When you find yourself in an ultra loose game, for example, when the betting before the flop is usually raised or “capped-out” (all three raises), does this affect your basic strategy? Of course it does. And when the before-the-flop betting has been capped, does this effect your stay-in-after-the-flop strategy? Of course it does. It seems clear that when there is an abnormal amount of money in most of the pots, your normal strategic criteria should change.

What is the best general strategy in these loose game situations? The correct answer, as with so many things in life, is that it all depends. And it mostly depends on just which players are in each of the various pots. There is an old addage, “play tight in a loose game”. Although playing tight in a loose game probably is the surest approach to winning a LESSER amount, playing tight is generally not the optimal approach to winning BIG in most TRULY loose games. One main exception to this is if the house is raking an excessive amount (eg. more than five percent) from each pot. Then playing tight often is the optimal strategy because the house is essentially removing much of the extra money. But under normal playing conditions, since a good player rates to do well against a fish, the good player should strive to maximize his exposure with the fish. It is interesting that so many good tight and “sound” players do NOT loosen up in loose games. I know of no other sport or game where superior players are so timid about pressing their advantage.

Before going further it is important to distinguish among various types of loose games and players. There are TRULY loose games with at least several fish throwing money around, and, at the other extreme there are the not really loose games with some good players essentially making a lot of noise. There are many real life situations where excitment occurs because multiple animal personalities are interacting. Flocks of birds and fish often feed or perform sexual functions in a frenzy. We humans often exhibit similar group dynamics in competitive situations such as war, sporting events, and how about a lively craps table? And sometimes, it also happens at the poker table. But, WARNING - at the poker table, looks are often deceiving, and the inexperienced newcomer might well find himself and his money being quickly swept away in all the commotion and revelry.

Whereas some of the players may really be “on tilt”, there are others who are merely making a lot of noise and going along with the flow, simply because it is to their advantage. It is IMPERITIVE for you to judge which players (if any) are really loose and those that are merely playing the roll. It is quite possible that noone is actually betting consistently loose; and, that all the blind raises and other theatrics are all merely part of an illusion being spontaneously created by several players venting out a little spleen to liven up the game. On the other hand, it is quite likely that this spurt is occurring because one or more fish are in there leading or at least following the charge - and opportunity is knocking. Thus, a closer look at any “loose game” usually reveals that the whole is just the sum of its parts.

A word about the fish. There are at least two distinct species of fish, active and passive. Passive fish merely call too much and are a most welcome addition to most pots, since they add extra dollars without costing you extra. The active fish however, usually think they are good players and bet and raise a lot. Active fish can be very dangerous and cost you a lot of money. But, then again, active fish can be wonderful when YOU have the nuts, and can turn a routine small win into a bonanza. There is much skill and “push versus pull” psychology involved in interacting with active fish.

So if you are fortunate enough to find yourself in a game with several certified fish, how do you best take advantage of the situation? If the fish are really biting, there are many ways to catch fish. The simplest, but again, NOT the best approach (especially if the loose game situation might end shortly) is to tighten up and patiently wait for some good cards to come your way. But with this approach you might well get to play only a couple of hands and miss most of the action. Note that even when you get the best starting cards, you are an underdog to win any given hand you get involved in. If you can get involved in more hands, your superior judgement should get more of the extra money to flow in your direction.

If you are fortunate enough to get many good starting hands, you are obviously a big favorite to take advantage of the extra dollars in the pots generated by the loose action. But what if merely “above average” starting hands are dealt too you, as opposed to the “good” starting hands that you usually wait for. Should you lower your standards now that even MORE initial investment is required? Whereas it is true that in Omaha you should normally sit back and patiently wait for quality hands with depth before you voluntarily put your initial money into a pot, there are some exceptions. And getting in on some big time action is certainly one of the exceptions. The presence of extra fish dollars clearly changes many of the usual odds.

Note that the most important change wrought by the extra dollars in the pot is the lowering of flop seeing requirements. Bigger payoffs justify more exploratory dollars. If you decide to call or raise before the flop with SLIGHTLY less than your usual starting requirements, you should understand that your main sacrifice is some amount of flop hitting frequency AND some “river” winning percentage equity. In return you get to see some extra flops and thus rate to get more opportunities to compete against loose players who will often have worse hands than yours. It is somewhat analogous to betting more at blackjack when the deck is favorable. Remember that in these situations where you deviate from your normal tightness, you are basically playing the players. And the presence of one or more fish in any given pot makes an instant change in your winning dollar expectencies.
The main lesson to be learned is you must try to figure out just who is likely to be in any given pot with you. This is one reason why position is so important. If the real fish (as opposed to the role-playing good players) are generally to your right, you are clearly in better position to make close decisions depending on how many of these fish are in or out of any given pot. Of course, if any of the tighter fishermen are also lurking in any given pot, this lessens the overall odds a bit.

Since most of these speculative actions occur before-the-flop, often you will have to act before the fish. Whereas it is often difficult to get accurate “tells” from a player when he is active in a pot, it is usually easy to judge whether a given fish is about to call the flop or not, SINCE VERY FEW PLAYERS ATTEMP TO CONCEAL THEIR BEFORE-THE-FLOP INTENTIONS. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST SKILLFUL ASPECTS of winning in a loose game. Assuming that you have already identified just which players are the REAL fish, then you should look around and try to judge which fish are “telegraphing” their intentions to see the flop or fold. Your game plan is simply to stretch a bit to see the flop if one or more of the fish are in the pot or look like they are about to call. If the fish are so loose that they are usually in every pot, then it becomes more of a question of just how many of the other fishermen are competing for their action. And even good players often “telegraph” when they are planning to throw their hands in.

One final warning in case it is not obvious. In loose games of Holdem and Omaha, the most justifiable time to “loosen up” is BEFORE the flop. This is somewhat analogous to seeing the (usually cheap) fourth card in seven stud. BUT, although you might loosen up a bit BEFORE THE FLOP in honor of the presence of fish, you SHOULD NOT not start chasing with bad hands after the flop. The main reason you relax your normal rigid flop seeing requirements is that in a loose game, if you hit the flop, you rate to win considerably more than in a normal game. But, once you get to see the flop, you should revert to normal sound practices, except, of course, for occasional frolics.

In summary, many “sound” players play too safe when opportunity is knocking. This is one reason why good middle level players often do better than tight experts when there are a lot of fish in the game. Otherwise put, let us say that in a normal game with normal pots, your normal strategy is to get involved only with a certain premium level of starting hand, for example what you might refer to as “thirty percent” flopseeing cards. But in loose games where there is extra money in most pots (and the house is not raking it out), the optimum flop seeing level is obviously lower. For example, given that it is a loose game and that there is extra money in most pots, if you play at a twenty five percent efficiency level and get involved in some number of pots, you rate to win more than if you play at a thirty percent level in about half that number of pots.

If you do loosen up a bit in these situations, it is obviously a good idea to try to keep track of just how well you are doing with these speculations, as adjustments may well be necessary. It is quite easy to get carried away and play too loose and get carried away.