Loose aggressive players (in this article, we will call them LAGs for short) are generally the most feared players at the tables. They are usually winners. You will see different types of LAGs, both good and bad. In this article, we will talk about these types of players, mentioning their strengths, weaknesses, and how to profit from them.
Before we go any further, we would like to make it clear that you will not be looking to make big profits against these types of players. Since they are generally good players, the focus is on reducing your losses. Your profits should be focused on the fish at the table.
LAG Player Features:
VPIP: 25%+.
PFR: 25+.
3-BET: 7%+.
Aggression: Usually greater than 60
Aggression factor: Usually greater than 3.
Continuation bet: Generally high. However, good LAGs tend to make fewer C-BETs.
Palm reading: Generally good, but not always.
Raise/check raise flop: Generally high.
Style in general: Plays a lot of hands, understands equity, bets aggressively.
(Status based on a 6-MAX LAG player)
Advantages of the loose aggressive player:
The biggest advantages of this type of player are that they know the importance of initiative and bet at the right times to win the pot, even without having a legitimate hand. These players are usually always involved in pots, but they know how to maneuver all hands well, avoiding problems whenever they arise.
They will also take advantage of the LAG image, getting more action than tight or nit players. The reason for this is simple: they play a lot of hands, so theoretically they will be playing a lot of weaker hands. This also makes it easier for opponents to call river bets when they have a really strong hand, but it also makes it easier for them to “call light” when they are bluffing.
Good LAGs will usually have a balanced range and with that they will be sure that when they fire that second barrel, their call will rarely be profitable.
How to beat a LAG
To beat them we have to abuse their biggest weakness – playing a lot of hands and betting a lot.
Make more bluff raises
To combat a LAG, it is best to play TAG style, having a tight image. You will look for spots where your range seems really strong and their range seems weak, and then add bluffs to your moves.
For example, in situations where you could only have strong hands or good draws, add some bluffs to your range and abuse them against LAGs. These hands can be just overcards, overcards with backdoors or overcards with gutshots.
Even if they realize you are making a move, they will not be able to react because their range is too weak and yours is too strong.
Generally, when you get called on the flop, you can continue to fire more barrels. This may seem like a bad thing at times, but you just need to know the trends of how light they will call you so you know how far you should go with your barrels.
Slowplay against them
Slowplaying is generally bad, but it is the best solution against this type of opponent. They will barrel a lot, and often, so you want to let them make this mistake when they have a very strong hand.
Slowplaying on a drawy board is generally bad, but depending on the LAG villain's tendencies, this can be the best way to extract value from them if you hit a set. They would assume you would raise a hand like this on the flop or turn, so if you just call, they might even fire a 3rd barrel, or make a thin value bet on the river, and you want to see them make that mistake.
Another benefit of doing this is that it protects your medium-strength calling range. When he sees you call three streets with a set, he will be wary of bluffing three barrels against you again, assuming that this type of play is part of your calling range.
Slowplay preflop and 4-BET as a bluff
Slowplaying preflop is great against LAGs. They will usually 3-BET with a very wide range, and to combat this, we can slowplay very strong hands or 4-BET as a bluff.
Whenever my opponent's 3-bet frequency is closer to 10% than 5%, we can slowplay hands like AA or KK preflop. Their range is so wide that they will rarely call a 4-bet. So it's best to keep them in the hand when you have a monster and bluff them out when you realize the hand is more profitable that way.
Conclusion
Players like this are usually winners and you won’t make much money playing them in the long run. However, understanding their mindset and how they play will make it much easier to face them, reducing your losses and maximizing your potential gains.
Remember: having a tight image is crucial when facing this type of player, especially when bluffing.
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