Every person who has spent time at a poker table is familiar with that terrible feeling when you sit down and see an aggressive player who won't stop betting and raising.
Below are the top tips for dealing with loose and aggressive players.
Broaden your range
Most players believe tightening up and waiting for nuts is the best method to cope with aggressive players. It does not occur often enough to be beneficial, particularly in tournaments. A more clever adjustment would accept that they will not always have good hands. Thus, you may make value plays more often.
Assume you have a mid-sized pocket pair, such as pocket eight, versus a TAG opponent who three-bets you. We may be facing a better pair here, so we must decide.
Against a LAG, though, there is little need to worry about a premium hand. Aggressive players bet almost every hand and likely have a trash holding. In this circumstance, pocket eight is a relative monster, so go for the kill.
Trap your opponent with premium hands
Slowplaying your premium hands is also a terrific way to make a lot of money while playing against aggressive players.
Imagine a scenario where you have pocket Aces on the button, and the maniac player makes his usual raise of 7x the big blind from an early position. You may call in this case if there aren't other callers.
Since this sort of player often maintains his aggressiveness on the flop, you will either call him again or check-raise him if you are out of position. , Continue to value bet or call when you think that you still hold the top hand and you will eventually win a massive pot.
Increase the frequency of bluffing
Similarly, you may be more confident that your relative hand strength has improved while playing against an aggressive opponent. Consequently, you may not only broaden your value range but also increase the frequency with which you semi-bluff.
Whenever a maniac player comes over the top of you with a playable but far from premium hand, this is an excellent opportunity to make a move. The aggressive player will notice that you are playing great hands for the instances your opponents call your hands, which improves your table reputation. You can win in most of these situations by betting back and semi-bluffing.
Conversely, after the flop, you may chase your draws even harder. You know you'll get action from a LAG player with poor hands.
Once you complete your draw, you will most likely scoop a massive pot. Nonetheless, if you become more aggressive, there's always the potential that our maniacal buddy may drop whatever junk they're holding.
Summary
Beware not to get carried away while playing against a LAG player since this is where they flourish. If you play for extended periods, you will have plenty of possibilities to leverage. Therefore, there is no need to push yourself into tough spots if you do not need to engage in a particular hand.
