Reading loose players

A lot of the posts discussing how a certain hand was played often wind up figuring out what the other person is playing, and following along and trying to do the same has helped me quite a bit. My question, though, is how in the hell can you put the type of person who plays any two cards on a hand? I've seen someone who will call to the end with an underpair to the board, or bet on the flop with middle pair and no draws of any kind. What do you do when someone like that bets at a flop of K 9 5 rainbow and you're sitting there with your 10's? Just grit your teeth and call? Your thoughts appreciated.


Matt

If you raise and a tight player calls, flop an Ace, and he calls the flop and the turn, its pretty easy to deduce he's got AQ or maybe AJ. Attempting to put a loose player on a specific hand, when he calls, is a waste of time.


Likewise attempting to put a hyper aggressive type or a maniac on a hand when he bets or raises is a waste of time.


But most "loose" players are not particularly "assertive", so it should NOT be too difficult for you to deduce what SORTS of hands they are willing to bet with. Just start noticing how often they bet and with which hands, and you should get a pretty good idea.


To anser your question, you should fold TT board Kxx now against partiularly passive players when they bet into the croud, no matter how otherwise loose the player is. You should call now and fold the turn against most weak low-limit players, and should raise now against particularly assertive players.


Start cateloging players in two categories "Loose-to-Tight" is how often they are willing to call, and "Passive-to-aggressive" is how often they are willing to bet. There is NOT a strong correlation between the two. There are plenty of "Loose Aggressive" players, plenty of "Loose Passive" players, plenty of "Tight Aggressive" players, and plenty of "Tight Passive" players.


- Louie

The problem with loose players is that they get dealt just as many legit hands as you do. The second problem is that in order to read a player, he has to have some logical reason for making his plays. If he doesn't have any pattern to his play or any reasons for doing what he does, you can't put him on a hand with any certainty.


When you're in a game of loose-passive players, you can wait until you get a good hand to bet/call/raise with. Don't take the chance of those tens being up against a calling station who has top pair/weak kicker (I've tried bluffing players out in that situation...it doesn't work...and they'll never bet/raise to let you know your tens are no good.) A bet from one of those guys puts you in a guessing game...you're guessing that your tens may be good. Not a good situation...I'd most likely fold against the usual suspects at a $4-$8 table (especially if there's action to come behind me.) Since their main mistake is calling too much, you can afford to wait for better opportunities...and they'll pay you off.


When you're up against loose-aggressive players, that's when you really need to tighten up and wait for a good hand. Be prepared to go deep with your stacks, but one or two pots from a crazy table will make your session.


Whatever you do, don't think you can play bumper cars with these guys because they're bad players. Sometimes they can make a good hand...they're not always bluffing. Pretty soon, you'll be throwing in loose calls and playing just as badly as they are. You will need to show them a good hand to win the pot.