playing the uber loose player

The home game i play has a $5.00-$10.00 starting buy-in with $0.25-$0.50 blinds. After someone gets big stacked anyone can buy in half the stack. Rather typical game i think.

The problem with the game is eveyone is an ultra mega uber super loose except me and my girlfriend. They almost always play "the feeling" and not real cards. If i was to get a raisable hand no raise at the table, not even everything you have, is enough to push the card catching call box's out. How can you play against that?

example: the other day i showed up a little lateand there was a waiting line to get into the game, i was third. Nobody had really gained much of a stack so the buy in was was still at $10.00. Before i had even got the chance to sit down and observe there was an open seat. within the first hour there had to have been at least 5 4 person all in's for upwards of $15.00, one i recall being AA vs 77 vs QJ vs 64 suited. I can see the AA vs 77, maybe even QJ but 64 suited? you cant play against that.

Does anyone have any good tips on how to play against these people. Dont tell me to find a new game, i dont know any other games around where i know the people and are only a $10.00 buy-in. I have limited fundage. I am able to put some pretty good reads on people, used to be able to tell someone what they were holding and the suit it was in if it was suited or not. I seemed to have lost that ability in the lasy few months because i didnt have anyone to play.

I also wanted to know about bluffing against these people. I've never been a big bluffer because i'm to cheap i guess, i always tried to limit myself to one good bluff a night. But i am sick of going to a game and not being able to play any hands because the "callable" hands i get , suited connectors of double paint, someone goes all in.

thx in advanced :)

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If i was to get a raisable hand no raise at the table, not even everything you have, is enough to push the card catching call box's out. How can you play against that?

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Why would you want to push a "call box" out? Make a hand that you think is better than him (even pre flop) and just put him all in. He calls, his hand is worse, you win.

This game doesnt sound terribly tough to beat. If everyone is going all in with crazy hands pre flop, just tighten up and wait for a good starting hand, then push. Knowing in advance that everyone you play against is crazy is an advantage, not a disadvantage. It shouldn't frustrate you, it should make you happy because we know how to beat these players. You sit down at a cash table for a few orbits and pay attention so you can get a read like this...super loose, will push or call pushes with crap hands. Great, now make him pay for it.


For example at my home game, i play against a bunch of dumbies who don't really know the value of starting hands. They will call re-raises pre flop with Ax suited, raise with 55 from UTG, etc etc. When i see one raise and i am holding AK/KK/AA, i push every time knowing they will call me with 88 or JQ suited or something stupid like that. Against tight players this is a bad play because all this will earn me is their initial bet when they fold to my reraise. Against players who you know are crazy and loose, you take their stack.

Thats what i was doing all last year and seemed to do rather well, usually around $100 a night on a $10.00 buy-in. Back then i was playing alot of position, not even calling blinds with hands like QJ, KQ, or KJ unless i was real late position. I would try to keep doing that but back then i was playing about 8 hours a day, not i only get 2-3 hours so i try to make early moves. Plus their card catching seems to be working now against the major hands.

"I can see the AA vs 77, maybe even QJ but 64 suited? you cant play against that."

Heh - 64s won me a four-way all-in last night - admittedly I had 1xBB stack and didn't really have any choice. managed to turn 62 chips into 1800 before being sucked out.

Another pertinent point you don't want to hear: don't play poker with money you can't afford to lose.

Loose game = More value postflop.

Limp in with anything but super premium hands, and bet the flop hard if it hits you. I was in a home game like this before. I wittled down, and then at the end of the night hit 3 hands to go from $3 to $40. The last one I caught was AK. Raised preflop to $1. Got two callers hit a K high flop. I bet $5, both called and my ace hit the turn. I went all in for $8 more or so, and TT had to think for an hour before folding. I was called by the other guy who held a worse two pair. Wait for a flop that pleases you and drop the hammer. That's how you play these games. You'll get payed.

Play your position, play a lot of hands in LP. If you have a tight table image then they're probably justified in giving your bets a lot of respect. If you want action on your big hands then you might want to show one of your bluffs or get in on the action a little bit more.

Well last night i played that game after thinking a little bit and came out with $115 with only $10 in. Playing the card catchers got me raising way to much. Lately i have been raising over 10x BB just to try to push the BS out, then the bs would call anyway just to try to win a massive pot and i would lose my ass protecting the big hands.

After thinking about that stategy i asked why i should bother doing that. Do a typical 4x BB raise, see who calls, take note to their reaction of the flop, then come out with a pot size bet if i hit it good. Did that twice with AA, only raising to $2.00 and won a good amout post flop because of getting so many callers. Someone asked why i didnt raise higher and i told em: "AA, KK, QQ, why should i bother protecting these hands if you guys still call with bs. If you beat me after the flop i usually know about it and i can fold only losing $2.00 instead of $10.00"

The real sad part about it was i made $85.00 off a BS hand myself. I thought i pinned the kid on a weak hand from the button doing a position raise and i was going to outplay him on the river. With 4 people in the pot i commited 90% of my stack on an open ended draw (which is never like me) and ended up catching it on the river. O well, guess i can play their game every once in awhile too.