Loose-Passive players used to be the bane of my existence. I’d raise, they’d call. I’d raise more, they’d still call. I’d c-bet and they’d call. I just couldn’t get these guys to fold. Inevitably I’d end up betting the flop and then checking the turn with my mediocre hand just to throw my hand away when the loose-passive player bet.
Hell yeah I call with that!
Eventually I learned how to play against loose-passive players and now I love it when one of them is at my table. It can be a little nerve wracking since you have to play a lot of marginal hands down to the river, but once you learn how to read these guys, you’ll win the showdown more often than not.
Here are some tips for playing loose-passive players.
Do Not Bluff
Don’t even make a c-bet against a loose-passive player because it’s going to get called and you’re going to bloat the pot. Every bet that you make should be a value bet but that doesn’t mean that you only have to bet top pair.
The value of middle pairs and sometimes even bottom pairs go up when you’re playing a loose-passive player. When a solid player calls your bet it usually means they have something, but when a loose-passive player calls your bet, it means nothing. These guys will call you with total air.
What Line Should You Take?
There’s no reason to get tricky with loose-passive players. They want to call you, so let them. The best line to take is bet-bet-bet. They’ll call you down to the river with all kinds of trash. I’ve even had loose-passive players call me down with ace high. It takes a set of brass cajones to bet second or third pair on every street, but it’s the right play against a loose-passive player.
How Do I Know I’m Not Beat?
A loose-passive player will tell you when you’re beat. These players will usually raise top pair or better at some point in the hand. You can safely muck your hand if one of these players raises you unless you hold something big. When you do hold a monster you can put in a re-raise since the loose-passive player will be happy to get it in with any hand they like enough to raise.
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Loose-passive players can be frustrating, but they’re also ATM machines. One you learn that you don’t need top pair/top kicker to go after these guys, they become easy to play and a great way to boost your bankroll.
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