The Advantages and Disadvantages of Loose Poker Play
Exploring different poker styles to expand your game....
PLAYING FAST AND LOOSE Yesterday I dealt with a good example of tight play as demonstrated by the exploits of “Action Dan” Harrington. Today we’ll take the opposite side of the coin and look at so-called “loose” play. Loose players will often be full of stories of how they cracked Aces with a Three and a Seven off-suit. Certainly he or she will be the kind of player who likes to throw chips at situations that would make the rest of us use a little known talent often overlooked by loose players: That talent is usually referred to as “thinking”.
THE ADVANTAGES It is however true that there are advantages to loose play and they shouldn’t be underestimated. For one thing you are going to get your occasional premium hand paid off big time because nobody will believe you’ve got one. A loose image is actually a tricky persona to advertise short of revealing some of your outrageous bluffs that have taken place at various showdowns. This is frowned on in the poker community and thought to be crude form. It still happens though.
THE DISADVANTAGES The main disadvantage accompanying loose play is that once word is out you are going to get called down a lot more often than you’ll find comfortable. The trick is to minimise your bluffing as much as possible because aggressive players will call you just to see what you’re hiding. You don’t want to reward their persistence by having their Ten high beat your Five high when the pot really amounts to something.
WHY NOT GO FOR THE HYBRID? My advice is to always shift between tight and loose play at the right tactical moments. That would be the response of a truly rounded poker player. Good actors don’t like to be “type-cast”. Nor should good poker players.
POKER TOURNAMENT TIPS It’s a simple fact that the best tournament and sit and go players don’t play the majority of the hands they’re dealt. Some experienced players would even say they don’t ever bother “calling” in a tournament as it’s just too weak a gesture. You only need to limp in a few times in a tournament without winning a reasonable sized pot and you’ll pretty soon be heading for the door. There’s really no sensible choice but to “Pump ‘em or dump ‘em!” It’s a common mantra among the professionals and one worth adopting in a majority of situations when you’re just starting out. Obviously there are exceptions to this general rule. If you’re nursing a set and there’s a straight draw screaming up at you from the community cards that might be a time to consider breaking the rule and going for the call.
