Playing against a bad LAG

[jmc]

What would you do against the following player?
- 100BB stacks
- He open raises 2~6BB with a wide range of hands (Ax, pairs, any two broadway, lots of suited connectors and gappers, and sometimes random suited broadways like K7s, Q8s, J6s, etc.)
- He calls preflop with a wide range (including offsuit 2 gappers like J9o)
- Postflop he likes to make probe sized bets if it gets checked to him, sometimes these bets can be abnormally small
- Typical flop bet ~1/2 psb
- Occasionally he'll slightly overbet into a small pot on the flop
- He's not afraid to 2 and 3 barrel
- He folds to raises postflop if he doesn't connect (i.e. he has no pair, no draw)
- He tends to call lighter than most players on the turn and river (but not insanely so)

[Poboy]

Originally Posted by jmc

- He calls preflop with a wide range (including offsuit 2 gappers like J9o)
- Postflop he likes to make probe sized bets if it gets checked to him, sometimes these bets can be abnormally small
- He folds to raises postflop if he doesn't connect (i.e. he has no pair, no draw)
- He tends to call lighter than most players on the turn and river (but not insanely so)

In position or out?

In position either re-raise to isolate or call depending on the opponents' behind (tight guys will fold to raise+call so you can just call), then raise flops. If he calls the flop, keep value betting good hands, and not two barreling bluffs. On occasion you can mix in a checked turn with a good hand if he's capable of figuring out what you're doing, or if he can't help bluffing when checked to.

[w16227]

Call with strength and position.

Bad lag = you need to play tight and let them pay you off.

reraise preflop to tyy and take it there? you better have a hand to do so. "Ha calls preflop with a wide range". Now - a big raise to isolate and try and stack him early is not a bad thing with AK/AQ - but medium strength or worse are bad (call with stuff like 55-99 in position but no reraising).

Call/raise a lot of cbets? Not blind. You said that he will fire three shells a lot. You better have the % advantage to do so. Flop that U/D st98 and flush draw? now you can test them. Flop bottom pair? Eh - wait to you have the advantage.

Call with drawing hands - depends on the odds. Not bad, but you need to ignore the urge to play hands like 67suited like this as you will be investing a ton of $$$ preflop if you open up that much.

Slowplay the nuts is the best choice from what is offered. Does not always have to be the total nuts - but with the weaker holding you want to play conservative on the river.

Paitence is the key - and you need to be prepared to be stacked against a very wild LAG. They will allow for you to get the $$$ in good more often than TAGs - but this also means more suckouts.

[jdunford]

Originally Posted by w16227

Call with strength and position.

Bad lag = you need to play tight and let them pay you off.

Agreed. This is my favourite type of opponent for a cash game.

Just wait for good hands. When oop, wait for strong hands and check-raise their C-bets when you hit your hand (especially the type who uses a pot-sized or larger bet as a C-bet). I prefer to check-raise than check-call, because I don't want them filling some gut-shot or back-door draw when I check-call.

When in position, play medium to small pairs along with your big cards. You can probably just call when you hit your sets, maybe raise occasionally to change it up (so he doesn't learn that you always call when you have a set / top-two-pair, etc.). Don't worry too much about laying down the best hand when you have TPTK, etc., because you're at risk of losing big pots with those hands, while you should still get paid off enough with your sets / top-two pairs, etc., to make up for it.

I'll only "completely slow-play" (i.e. check-call oop or cold-call with position, on both the flop and turn; always value bet the river) if I have a lock hand (or at least nearly invulnerable monster, like 2nd boat or something)... but even then I'll mostly bet/raise for value.

Btw, my least favourite opponent is a calling station. In both cases (uber-LAG manica and calling station), it's hard to get a read on them or any feel for the strength of their hand... but at least a LAG maniac will pay you off (by betting into you) when you have them crushed, whereas a calling station never bets into you and is apt to lay down their hand the one time you actually have them beat (and calls to the river to catch some miracle-draw when you only have TPTK).

*EDIT* By the way, I didn't vote in the poll because, other than the 1st option, I don't totally agree with the others. You should only be drawing if you have explicit pot odds to do so, or if you're certain you have sufficient implied odds (like, when you catch your flush, you're certain he'll still pay you off and not shy away with 3 of your suit on the board). You shouldn't be calling C-bets with nothing but a draw if you don't have odds. If you think his C-bet is a bluff and you want to challenge him (with a draw but insufficient odds), then RAISE, don't call. But personally, I'd fold.

[Poboy]

Did you guys miss the 'fold to raise on flop when missed'?
You can abuse this guy. He spews money until you play back at him, then runs away. Let him spew when you have a hand, and chase him off when you don't (within reason).

[jamby]

I'm not familar with 'broadway' as it's used in the OP? Sounds like paint???

[jmc]

Originally Posted by jamby

I'm not familar with 'broadway' as it's used in the OP? Sounds like paint???

A Broadway straight is AKQJT. Broadway cards are any cards that can be used to make a broadway straight.

[dad604]

w has the best advice.
I think there is two way to go about it.
1. If you want to gamble, reraise with cards that you think are better than 50% of his range to isolate him so you can go HU. High variance but should be more profitable in long run.
2. Wait for premium hands, then go after him. Less variance but also less profit.