Betfair | Caution: LAG in training!

Caution: LAG in training!

There are two fundamental styles when it comes to playing poker, that of the Tight-Aggressive (TAG) and that of the Loose-Aggressive (LAG) writes Yorkshire Pudding. Both styles have their own positive points and obviously their own negative points. Most of the books available on the market today suggest playing a mainly TAG style with some LAG thrown in to balance things out and when I first started playing, especially tournament poker I was certainly plucked from the TAG tree but as of late I've found myself being drawn to the dark side of the LAG!

Poker, in general, favours the more aggressive player. You just have to look at the record books to see that the winners of the big tournaments are usually counted as LAG. This is even more true on the internet where the blind levels raise faster meaning that you have to make more moves in order to keep your stack above the average in the competition. The TAG approach to the game means that you'll generally enter fewer pots, mainly because good hands don't arrive that often but when you do enter the pot then you'll usually be a favourite in the hand and your opponents will normally have to draw to catch you up. Another positive is that you'll generally have easier decisions to make after the flop because you are only playing strong hands you could even have the better hand if the flop doesn't hit you and if it does hit you then your hand is going to be very very strong indeed! You will probably find it is easier to bluff as a TAG as people will give you more credit for having a good hand than that of someone who has been entering every pot for the last seven orbits! One problem with this approach is that you will find yourself winning a lot of smaller pots and not very many large ones, mainly because people will avoid entering a pot with you due to your starting hand requirements and you can be easier to knock off a hand if the flop is al small cards (as you're usually playing the high cards) or if the board contains one or more draws. Also, if you rely purely on good starting hands you need to realise that because they don't come along that often then you'll often find yourself with one of the shorter stacks once you get close to the money and you'll have a job on your hands to go deep where the good money usually is found. So what about the flip side of the coin, the LAG?

LAG's have lower starting hand requirements and they'll see a pair, any Ace or suited connector and think it is good enough to open the pot with. As a result they will be playing more pots and they'll also steal a lot more pots as it is more difficult to put them on a hand or if they are just bluffing again and this often leads to them being paid off more with their very strong hands as their opponents simply don't believe they have the goods. This all sounds good but like everything in life there is an opposite side to things! Playing sub-premium hands leads to more difficult decisions after the flop as they are often left holding a hand like Seven-eight on a flop of 8Q3. Also, as they will be betting more often than the TAG they will run into more concealed monster hands and people will often slow-play hands like Aces and Kings and let the LAG bet themselves to death. A LAG will often have larger stack size fluctuations but once they have a large stack they become extremely dangerous and you'll either see LAGs watching from the rail after busting out early or going deep and taking the whole tournament down.

I've decided to try and learn how to play an solid LAG game as I find it much more exciting than sitting there and folding hand after hand. This style relies somewhat on people being able to fold weak hands so it might not be profitable at the micro stakes as it would be at say a tournament with a $50-$100 buy-in, however, I'd rather make mistakes now that cost me $2.25 than try this style when I play the bigger tournaments. I watch some of the well known pro's such as Betfair's Annette_15 and Imper1um and they are predominately LAG players and their results are there for all to see. I seriously doubt that I will ever emulate them or have success as great as theirs but I am sure going to have fun trying to do so!

I should have some interesting hands for discussion in my next post as I have a bit of time on my hands so I am hoping to log some decent volume and hopefully rake in some much needed cash!

As always thanks for reading and best of luck at the tables!

7 April 2008 / About Dave Allan

Tags: LAG, loose aggressive, TAG, tight aggressive / Digg It / Del.icio.us / StumbleUpon / reddit

Comments (5)

Nice post Puds... Go for it mate, learn as much as you can.. When your adept at all strategies you can then envoke the weapon of choice that will beat that particular game/opponent.

How's things going on a personal level? Job hunting bearing any fruit?

Take it easy, Comrade3.

Comrade3 | 07 April 2008

I disagree that the major winners in tournaments are the LAG types. Take TJ for instance, more NL tournament wins then anyone and he's a stereotypical TAG player.

Both stereotypes are over emphasized. I would argue, most solid players play somewhere in the middle, the definition of what style they play will always be somewhat blurred.

I've given the LAG style a go myself, and it can be fun, at the right time / table it can be far more profitable then a TAG style, but thats situational.

My advice would be to adapt the style that is most appropriate for the situation you are in.

Best of luck xxx

LuckyStraights | 07 April 2008

Really enjoying your stuff, Pud. I never realised I was a loose-aggresive player - don't think too deeply. How close is LAG to being a donkey?

Apal | 08 April 2008

Donk as I am I tend to agree with Lucky Straights. Mix it up. That said you may learn more by trying a certain style for a set period and reviewing the benefits and pitfalls of each style - if you stay disciplined and keep to it.

Anyway enough rambling from a small timer lol. Good luck :)

Cell 1919 | 09 April 2008

Thanks for the comments guys.

Apal - This is a question that cropsup all the time. People see a "known pro" make amove with J7 and they are genius but someone playing $5 games is labelled a donkey! The main difference is, is that usually a true LAG makes that move with J7 based on reads, position, chip stacks, tournament status where as the "donkey" does it because it looks pretty etc!

The true LAG will play a lot of pots and bet an awful lot but when the money in the pot gets serious then they rarely get their stackin without actually holding the goods. Also, a real LAG usually knows when they're beat and can let go of hands when they know they are beat whereas the donkey will carry on calling with their bottom pair or gutshot straight draw.

Hope that helps!

Yorkshire Pud | 09 April 2008