[chris]

I'm at the stage of my poker career where I do well at nl tournaments (at least at 1-table tournaments) and limit ring games. Occasionally, I do well at nl ring games.

But I've been playing at a new site recently, where the nl ring games seem especially loose, and it's giving me trouble. People not only call preflop with anything, but raise on very questionable hands. They will also call post-flop large bets on draws. It has been very hard for me to make any bets post-flop with any confidence.

Does anyone have general advice about playing in loose NO-LIMIT ring games in particular (as opposed to loose limit games, which seem much simpler to manage)? If there are any good articles about this, please let me know. Most of the writing I've seen addresses loose limit games, not loose no-limit cash games.

[pritz]

See the flop for cheap from EP. Play aggressive with premium hands only. Tight/aggressive. Find the weak players at the table and when its you and the weak players in the pot only..buy the pot with a big raise if you think they are on the draw.

[louis]

I'm with pritz on this one, tighten right up but be prepared to spend a couple of chips to see the flop frequently. Something comes up, bet hard otherwise fold.

It's hard to throw chips away on seeing the flop consistantly, but otherwise you are only playing premium hands and may see very few flops, hence be dead to the game a little.

[ThomasR]

Definitely, the games will seem loose as these are different circumstances. Same game, different situation and it's important to adapt.

My best bet is to go with the flow a little. Pay a few chips, see a few more flops and see if you can't flop a great hand now and again. I don't mean paly too loosely, just relax a little from the premium only hands and try your luck now and again with suited cards or mid pocket pairs if it's cheap.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.