Strategy Tips for Super Loose Game?

[Dixie]

My local Casino has a small poker room that spreads $5/$10 $10/$20 and occasionally $15/$30 hold em'. The game is super loose. The avg. pot size in the game would be ~ 10 - 12 BB's with ~ 50% - 60% seeing the flop.

Sounds sweet right? Should be an awesome game to play in right? Well, that's what I keep telling myself but at the same time I am having a tough time with it. I'm still beating the game but not doing nearly as well in these games as I am playing in the so called tough games online such as $20/$40 Paradise and $30/$60 PokerStars.

The best hand on the flop is hardly ever the best hand by the time all the cards are out. There always seems to be someone in there that ends up with two garbage pair or going perfect, perfect to make a straight or flush or hitting a two outer on the turn or river.

It doesn't seem to bother any of the guys when they have to call two or three bets cold with bottom pair or a 3 flush or 3 straight. It's not like there is just 1 or 2 fish in the game that occasionally get lucky, 90% of the players are there for fun and just gambling and chasing everything.

I'm interested in any tips that anyone may have for me on general strategy, hand selection, pre-flop play, playing the flop, and playing post-flop in the type of game that I have described.

Thanks!!

[DeezNuts]

Forget about raising on the flop with top pair and overpairs. Top pair and hands like these go down in value in games like this. If you are going to have any chance of protecting your hand, you are going to have to wait for the turn to raise and check-raise more often than you wish. You should also be trap-check-raising with lessor hands. Since most of these players are coming anyways, missing a bet when intending to checkraise is not as disastrous as in many other types of games.

Also, you should be playing your nut and 2nd nut draws very strongly on the flop and be willing to play those little pocket pairs that you normally throw away UTG or for a raise in your online 20-40 game. Big made hands will be taking the pots down, and AKo usually isn't going to make a big hand in the game you describe, as unsuited big cards go down in value. Recognize who are the truly maniacal(are they predictibly always hyper-aggressive?), the truly fishy(do they smarten up on the turn?), and the truly smart-aggressive players(you want to be in this last group obviously). If you can't understand the variance that goes into these games and general loose-aggressive poker games(you think your AA will win 70% of the time? in other words, don't tilt), you will be eaten alive.

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head. Of course, you could play like S&M recommend in HPFAP and play your best 10% hands, but that would pretty much keep you on the sidelines and tilt you from watching all the huge pots you could have won being dragged by garbage.

DN

[elysium]

hi dixie
often, it just seems like there is a lot useless raising going on, but often it's strategically oriented. what you have to understand in these type games is that you want to tend to call pre-flop, keep everyone in, flop solidly and build a big pot. if you don't hit solidly and aren't getting better than usual odds, fold.

[King_J]

Play very loose preflop. Limp with many hands in late position but fold them very, very often on the flop. You will probably need atleast two pair to win so don´t raise with AQo after 4 limpers, just call. (They will probably still chase if you hit and then they don´t have the odds)

Play loose preflop but quite tight on the flop is my 0.02 SEK. =)