with anyone for his chips. When these guys limp, I'll isolate with lots of overcards and pairs if I think I'll be able to get the hand HU. Once again, I rarely 3bet these guys unless I have a real hand for the same reasons outlined against the "weaker" loose players, only in this case they are even more inclined to become attached to their hands.

A tight player who folds too much after the flop
There are plenty of "TAG"s out there who will limp pocket pairs and suited connectors trying to flop big. These guys are wonderful to isolate because they will call PF and then c/f the flop 80% of the time. The best part is that they will call my raises thinking they have implied odds to crack my big hands, when really they don't because I am raising them light. The idea here is to c-bet and take down the pot, and if I get played back at just give it up. If this player is tight, then he has something and I probably am not getting him off it. These are also good players to 3bet light if their PFR is > 6% because it instantly puts them on the defensive. Once again I expect to take the flop down with a c-bet, and if I don't they probably have the goods. The great thing about playing against these guys is that they probably take some pride in "their game" and this will include observing other players and will notice if I am in a lot of pots (whereas other players might not even be paying attention). Thus, these are the ones who might start calling me lighter when I actually have big hands. My hand selection verse a tight player is a little different from the other players. I generally won't 3bet with my fairly strong hands like AQ or TT, but I will with hands I think are barely unplayable by just flat calling- QTs, 89o, etc.

Agressive Players
Whether LAG or TAG, truly agressive players are people I don't isolate or 3bet light very often. Agressive players flurish when they are heads up (especially good ones) because their agression is more likely to take down the pot. Now by agressive I don't mean someone who check/raises from time to time. A check/raise is as good as a call against my range when I'm 3betting light- truly agressive players are ones who can check/raise with air, or donk bet into me because they've picked up on the fact that I'm raising light. Playing against agressive players is a whole different strategy in and of itself and kind of beyond the scope of isolating/3betting.

In case I didn't make it clear before, all of this is about position- I don't isolate players OOP unless I have a very good read on them. When I am isolating a weaker player, essentially I am playing position, not cards. And really, what position lets me do is play their cards rather than my own.

No matter what, to take advantage of these spots I had to learn to get better at playing post flop poker, which I am, but still have quite a way to go. I also learned I had to be willing to put in some sizable bets knowing that the money will just be gone if I am called, and then letting it go when it is. However, after seeing a few people fold when I had nothing but air I started realizing just how profitable an aggressive game can be against the right opponents.