Playing loose isn’t easy, but when done right you can make a lot of money this way. Loose players can tilt the table, control the game, and have everyone after them. When you’re making hands, the pots you win will be much larger because of the little respect other players give you.
Here are some tips on how to play loose. The best way to begin loosening up your game is to incorporate these tips gradually, so you can pinpoint which ones are working best for you.
If nobody calls then your hand is irrelevant
The majority of hands don’t reach a showdown, so does it matter what your cards were? Usually everyone has a good idea of where their hand stands by the river, so a showdown isn’t necessary. If you haven’t made a hand and you know your opponent isn’t strong, then you can represent a much better hand by simply betting like you would with a strong hand.
Know your opponents
It takes a lot more effort to play loose then tight. You need to keep a close watch on all of your opponents so you know who’s capable of playing back at you or calling you down and who’s waiting to hit a good flop.
Pump up the pot
Rather then calling, try raising and 3-betting more often. It’s a lot easier to put your opponents on a hand when they’re scared to play against you without a premium hand. The more decisions you force your opponents to make, the more information you gain about their hands.
Drawing and semi bluffing
Those suited connecters are a great way to open up your hand selection. The best part about them is that you usually know where your hand stands. When you’re on a draw, you know which cards you need to hit to make the best hand and if you’re not getting the odds, just lay it down.
You can get your opponents to lay down much better hands then yours by semi bluffing your draws. For example, You hold JT on a KQ5 flop. Your opponent bets 4bb’s with an unknown hand to see where they’re at. Maybe he has QJ and wants to see if it’s good.
You know you don’t have the best hand, but if a A or an 9 comes you’ll have the nuts. Simply calling here would make your draw a lot more obvious if it hits. Raising on the other hand will put your opponent to the test and give you a good chance at a free card if he calls and you miss the draw.
When you’re beat, you’re beat
When you open up your starting hand selection, you’re going to be hitting more marginal hands. T9 is great when you flop a great draw, but what about when the flop is T75? Sure you have top pair, but you’re dominated by hands like AT through JT. You can lose a lot if you’re always going to the river with marginal hands like this.
Bankroll
Be sure to keep an above average bankroll size for your aggressive play. The swings are much larger, so you’ll need the extra padding to save you financially and emotionally.
Sometimes loose is wrong
Loose isn’t always the right way to play. Make sure you mix up your style depending on the table and players. If you get stuck playing only one style, you’ll become easily exploitable.
In the example for drawing/semi-bluffing, T9 isn’t the nuts if a K comes out. AT would be…
Ooops good catch. I changed it to JT, which always makes the nut straight. Thanks.
I am now even more retarded.
I always thought playing loose was simply the player not caring about his game. Playing loose can have you incredibly exploited by other players if you make it too obvious. You need to be careful about these things.