Poker - Loose Players

[Castle7]

I was sitting in a 4-8 HoldEm game the other day where there were 7 or 8 people seeing the flop consistently. Usually one/zero raise preflop, but rarely 2 or more, most everyone called one raise. My problem is, when I was sitting there, I couldn't decide what that should mean for strategy. I thought it would put a premium on drawing hands, and less value on power hands like AA, so when I got those, I would not raise but just "wait and see" what the flop was before I made moves. How do the rest of you adjust for these types of games?

[lawfi5h]

You sort of answered your own question. Hands like pocket pair that have little chance of improving (like AA) do very poorly against that many players (probably only win 20-25% of the time...not sure exactly). If it constantly has 7 or more people seeing the flop, and you are in early position, you have to raise and scare some people out. If you are in late position, and you think your raise may not scare people away since they only have to toss in one more bet, it may not work, but that has to be a judgement call based on the play of the players.

Me personally, I raise AA, AK, KK until it's capped or no one raises me. I figure I wanna get my money in early. If it narrows the field down to 1 or 2 others, that's fine by me. I'd rather win a small pot then lose a big one.

But that's just my humble opinion. Admitedly, some other players in this forum are much much better then I am, but I think that advice is consistant with some of the low-limit books out there.

[Castle7]

For me, it was more a problem of starting to play hands I would normally dump, like T8s. With 7 callers in front of you, it is hard to believe it isn't justified to take a flop. With AA and the like, sure, I would raise too, but let me assure you, when I did that, I got 7 callers. So, I made the pot so big it was right for everyone to chase to the end basically. ...and the raise up front, I did that too, I even made it 3 bets to go sometimes without a hand that really justified it simply to thin out the field.

[MNBridge]

If people want to play crap preflop DO NOT let them in cheap.

When a table is really loose I will raise EVERY time I come in. Your variations will increase a lot, could turn a 4/8 game into a 8/16 game so be ready for it. (If the variations bother you look for a different game, some people don't like to and shouldn't play against maniacs.)

After the flop you need to really try to think about what people could have. some people who play every flop won't bet unless they hit something others will bet no matter what. This is the hard part.

You have to play MORE aggressive in these games. You will get cracked more often and it can be very frustrating but when you win you will win big.

Good Luck.

[MNBridge]

For me, it was more a problem of starting to play hands I would normally dump, like T8s. With 7 callers in front of you, it is hard to believe it isn't justified to take a flop. With AA and the like, sure, I would raise too, but let me assure you, when I did that, I got 7 callers. So, I made the pot so big it was right for everyone to chase to the end basically. ...and the raise up front, I did that too, I even made it 3 bets to go sometimes without a hand that really justified it simply to thin out the field.

Even though T8 may be getting odds to play in 7 way action (I'm sure someone can tell you if it is.) The problem is those simulations assume you and everybody else stays in the whole hand.

What do you do if the flop comes:
K8x --
You are probably beat at this point but an 8 possibly a T or possibly runner runner flush may make a call worth while with pot odds. You won't hit these very often and could easily go through a decent bankroll losing on draws. (Doesn't make for a very fun drive home)

So my advice is do not play these hands they may have positive value in the long run but will only give you heartache in the short run.

Instead play hands that only need 1 card of help. i.e. AK, AQ, pairs etc. and maybe throw in some of the suited connectors if there is no raise and FOLD FOLD FOLD if you hit a middle pair without a straight or flush draw.