Ideal way of playing against different types of opponents.

[dsaxton]

What is the best strategy for playing against a rock, maniac, "tight aggressive," or other type of player? How should your hand selection change, and how should you vary your betting?

It would obviously depend to a degree on the particular player in question, but I think you can still talk about some general approaches.

Any ideas?

[Pelion]

rock -> Steal lots of small pots with any 2 cards and get out of the way when he raises.

maniac -> camp a big hand and let him bet it for you if hes the type to get scared when hes raised. Otherwise get it allin as soon as possible.

tight aggressive -> Can steal small pots and if hes a thinking player you can make him think your a maniac by LAGing at him for a while. That should loosen him up a bit. If that doesnt work then just stay out of his way. Why are you trying to take money from this guy? Play against the other players at the table.

[Miffed22001]

rock -> Steal lots of small pots with any 2 cards and get out of the way when he raises.

maniac -> camp a big hand and let him bet it for you if hes the type to get scared when hes raised. Otherwise get it allin as soon as possible.

tight aggressive -> Can steal small pots and if hes a thinking player you can make him think your a maniac by LAGing at him for a while. That should loosen him up a bit. If that doesnt work then just stay out of his way. Why are you trying to take money from this guy? Play against the other players at the table.

hmmmm
my selection may be different
Rock
Dont play anything but the nutz, try to trap if ou have really big hands.
Also get in their pots with crap. If they miss the flop hammer into them. Far too easy to steal from post flop. These guy dont like putting money in the pot in marginal situations.
Maniac.
Leave or wait for a monster. Id be trying to get into his pots with potetial nut hands eg Axs or pps.
Tagg
Same for a rock imo
Lagg.
If you would raie the pot with your hand i'd reraise a lagg and ask questions of him. Classic from the otherday was i reraises a lagg preflop with KK he pushed i called my KKvs99. 4 hands later same scenario, i have QQ and insta called to find he had KK. Oh well. Id still play the same way.

[Pelion]

rock -> Steal lots of small pots with any 2 cards and get out of the way when he raises.

maniac -> camp a big hand and let him bet it for you if hes the type to get scared when hes raised. Otherwise get it allin as soon as possible.

tight aggressive -> Can steal small pots and if hes a thinking player you can make him think your a maniac by LAGing at him for a while. That should loosen him up a bit. If that doesnt work then just stay out of his way. Why are you trying to take money from this guy? Play against the other players at the table.

hmmmm
my selection may be different
Rock
Dont play anything but the nutz, try to trap if ou have really big hands.
Also get in their pots with crap. If they miss the flop hammer into them. Far too easy to steal from post flop. These guy dont like putting money in the pot in marginal situations.
Maniac.
Leave or wait for a monster. Id be trying to get into his pots with potetial nut hands eg Axs or pps.
Tagg
Same for a rock imo
Lagg.
If you would raie the pot with your hand i'd reraise a lagg and ask questions of him. Classic from the otherday was i reraises a lagg preflop with KK he pushed i called my KKvs99. 4 hands later same scenario, i have QQ and insta called to find he had KK. Oh well. Id still play the same way.

that isn't differnt
thats pretty much exactly what i said

[Miffed22001]

rock -> Steal lots of small pots with any 2 cards and get out of the way when he raises.

prefop or post flop?
I meant both

[DaNutsInYoEye]

Rock: Of course you want position on everyone, but that just isn't going to happen. If I'm at a table with a full mix of players types then I want the rocks on my left. This puts me in the steal position when they are in the blinds. When I raise from LP, but not on the button, my raises will get more respect from a rock thus allowing me to buy the button more often. Generally speaking, I am more apt to bluff/semi-bluff into rocks and am less concerned by cold calls from them than I am other players. I personally don't agree with only playing the nuts against a rock because you're giving up too many opportunities to take small pots away from them. When you do have a big hand against them you probably aren't going to get much action from them anyways. If you do then you're more likely to run into an even bigger hand than against other types of players.

Maniac: I look to make big chunks of profit by trapping them. Position is critical. Out of position it narrows the range of hands I like to play too much because you continually have to be concerned about be raised or re-raised and then having to act first every round. I'll leave the table if I have to when a maniac has position on me. I'd prefer not to because they can be very profitable to play against, but sometimes you're simply better off by leaving. Ideally you want your opponents to be reacting to you. You can't achieve this against a maniac and instead are forced to react to them. I bend until I can find a spot to break them.

TAgg: Again, like against rocks, I am more likely to semi-bluff simply because you have more folding equity against them. It tends to be easier to make a play for a free card against them. I play slightly more hands against them because it is easier to put them on a hand. They often play mechanically and predictably. I pay more attention to their betting patterns because they usually don't vary and they often play certain hands exactly the same way every time.

LAgg: I think LAggs are the most difficult people to play against and to do it succesfully requires the greatest amount of skill. It is much harder to put them on a hand. Your reads and position are key. The other types of players you can often play based upon a generic read. Reads against a LAgg are much more player specific and the key to beating them. . LAggs will bluff/semi-bluff more so I'm more willing to call them down with marginal hands than against other players. Against LAggs I'll try to induce bluffs in situations where I feel I'm ahead but not likely to get called if I bet. It's generally much easier (ie. cheaper) to find out where you stand later in a hand against a rock or a TAgg than it is a LAgg, therefore I make more of an effort to define my hand early against a LAgg.

[Pelion]

rock -> Steal lots of small pots with any 2 cards and get out of the way when he raises.

prefop or post flop?
I meant both

me too