The term LAG refers to 'Loose-Aggressive'. These players tend to enter a broad spectrum of hands in their gameplay. hands preflop (significantly wider than a TAG They usually start their preflop action with wild aggression and continue this trend with even stronger aggression after the flop.
To accurately evaluate a LAG player's style, we can refer to specific statistics that highlight their habits and tendencies.
VPIP – Voluntarily Put in Pot – This statistic indicates the percentage of hands that a player chooses to play before the flop. Most LAG players typically have a VPIP between 25% and 35%. A player at 25% is seen as a loose TAG, while a 35% VPIP suggests they are moving toward being a 'maniac'. maniac ” (one step above LAG).
PFR – Preflop Raiser – This represents the percentage of hands played aggressively before the flop. The PFR value will generally be lower than or equal to the VPIP since you must first voluntarily put money in the pot to raise a hand.
Since LAG players like to take control of the betting, there tends to be only a small margin (usually no more than 5%) between their VPIP and PFR. A larger discrepancy suggests we're dealing with a 'loose-passive' player rather than a 'loose-aggressive' one.
Accordingly, if someone has a PFR of 20%, they might be classified as a loose TAG, while a PFR exceeding 30% could indicate a player who is closer to being a 'maniac' than a LAG.
Table of Contents
The Fundamental Weakness of LAGs
The LAG playing style often proves to be more potent than the TAG style. Nevertheless, it is generally not favored by novice players, as it demands a higher skill level than TAG style poker .
Aggressive play tends to generate significant winnings, which is precisely why LAG players excel. That said, we can turn their aggression to our advantage. money in poker In many situations, LAG players excel against TAG players. If you've reviewed the article on how to exploit TAGs, you might remember that we can counter a TAG's strategy by being very aggressive when they seem disinterested in the pot. If you’re a TAG and notice a LAG employing this tactic against you, how should you defend yourself?
The key is to adopt a tighter, more passive playing style that allows you to set traps for your loose-aggressive opponent. Instead of showing strength immediately, as tight-aggressive players typically do, we should strive to appear weak to induce bluffs.
Another adjustment could involve tightening our preflop hand selection slightly. It's worth noting that with 100bb stacks, this isn’t an absolute necessity, but it can simplify gameplay significantly without any real downsides. betting for value Before diving deeper, we must recognize that not all LAGs are created equal. Some will respect aggression and can fold when necessary (good LAGs), while others are excessively aggressive and often won’t fold at all (bad LAGs).
Type 1 – Good LAGs will fold when faced with aggression
Understanding the Type of LAG
Type 2 – Bad LAGs, who are on the verge of being maniacs, tend to never fold
Against the second category, our only viable option is to tighten our play and continually set traps. However, raising for value can also be a strong choice since we don’t have to worry about them folding frequently.
When up against a good LAG, we don’t necessarily have to tighten our strategy drastically. We can match their aggression by playing back and eliciting folds. Yet, when holding value hands against this type, we need to continue our passive approach after setting the trap. Raising could scare them off, as they might correctly deduce our strength and choose to fold.
Let’s consolidate our counter-strategy with some practical illustrations.
Here’s a scenario demonstrating how to exploit a LAG by setting a trap. This particular LAG is known to aggressively bluff through three streets after observing a check on the flop, sensing weakness and ready to capitalize. In this instance, it could prove to be a costly error for them, as we anticipate their aggressive moves. trap In contrast, when up against an average recreational player, such a tactic would be ill-advised. We could easily extract three streets of value from a top set, which would still be the highest hand on the flop and remain quite strong by the river.
However, the challenge when playing this hand against a LAG, especially with a tight image, is that they may opt to fold. If we indicate weakness through a check, they’re likely to seize the opportunity, trying to push us to give up the pot. If you’ve explored the article on Exploiting TAGs, you’ll understand that this approach works well against tight players. We can mitigate this by being less obvious about the strength of our hand. If we hold a strong hand, we need to create an illusion of weakness.
Counter-Strategy 1 – Setting a Trap
The optimal play in this situation would involve checking and calling on the flop, checking and calling on the turn, and then check-raising on the river (or just calling if not facing an all-in).
6 handed, NLHE
UTG (100bb)
MP (100bb)
CO (100bb) Hero
BTN (100bb) LAG
SB (100bb)
BB (100bb)
Hero is dealt 9h 9c
UTG folds, MP folds, Hero opens to 3bb, BTN cold-calls 3bb, SB folds, BB folds.
Flop (7.5bb)
9s5h 2c
Hero Checks
UTG folds, MP folds, CO folds, Hero raises to 3bb, SB folds, BB responds with a 3bet to 10bb.
