That Idiot Won’t Stop Raising! Dealing with Hyper Aggressive Players in Limit Holdem
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“Whenever he makes a mistake its supposed to be good for me, but somehow the more idiots on the table the harder it is for me to win, why?”
It’s a common misconception that it is easier to beat good players than bad players. In a hand, yes, it might be easier to win a pot against players who will fold than ones who won’t, but the pots won’t be nearly as large as if the opponent was in there calling to his 2 outer every other hand. You want idiots at your table, and you want a lot of them. While the pots you win will be further apart their size will make up for it.
Now the trick is playing against the idiot.
If there’s one crazy raiser but the rest of the table is tight:
*small pairs and suited connectors usually become weaker because it will be difficult to have enough players to make odds off 2 bets cold.
*Big cards become stronger, but remember the rest of your table is playing well, don’t call with weak hands and get trapped out of position against the good players. Just because that one guy is an idiot, the whole table doesn’t have to look him up. Don’t lower your standards!
*Big pairs become golden, take the opportunity to reraise, and push the other players out. Narrow it to you and him, and see how lucky he is this time around.
What if the whole table is nuts?
This is where most people run into trouble. The swings will be huge, but since you are a better player, it is likely you will be the one swinging up.
*Avoid marginal draws, if you are close to pot odds on inside straights, get out. You’ll be swinging enough as it is.
*Suited connectors and pairs become much stronger. Pot odds are implied. They WILL PAY YOU OFF if you make a hand.
*Don’t appear too tight, make the bets yourself, don’t let them do all the betting. You’d be surprised how different the table will respond to your bets than the morons. You want just the idiots in the pot with you.
*Big pairs actually become weaker. Still raise, try and protect, but don’t expect a good result. Be willing to fold these hands when the board looks scary. Even if you fold a winner a few times, you’ll save a lot of bets against some crazy straight. In other words, don’t be the one providing implied odds!
