I seem to have a lot of difficulty dealing with loose and very aggresive games. I will post a couple of hands. Maybe somebody can help.

First hand:

MP1 is a very loose and aggresive player. PT has him at 67% VP$IP and 22% PF Raise.

MP2 is loose and passive. 32% VP$IP and 2.6% PF Raise.

Additionally, there is at least one other player at the table with a VP$IP of around 80%. There are at least two or three players with VP$IP of 40 to 50%

Ultimate Bet 0.50/1 Hold'em (10 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Preflop: Hero is CO with K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, UTG+2 calls, MP1 calls, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, <font color="#666666">3 folds</font>, UTG+2 calls, MP1 calls.

Flop: (7.50 SB) 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
UTG+2 checks, MP1 checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, UTG+2 folds, MP1 calls.

Turn: (4.75 BB) 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
MP1 checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, MP1 calls.

River: (6.75 BB) T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
MP1 checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, MP1 calls.

Final Pot: 8.75 BB

Results below:
UTG doesn't show.
MP1 has 6d 4c (straight, ten high).
Hero has Kd Kc (one pair, kings).
Outcome: MP1 wins 8.75 BB.

Is there anything I could have done to protect my hand, or was this guy going to call me down no matter what? Should I have played differently?

Second Hand:

UTG is the same aggresive player that beat me on the last hand.

BB plays 51% VP$IP with preflop raise of around 12%

Same table as described in the last hand.

Ultimate Bet 0.50/1 Hold'em (7 handed) FTR converter on zerodivide.cx

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
MP1 calls, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, CO calls, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises</font>, BB calls, MP1 calls, CO calls.

Flop: (8 SB) 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], 2[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(5 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, BB calls, MP1 calls, CO calls.

Turn: (6 BB) T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(5 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, BB calls, MP1 folds, CO calls.

River: (9 BB) 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(4 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets</font>, <font color="#CC3333">BB raises</font>, CO calls, Hero calls.

Final Pot: 15 BB

Results below:
Hero has Qd Qh (two pair, queens and twos).
BB has 2h Kc (three of a kind, twos).
UTG doesn't show.
CO has 6s 5c (two pair, sixes and twos).
Outcome: BB wins 15 BB.

Lets just say the rest of the night went like this. With all of the aggresive raises pre flop, I did not play a lot of speculative hands. My VP$IP was around 15%. I hate to cold call raises; however, when the game gets this loose, should I cold call with speculative hands? Do hands like small or medium pairs become more robust in aggresive games? Do suited connectors go up or down in strength? Please help. I am tired of getting my butt kicked in these types of games.