Loose Games
Most games are considered loose when a lot of people are calling and raising
If the game is like this, you need hands that can make the nuts with draws and redraws to even better hands.
an ace-deuce with no other draws will split the low or get counterfeited too often, in which case you lose everything.
So you want hands that have the best low, or then best low, or the best low draw with chances to back-door flushes, regular nut flush draws, straight draws, or trips, or a wheel with a chance of a six-or seven-high straight.
In big multiway pots, when you are holding one of these hands, you frequently will be able to make the low, which often will split with someone else, but sometimes to “hog” the high ( or perhaps split the high ).
However, when there are many players and a lot of jamming, the nuts are usually out on both sides.
It’s very important to have all four cards working together, as best as possible, and for those cards to be extra strong – that is, ace-deuce with two other good cards, ace-deuce-trey, or two aces with one or two low cards.
Also, being suited adds a lot of value to your hand in a loose game. For example, on the flop, you might make a low and jam with it if you also have back-door or regular flush potential.
If you now get lucky and complete the flush, you might scoop the pot or perhaps get three-quarters of it.
Bigger hands, such as four high straight cards suited up, don’t do well in this type of game, unless the pot gets played short-handed or you can enter the pot cheaply.
In these slightly looser games, which are typical at the smaller stakes tables with many people taking the flop, the high hands generally don’t perform well.
An ace is a key card in loose games, and a suited ace adds much value to your hand. An ace suited with one of three low cards, such as
is a premium hand. Other premium hands include
and
Remember, having a suited ace working, as you would in some of the hands illustrated, makes those hands even stronger.
Even four small cards can do very well, but they almost always require an ace to hit on the flop.
You usually want to get in cheap with this holding and to have opponents who will gamble with you even if an ace comes.
If an ace does not appear, be prepared to fold. (The odds are 3.3-to-1 against one or more aces appearing on the flop if you do not hold an ace in your hand.)
Introduction / Automatic Play / High Versus Low in Three-Handed Pots / Loose Games / Multiway pot Versus Short-Handed Play / Scare Cards / Getting Counterfeited / Getting Quartered / Playing Against Steamers / Playing Against Tight, Solid Players / Your Playing Style / Fluctuations / Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better / Afterthought
