Pooh-Bah Post: Loose Aggressive Play

[BalugaWhale]

(forgive spelling mistakes, I am wearing a cast on one hand... stupid football)
Note: This applies to 6max far more than FR. It applies somewhat to being in MP-LP in FR.
I don't know about you guys, but everytime I see a flop and there are chips in the pot, I want them. I don't care if there are 20bb's in pf or 2bb.. I want them in my stack. Aggression wins money, period. Sure, playing passively against a maniac is right sometimes... but I want to be that guy people play passively against. It makes life easier for me, because I decide when the money goes in and when it doesn't.

So, first let's deal with pf. I raise a lot pf (in 6max about 25% of my hands, maybe more haha). I do this because I am aiming to win the pot, and I'd like some money in there to win. Plus, raising gives me the ability to take down the pot when we both have nothing on the flop.

caveat- Know when not to c-bet. This depends on two factors very heavily-- Board Texture and Number of Villains. I might c-bet into 3 weak opponents if the flop was 842r. I'd check often vs. 2 opponents if it was K87 two-tone and I held AQ. Knowing when to/when not to c-bet will help your winrate a lot.

Another reason I'm consantly raising and stabbing is that it helps me get paid off when I hit the flop hard. However, I'm not convinced it helps that much in a world where villains think about their own cards and not yours.

However, villains will play back eventually. It's important to know what to do-- and this means knowing your villain.

Lets say I've been hammering on a villain all game, stealing blinds with any A, any K, and most suited Q's. I open from the CO with A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] . Villain calls in the BB. The flop comes down T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
Villain checks, I lead for the pot ( 9 bb), Villain c/r for 32bb. Many people advocate folding here. With no image and playing a TAG game, folding may be the correct play here. But, as it stands, it may not. What hand would villain play like this? Very few that beat you from the average villain!! Do you think your average SSNL player c/r a set/2pair on the flop, into a pf raiser?? No! Rarely. I am more frightened if I lead and am smoothcalled. I call the c/r and play poker on the next two streets, thinking pot control on the turn, and value on the river. You will be amazed how many times you are shown J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] here.

The point is this: when people are willing to play back at you with less, you can value your average hands higher. How much higher is up to you--and up to your read of a villain. I try to avoid situations like the one above without a read, or when I first sit down.

important caveat--> when you are raised on the turn... your top pair is still not good, even considering the previous statement.

Lastly, know when to go TAG. Playing LAG gets a table worked up. If people start calling pf raises en masse, or reraising you... its time to stop raising 56s UTG and look for value from your big pairs. You'll still get the action, and now you always have the cards. Playing tight pf is rarely, if ever, wrong.

I know a lot of you are interested in loosening up your game, I hope this was somewhat of a brief outline. It's not as long as Pokey's... but then again, Pokey can't count to 1600.

So heres a brief outline
1) Attack, pf and the flop. Put money in the pot, scoop it to your side.
2) Know when to c-bet and when not to.
3) Be strong when you connect- your opponents are likely to play back with less than you're used to.
4) Read the table so you know when to slow down and tighten up.

One more quick thing to highlight- As you raise more pf and c-bet the flop constantly, people start floating you. Its not hard to notice... often the answer for me is double barrel bluffing. It is a powerful weapon... use it against the right opponents. Remember- Only an idiot bluffs a man he knows will call him!!

Disclaimer- the word is still out as to whether or not I'm good at poker. So don't take any of this too seriously.

[MaddHatter]

Read it briefly - love it so far - emailed it to myself at work - too late to try and comprehend

[quarkncover]

[ QUOTE ]
when people are willing to play back at you with less, you can value your average hands higher.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a very delicate skill that becomes crucial to success with such LAG play. The key to becoming a successful loose-aggressive player is superior hand reading skill.

Nice post Baluga. Though I wouldn't recommend this style of play for SSNL in general.

[DWarrior]

Too late to try and comprehend this, but I bookmarked it in advance and will read when I wake up tomorrow.

btw, using the pooh-bah post as your 1600th post seems like diving for the finish line.

[EMc]

ohhhh noooo!!!!!!!

[ajmargarine]

PB posts should be longer so I can use a tl;dr.

As it was, I had to read it. Seems marginally OK. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Barrin6]

I prefer lag play though most 2p2er's tell me otherwise. Well guess what I agree with OP and [censored] what you guys think!

[Haiku]

Great post. The "know when to c-bet" is a great reminder, especially for the lower levels at which I play.

[Keyser.]

Maybe something about having a proper bankroll for this style of play should be added, but other than that I liked the post. Nice work.

[cbloom]

vnh

Baluga, what's the best way for a TAG to beat you? (eg. what drives you crazy when someone does it?)