Can players with very loose preflop selection be winners?

[roggles]

Tried searching, but it gave nothing. I know very little about LHE, so this is a quite basic question about the game.

Today I played 5/10 against a loose aggressive semi-retard. In hold em he raised almost every hand preflop when it was folded to him (no matter the position), and he called raises all the time. He also did plays like 3-betting 36o and then betting all the way. He had 1000 bets at the table, so he was probably just playing around. Obviously I pegged him as a bad player that will probably give me profits.

What I wonder is if a loose style can win money in the long run in limit hold em. I don't think I've ever seen it, but this is rumored to be true in NLHE. What is the case in limit?

[One Outer]

as you describe, no.

[TheCount212]

Agreeing with One Outer (sorry man)... as described, this is heehaw poker. But it IS possible to loosen up a little PF, especially if you can see more flops cheaply, and play better than the opponent after the flop. But playing and raising 63o is not a recipe for success.

The important thing is to loosen up to a degree you feel comfortable, and not get sucked into playing crazy just because it seems to be getting the money at the moment.

[One Outer]

[ QUOTE ]
Agreeing with One Outer (sorry man)... as described, this is heehaw poker. But it IS possible to loosen up a little PF, especially if you can see more flops cheaply, and play better than the opponent after the flop. But playing and raising 63o is not a recipe for success.

The important thing is to loosen up to a degree you feel comfortable, and not get sucked into playing crazy just because it seems to be getting the money at the moment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you considering trying that? I foresee lots of sighing...

[TheCount212]

I'm actually not overly tight PF.. (ie: limping with Kxs, Qxs, 64s, 97o, etc...). I like to see more flops than the average rock, and play tight (and hopefully not too weakly) from then on.

[fishyak]

If you do want to loosen it up a bit, use position. Loosen up ONLY from HJ or later. If facing a true maniac, be patient and tighten up. Then RAISE when you have the goods.

[Frond]

Yes, they can be very short term winners. Their style is a pendulum though. They can lose chips just as fast as they accumulate them. Example: I played 4/8 live today and a girl to my left played just about every single hand for 3 hours straight and occcasionally hit some really nice pots. She also bet out at a lot of flops. She started with a rack($100) and built it up to $450, left with like $150 total. So although she did win a little, think how she could have done if she played just a bit smarter post flop.

[Dhani]

Just for giggles..
Would you expand on how you would loosen up a bit (alla SSHE) in these situations (playing with Maniac, being a maniac).

[TheCount212]

Well, there is a big difference between loosening up generally at a typical table and playing at a table with a maniac. I think the best strategy against a maniac is to tighten up PF and make them pay. To use a boxing analogy, if the table is typical you want to jab more often (play more hands) and if the table has a maniac or two you want to play the rope-a-dope for a while and go for the knockout when an opening presents itself.

[James.]

nope. eventually they bleed dry. they may run hot for a bit and look good, but a hot streak can make alot of crappy players think they're good.