I don't know how to handle loose aggressive players

[mark76g]

Loose aggressive players have been driving me crazy at no-limit holdem. I'm not talking about total maniacs, just standard loose agressive players.

For example lets say I get a couple of big cards in a late position and a couple of them have already called. I know that rasing will not drive them out unless its an extreme raise like all-in. So if I have say AK suited I might raise a bit and they will both come or it say its KQ off suit I might just call. Anyway the anoying part is once the flop comes these sort of players will almost always bet out.
They might only have an overcard they might have middle pair
who knows. But if the flop didn't help me and all I really have is two over cards I always fold and more often than not it turns out I was winning. They also run me out of hands like AJ and the flop comes JK5 rainbow. I sit there thinking many players play Kx and I better fold and it turns out to be a pair of 5s.

Now my revenge is when I really do make top pair of better and bet out and they come along and pay me off but I'm not sure if it makes up for all the pots I get run out of. Sometimes it does. But other times they might fold the turn and I only get a bit out of them.

Even more annoying is if the loose guy gets say Ax and raises and then I reraise with AK suited he calls and the flop comes as junk I sit there boiling thinking I've probably got this guy but if he played Ax and paired his x card I could loose my whole stack.

If I call him and the turn is not A or K then he just bets again. He still might have nothing or mabey he is winning with a small pair but I just can't bring myself to keep going unless I reall have it.

Any advice on what to do here ?


Mark.

[Gregg777]

You are getting run over. Drop down a limit and press whenever you think someone is making a play. Eventually you will get a feel for it.

One small tip is to make sure you are playing 10 person tables and not 6 person. It is much tougher for someone to run over a 10 person table so loose aggro players are tougher to find. It also sounds like you may not be re-raising enough. Pick your spots for strong pre-flop, flop, and turn re-raises. Then if the flop comes junk, bet it again.

Finally, the recommendation to drop down a level is a great one. Get to a level where losing your whole stack doesn't devastate you. Then you can learn your lessons on the cheap.

[jaydub]

You are in the wrong forum. You lack the skills to play nl at a high level but fortunately you are in the right place. Stop posting and start reading in SSNL.

Be sure to check out: Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker,
by Stewart Reuben, Bob Ciaffone. Great chapter on dealing with loose aggro.