loose games

[Lunar Tweak]

i know i just posted a thread, but i have another question that's on my mind....

i usually play in loose shorthanded games(nearly everyone in preflop), low-limit of course, and was wondering what adjustments that some of you more experienced players make when u find urself in these games. one example, can i play lots of unsuited connecters and one gappers because i will know where i am almost all of the time from the button?

thx

[Hammuh]

I'm not all that experienced but I'll give this a whirl since I have been playing in a fairly loose passive game of late. I also wanted to know others' thoughts for this type of game. You didn't say if your game was loose passive or loose aggressive. I will directly answer your questions first and then give you a rambling about my experience:

unsuited/suited connectors/one gappers: I will rarely play suited connectors below T9 and then only for a raise for deception if I have control over the table. Very, very rarely I will limp with a 76 sooted, for deception and only from the button and only if I'm 95% sure there will be no raising from the blinds, and only if I have control of the table. Connectors and one gappers are not what you want, you want big cards. Based on my strategy below, even in the loose games, I still think you can get it headsup by the turn.

After my experience with our short-handed study group here, I worked up the courage /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif to give some 2/4 shorthanded a go. I had no reads on the players, so I was playing the style that worked for me in our study group which was: superaggressive/tricky on any hand I entered, be it AA or A3. In our study group, with thinking players, there was a possiblity of laydowns, hence you could build your strategy through a hand while going through second, third, and sometimes even fourth level thinking. With a loose passive game, that possibility shrinks significantly. BUT, I think you can get the L/Ps to behave the way you want based on your play.

So I join this game and didn't get a single bluff to work. Within about 30 minutes, I realized that I would have to show down the best hand to take a pot. I therefore adjusted my strategy, and pushed hands that I thought would be best if called on the river. The "heads up on the end" chapter in TOP is essential here.

Anywhoo, after a while of pushing my good/great hands (and showing those hands at the river), I tried to figure out who I could attack, who I could get to fold. I play almost exclusively online and I keep a database with info on every opponent. I would almost always attack opponents that would fold by the river, regardless of my cards. I would adjust my strategy for those that might not act predicibly.

Hmmm, I thought there was a point . . . OH! Here it is:

1. Adjustment is key. Even at these 2/4 limits, I think many (at least 50%) of my opponents pay attention to my play. Change your play based on how you think you are being perceived.

2. Rarely limp outside the blinds. If you always raise preflop when entering a hand, it's hard for your opponents to put you on a hand. Let what you know about your opponents tendencies dictate your flop and post flop play.

3. Read and Re-read the "headsup on the end chapter". Using this chapter, coupled with the knowledge of your opponents should help you gain/save that extra bet on the river.