Trapping a LAG

[parttimepro]

Party 1/2 NL 6-Max.
We are 5-handed. I'm in the BB. The reason I'm playing at this table is sitting in the SB. He's very LAG, and in particular I've noticed he has a tendency to overbet the river, often with junk. If he pays attention to table image, he'd see me as a tight player who can make stabs at smaller pots. I called an all-in rereraise from him with a set (he had TP2K), and another all in with AA (he had middle pair).

I have $160, he has $200.
I get dealt 9/images/graemlins/spade.gif7/images/graemlins/heart.gif in the BB. Everyone folds to SB, who completes. I check.
Flop is T/images/graemlins/heart.gif8/images/graemlins/diamond.gif6/images/graemlins/diamond.gif. SB bets $2 into a $4 pot. Hero?

My lines are either to raise to $8-$10 or call. A raise charges draws and makes the pot big enough to be worth playing for. Calling shows weakness and tries to induce a bluff. Problem is, a lot of cards are going to slow me down or kill my action: any /images/graemlins/diamond.gif, any 6, 7, 8, 9, or T.

[kurto]

I think this is a fun post.

I would be willing to slowplay this hand. If you've doubled up twice with him, and he's at all observant, he knows you mean it when you show strength. If you raise him, you may take the pot there.

Which is fine. Nothing wrong with winning the pot there. But, personally, I would take this opportunity to add a little more risk for a bigger pot.

Though its certainly possible that the opponent is on a lot of different draws, I worry less about this heads up then I would with several tables.

Personally, I wouldn't let any single one of those cards stop me against one person in the blinds. I may occasionally have a huge beat, but I'm willing to bet against a single opponent, you're going to have the nuts on the river here 95% of the time.

If the turn and river brought both a 9 and a Jack, or 2 diamonds... I'd worry. But any one of the cards you mentioned alone wouldn't be enough to slow me down.

[amoeba]

headsup, I think I am willing to take a card off.

your other option I think is to raise him a very very large amount and make it look like a bluff.

[kurto]

"your other option I think is to raise him a very very large amount and make it look like a bluff." I think this works better if he hasn't already beat him with 2 all ins, no? Granted, LAGs may not be that observant, but if someone's busted 2 of my all-in bets, I'm thinking I'd have to give his raise a little respect. (If the guy's an out-an-out maniac, your approach is definitely the best)

But if he's merely LAG, I think he would fold.

[amoeba]

I didn't read the history.

in that case, I think taking one off is fine.

[fuzzbox]

Half the deck forces you to slow down. If LAG has anything, then he will probably play, and if you are fortunate to catch him with two-pair, then he will probably raise.

Raise now, before you have to slow down with a horrible turn, and try to play a big pot. If you cant because he folds, then so be it, there will be another time. Big hands are made for big pots .... try to make a big pot.

[soah]

You have the nuts. You want to double up on this hand. If you call on the flop there's $8 in the pot and another $150 that you needs to be bet. Your opponent is dumb and overplays his hands. So raise the flop and let him do his thing.

[sourbeaver]

[ QUOTE ]


Though its certainly possible that the opponent is on a lot of different draws, I worry less about this heads up then I would with several tables.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, because we all know that the more tables in a particular hand, the riskier /images/graemlins/laugh.gif hihi

[kurto]

LOL I certainly wouldn't feel too good if there were 4 full tables in on the hand.

[Kaz The Original]

Give him the chance to reraise. You said he reraised you all in with TP2K. Raise!

[37offsuit]

Min raise him. I've seen this work against LAGs. You get into a minraising war because they want to put the last raise in and make you call it. I've seen it go back and forth until one player was all in. Other times, like here when the raise is low compared to the stack sizes, eventually someone breaks it off.

Then the turn brings a scare card and it's check/check check/check

Pair of 9's wins.

[maldini]

i think i would take a different approach here. doubtful that you can win much on this hand. i would use it for table image. everyone at the table is watching. think about what i want my opponents to do and create the appropriate image.

personally, i hate a person that puts in $2 in a $4 pot. I also hate that the f-er didnt just fold preflop. i think i would go all in and type something like..."get that weak sh1t out of here". I dont like to be mean but i would encourage him to continue making mistakes by betting bigger and bluffing more into you.

[TheWorstPlayer]

Personally I dont think the min-raise is a bad play here. I, too, am not worried about draws and I think that the min-raise sometimes can really get under the skin of a LAG. It looks like weakness, so I think LAGs read it as "I know you are a LAG and I have a pair, so I dare you to call this with your garbage." But there is a decent chance that the LAG has a hand here (otherwise he would have bet more, right? The LAGs always seem to slow down for some reason when they actually have something. Talk about defeating yourself.) so I think there is a very good chance you get a large re-raise out of min-raising here. Against a normal opponent, I raise here, because I raise a lot heads up against normal opponents so there is no point in not raising when I actually have a hand.

[parttimepro]

I raised to $10, trying to look like I didn't want a call. He folded quickly. I was thinking he either had something or he didn't, and it turned out he didn't. I'm guessing at best he had bottom pair or a gutshot straight draw.

He might have called a smaller raise, but I would have had to check the turn to show weakness and induce a bluff on the river. With the board like it is, 1/3 of the deck is going to be cards I don't like. I want to get as much money in here as I can.

Fundamentally, I'm not going to get much out of this hand unless either he's got a reasonable 2nd best hand, or I can convince him I'll fold to a big bet. Min raise might have been the way to do that, but I'm not convinced that looks weaker in this situation than a slight overbet.