[lork]

I play no limit Texas Hold'em in a friendly home game with a bunch of loose players. Most of the people around the table will play any hand and don't really think of the odds. It's very difficult to tell what anyone has because they could of went in with a 10-7 and made 2 pair on the flop.

What is the best way to beat loose players?

[chris]

Play tight. Watch for tells. They aren't going to make complicated plays on you such as a check-raise. When you play a hand you have to play it straight up with no tricks. Don't try a check-raise or anything like that, because that's where you may get into trouble. If they bet, it usually means they have something. If they check, it usually means they have nothing. Also, if you have something, try to bet more agressive. See if they start to fold more often.

[johnf]

If this is a social game and you don't really care too much, disregard my comments.
Don't mean to shout but.....
THEY ARE NO LONGER YOUR FRIENDS AT THE TABLE.
This doesn't mean you need to be an ass, but you can't let friendship get in the way of poker.
PLAY PREMIUM HANDS!
Do not, I repeat, Do not get pulled into the, any two cards will do, trap.
You may get bored. You don't need to be. Spend the time you're not in a hand watching your friends. See how they play. When do they bet, how do they bet etc. etc. etc.
Your friends may mock you. Insecure people make fun of others. Don't get defensive, don't try and teach them. There's an old saying that, "School is out at the poker table." Besides, why would you want them to get better?
Let them learn on their own.There is also a saying that experience is the best teacher..

[pritz]

Watch for a bettibg pattern and pay attention to anything they do to try and pick up a tell. Once you get the information, use it against them. Be patient and wait for a premium hand. Let them get comfortable betting out and then when they least expect it, raise them for everything they've got. Don't call a bet from a loose playerv when you know you should raise. Get your money in when you know you have the best hand an never let them get a free card. Good luck.

[razor]

Wait for a hand. really thats all their is to it. Play the opposite of the table. If they are playing unbelievably loose, then play unbelieveably tight.

[quickie]

Miniraises scream weakness to me, and I'll often reraise. If they come back over the top of me I assume I'm beat and fold. (Not always but usually). I don't have people come over the top of me too often, due to my style of play.

[chris]

1. I would have played identically to the way you did. I'm assuming this was a typical loose semi-aggressive low limit home game, but probably this is how I would have played it in any game, including NL.

2. I'm in direct opposition to your friend's advice about overplaying low pockets and slow-playing big pockets. I generally do just the opposite, except in some heads-up situations.

3. One of the beautiful things about poker is that it's not a team sport. You have no duty to justify your play to anyone but yourself, and then rely on your wallet to tell you when you might be doing something wrong. If I got that advice at the table, I wouldn't even get into a discussion about it. You have no vested interest in convincing other players that you're right, you get paid by continuing to let them make mistakes. The very fact that he tried to "correct" your play shows that he's not a good player, plus he gave you information you can use to extract value from him later - - he overplays pocket pairs into overcards.

Table coaches are very rarely good players. The best thing you can do is smile, evade the question with something like "I'm sure you're right, but I always lose with pocket 8s", and make a mental note to analyze the play later if there's any chance his comment had any merit. In this case, my opinion is that it didn't. Other than to clue you in to isolate this guy and take his chips with you flop TPTK.

[luke]

I cant really add much more to what these guys have said. Although if Im playing with a group of loose players I always watch my stack. As youll of noticed most just call and they dont know how strong their hand is and you dont know how strong theirs is either. You dont want to lose all your stack to a guy just calling you and getting lucky, play tight and chip away at their stack.. Dont be afraid to lose some if your going to win more (than you lose) when you know youve got the best hand.