How do I defend against LAG who keeps hitting the board?

[AKQJ10]

I was needlessly glib earlier because I was in a bit of a hurry, but bernie did a much better job of explaining it. You really do have to just wait this out and be aggressive at playing back at him -- certainly when you think you have the best hand but occasionally even when you're not sure, if he's backing down to shows of aggression (as an effective LAG generally will).

Pick your moments carefully, but don't be afraid to throw in a well-timed reraise if you think he's getting out of line (and if you've seen that he's capable of backing down -- if he's not capable, then wait on the nuts and take all his chips).

Unfortunately this will increase your variance as occasionally you will guess wrong. LAGs profit when players become predictable in response to them. If 99 times you fold decent hands to their raise and once you reraise with the nuts, then they're pretty unlikely to make a huge mistake against you.

[smbruin22]

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The longrun is much more than just 4-6 hours of sitting on a table. Wait 'til this happens to you for a week str8 with multiple idiots hitting everything.


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bernie, has this happened to you??? because that's where i feel i am right now... probably down more than 100BB on craziness (i know that bankroll should be at least 300BB, maybe 400-500 with more crazies these days).... but it feels like i never even go on any moderate upswings anymore.

wondering if you've had really rough patches... BTW, i really like your comments, you are one of the best posters.

[smbruin22]

i've been a few situations each way.... i've had guy's beat time after time and i've had the opposite happen..... very frustrating and makes you think the game is rigged, at least online..... but as i said, i've busted the same guy time after time after time. it's just the flow of the cards. if you have the bankroll and temperament, just wait it out and if he keeps beating you just accept it. if it puts you off your game, then just leave (it's not like the guy's better than you or that you're showing weakness)

besides, if you're TAG, you won't be alot of pots anyway. if the game is loose then his continuation bets aren't relevent to you.... if the game's tight and he's isolating you, then yes, you have to fight back sometimes, even when the flop misses you. as ciaffone says "heads i win, tails we fight for it", although that's no-limit and specific to situations.

[bernie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The longrun is much more than just 4-6 hours of sitting on a table. Wait 'til this happens to you for a week str8 with multiple idiots hitting everything.


[/ QUOTE ]

bernie, has this happened to you??? because that's where i feel i am right now... probably down more than 100BB on craziness (i know that bankroll should be at least 300BB, maybe 400-500 with more crazies these days).... but it feels like i never even go on any moderate upswings anymore.

wondering if you've had really rough patches... BTW, i really like your comments, you are one of the best posters.

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Yes it's happened. Numerous times. And yes, it can have an effect on ones psyche.(more-so when you are moving up limits) It sucked learning how to play through it.

This year I'm stuck about 150BBs on a 15-25 game that they don't seem to spread anymore.(other limits have compensated the other way) Got my asshanders a couple months ago when it was being spread more frequently. 2 str8 60+BB losing sessions on the way to losing 148BBs in 4 sessions(about 26 hours) kinda sucked.(I had to look that up in my records.yay-lol) But after looking at my game during that, I was playing fine, just couldn't hit anything or make anything stick.

Sometimes you'll go down 100BBs and float around there a bit until you finally hit an upswing. It can seem like you're just spinning your wheels. This actually gets easier as you learn how to play out of those swings. Once you do it a couple times, it doesn't affect you as much since it's kind of like 'familiar' ground. You also won't look at 1 session quite so magnified.

Last year I didn't really see the black during overall live play for about 6 months.(Thank god for the living expense roll) The trick is being able to analyze your hands fast and figure that even though you're losing, you're playing well. If you can't, take a break and do it. This can be tough especially when you have a goldmine sitting in front of you 'if' you were playing well. Take a walk and have a talk with yourself assessing your game against the texture. I've done this many times. It gives you a nice break away from the table to think a bit more clearly.

Sometimes there's a little leak that sprung. Awhile back Slavic helped me find a couple which are now checkpoints when I'm running bad. It's kind of like a golf swing that's a little off one day and now you're pushing the ball right. Once you're able to identify those, then if you're playing well, you just pin your ears back.

If you're kind of unsure of your play, and still want to continue, tighten up up front. This will limit the tough situations you'll be in. If your thinking is affected, those close calls can turn from +EV to -EV.

But as many said, if it is affecting you this way, leave and come back another day with a clear head. Yes, sometimes you will be leaving a gravy game. It won't be the last gravy game. I've left many a fantastic game. I will say that it does take alot of honesty with ones' self in being able to do this effectively. But you can't let ego dictate what games you're playing in. Especially when you see prime donators in front of you with a mound of chips.

b

[bernie]

This board was great in helping me learn how to deal with those swings. One big reason is that you can feel rather isolated when going through it. It's this type of run that seperates the good from the bad.

One of the latest inspiring posts I remember was Clarky when he mentioned how he was in a great and wild 20-40(I think) and was down 5 or 6 racks and played out of it a bit. Still lost the session, but made a monster comeback without having his 'status' affect his play. Sorry, I don't have the link to that. But it showed the type of thinking, imo, that one should aspire to while playing the game.

b

[xducracer]

Thanks guys for all the inciteful tips and commentary! I took these comments to heart and last nite was able the walk away up 12BB at Red Rock

Matt