Home game tourney question

I rarely ever play tournies on line... sometimes a $1 or $5 FR SnG for a mental break. I've read all 3 vols of HoH twice now and picked up some good stuff from there. Otherwise, it's all FR cash games.

I tend to do okay (usually ITM +50% of the time), but have question from a game the other night.

5 handed game. Sitting to the left of a LAggy reg. Will almost play ATCs to a limp PF, will CC a 4-6x PFR w/ Axs, Kxs, SCs, and frequently one and two-gappers (mostly suited, sometimes otherwise). So he's playing at least 40% of his hands early on. He'll call CBets pretty loosely w/ draws, turn double barrels w/ draws once he's got a larger stack and will bluff the River with only a busted draw.

I on the other hand,usually play tournies very tight early on, open up to steal blinds in position mid- and then (assuming I'm still in) move to push-fold late when blinds are big. Kinda standard stuff.

My problem... I was getting my ass kicked around by this dude all night as I had no clue how to get a read on when he was live and when he was full of sh!t. I couldn't push him out with PF Raises, and then would end up in a flop or turn with a bloated pot that left me unhappy about committing my stack on a TPTK. Didn't help much that I only had a handful of hands that met my standards for play...

How can I adapt against this kind of dude? Cash game, NP... as I know I'm long-term EV+ picking my spots and pushing him hard. But with tournies I got finite chips and the blind clock's ticking...

End of story... lost half my stack to him with QQ 6x PFR'd and him calling in with 24s and on a 356 rainbow board. The other half with AKo on a K99 board (again 6x PFR'd) with him showing K9.

I must adapt... I MUST adapt... :shock:

Sounds like you did it right. I struggle with this type of guy in MTTs a lot. One good spot you can look at is where you get down to about 15-20xBB and ship it all in over his late position raise (steal) with pretty much ATC, depending on how often he will fold to that action. Good spot to pick up not only the blinds, but his 3x raise. I love high suited connectors/gappers in this spot. KTs? sure JTs? even better.

Another move you can try if you're like 7xBB - 12xBB and you're not sure if you have reship fold equity ---try the stop N go. Works well with lower Ax hands and smaller pairs. Just flat call out of the blinds and shove any flop.

IMO, the important thing with loose players in tournaments is to figure out when they like to fold their bad hands and then take advantage on that street. It sounds like the one you describe fits well into the 'never' category. Nice.

Given that info, you did right -- tighten up and bet your big hands hard. Just got unlucky that he busted your QQ and TPTK when he'd normally pay you off just the same with weak hands.

Also of note, notice how often other people are limping and/or taking shots at the Lagg. See any opportunities to squeezeplay? Given the fact that he limpcalls a lot pre, another option is you can also limp behind him on the button/blinds/maybe CO with weaker cards in unraised pots early- and mid-game, knowing he'll likely pay off your good hands and that you can get out cheap when you don't like the flop -- think of it as preflop pot control. Of course your other opps might note this and take advantage, so you'll have to be very conscious of other players and such.

But mostly, maniacs lose their stacks to premium hands. Every once in a while they suck out repeatedly, in which case you let em enjoy their time in the sun and then run em over the next 20 games.

PHYSICAL TELLS.

You're not playing online, there's soooooo much more information available. Some of those guys are loud and obnoxious when they have a big hand and quiet as a mouse when they are bluffing. I knew a guy who cut out his chips into two piles and clicked them together really hard when he was making a bluff. Trust me, if the guy is that bad, he's got tells. Read Caro, he might not have some of the tells in the book, but it'll get you in the right frame of mind to find his (and everyone else's).