Throughout the session on the button, we’ve faced repeated 3bets from an aggressive player occupying the big blind.
Initially, we need to grasp that it’s okay to marginally tighten our opening range. For instance, K8o would typically be one of the weaker hands among those we open on the button. It is perfectly reasonable to fold this hand.
Counter-Strategy 2 – Modifying Preflop Hand Ranges
6 handed, NLHE
UTG (100bb)
MP (100bb)
CO (100bb)
BTN (100bb) Hero
SB (100bb)
BB (100bb) LAG
Hero is dealt Kc8s
By strengthening our opening range,
it considerably reduces the profit potential for our opponent in the big blind as we become more likely to hold premium hands. Although it’s not a strict necessity to tighten up when facing a 100bb LAG, doing so can greatly simplify the game without negatively impacting our win rate.
What should we do?
Another tactic we might experiment with is assessing our opponent's ability to fold. range UTG folds, MP folds, CO folds, Hero raises to 3bb, SB folds, BB opts for a 3bet to 10bb, and Hero responds with a 4bet to 23bb, causing BB to fold.
In this case, our holding has improved slightly, changing our K8 to a suited variant. This is generally a favorable hand for a 4bet bluff because: 3betting It still maintains playability if called.
is beneficial for us as it blocks certain hands that our opponent could potentially have. For instance, we might worry about being 5-bet by a hand like KK or AK, but this likelihood decreases because we hold one of the Kings.
6 handed, NLHE
UTG (100bb)
MP (100bb)
CO (100bb)
BTN (100bb) Hero
SB (100bb)
BB (100bb) LAG
Hero is dealt Ks8s
Not all LAG players will fold to a 4bet. Nevertheless, many will fold more frequently given their wide 3bet ranges.
The trick to overcoming a competent LAG player lies in understanding the situations where they are inclined to play aggressively and then leveraging their aggression for our own benefit.
- UTG folds, MP folds, CO folds, BTN folds, Hero opens to 3bb, and BB calls.
- The King serves as a blocker
A blocker Hero checks, BB bets 4bb, and Hero check-raises to 12bb.
Keep in mind that making a continuation bet on this hand could have been quite profitable. This is generally the standard approach, opting for a semi-bluff. However, when facing a LAG, it could be even more advantageous to utilize a check-raise.
Counter-Strategy 3 – Responding Effectively to Skilled LAG Players
, they are likely to proceed primarily with hands that connect quite well with the board, even if only slightly. By checking, we risk making them interpret this as a lack of strength, prompting them to bet the flop consistently. Essentially, this allows them to invest more into the pot with a larger and weaker range of hands before we strike.
For example:
6 handed, NLHE
UTG (100bb)
MP (100bb)
CO (100bb)
BTN (100bb)
SB (100bb) Hero
BB (100bb) LAG
Hero is dealt AdQd
We could further develop this strategy:
Flop (6bb)
Td 7d 2s
Hero checks, BB bets 4bb, Hero check-calls 4bb.
Hero checks, Villain bets 10bb, Hero raises to 27bb.
If we cbet Most LAGs will not anticipate this. Once we checked on the flop, they believed we had a weak hand and wouldn’t check-raise them, leading the LAG to overstretch by putting money into the pot with a range too wide to defend effectively.
Upon reaching the turn, the likelihood of getting a fold increases, but even if we don’t, we’re still in a solid position to potentially hit a draw on the river. Assuming we’re called, we’ve also positioned ourselves for an advantageous
6 handed, NLHE
UTG (100bb)
MP (100bb)
CO (100bb)
BTN (100bb)
SB (100bb) Hero
BB (100bb) LAG
Hero is dealt AdQd
We could further develop this strategy:
Flop (6bb)
Td 7d 2s
on the river, which we might leverage for a bluff or to extract value.
Turn (14bb)
Jc
Our method for defeating a LAG is to tighten our ranges and set well-timed traps. While we’re aware that aggression typically yields profits, there are scenarios where passive play against a LAG can be far more lucrative.
Moreover, it’s essential to assess which kind of LAG we are up against. Some LAGs can be bluffed, while others simply cannot. When facing the non-bluffable type, we should focus on a very conservative strategy aimed at value. We can allow them to take several smaller pots before landing a substantial win when we have a strong hand.
Chad Holloway is a winner of a 2013 WSOP Bracelet and has previously held the position of managing editor and live reporter at PokerNews. pot-sized bet 888poker-EGR-logo-Mobile-Header-2021-white value-bet with, depending on the river card.
Putting it Together
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