One of the most difficult things to do in poker is adjust to the game you find yourself in. Most of the books say to look for a game you like then play. My experience in casinos is that games change all the time. It only takes one player to leave and another to join the table for a game to change dramatically. I don’t change games often.
In general, in a loose game with lots of raising and many players seeing a flop it is best to play tighter. In a tight more passive game without many raises loosening up some is advisable. Then there are the games that are out of control.
I was in a 1/3 no-limit game about a month ago where a player was raising and sometimes re-raising blind to between $100 and $500 pre-flop. He sat down with $1500, and I had about $900. I had bought in for $600 and had been playing for a few hours before he joined the game. There was a greater chance of loosing my stack with him in the game. Should that affect my decision to stay in the game?
Technically it should not, but managing variance is a reality. It is one of the reasons moving up in stakes or playing pot limit Omaha can be problematic. There is always the option to not play in a crazy game, but when will you have a better chance to make money. With the additional risk of destruction comes some benefit. Here was my strategy.
I was willing to commit my stack against this player pre-flop or on the flop with the right hand and situation.
Patience was going to be key. When he makes a big raise without looking, his hand is random. Many would say that my range for calling or re-raising should be very wide. However, I did not want to take on that much risk. I was waiting for AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, or AQ to get it all in with him. If it was multi-way, I would call with AQ or JJ, but everything else was a re-raise.
Raise and re-raise like you always would. This forces the crazy player into a decision, and most will play rationally and even fold when it makes sense to. Many people are afraid to raise knowing he is still to act because they think he will reraise. This means they miss out on information. For example, if you re-raise and he calls then you know he could have anything, importantly though, he knows you have a decent hand. I raised KQ suited and he was next to act. He folded. Force them to define their hand at least a little.
I got it all in with him and I had QQ against his JJ. I made a big re-raise and he went all-in forcing the other two players to fold. QQ held up.