I struggle against loose opponents at the 25/50 BB level. Im talking about the kind of players who 3x preflop raise anywhere from 60-100% of their hands from the small blind. What is a good calling/3-betting/shoving range against this type of opponent when we are about even stacked? I usually shove low/medium pocket pairs & an ace with low/med kickers. I will 3-bet with hands like AJ-AK or high pocket pairs, and occasionally with a hand like 910s if I think I have fold equity. I usually flat call with cards that play well post flop like QJ or a hand like K10. I know a lot depends on the particular opponent but is this a good general strategy? Should I be shoving wider because I lose a lot of chips in blinds quickly if I get a string of bad/mediocre cards?
Well, as a general rule, if your oppenent is 3x'ing a wide range at effective stacks of less than about 25 bb, and you have any Ace (any, including A2o) then it's a profitable shove. I've already seen this in several videos.
If he's 3x'ing 50% or more, then you can also profitably shove any hand that's 20+ in the Nash Calling Range (any Ace, K9s, KTs, KJs, KQs, KTo, KJo, KQo, QTs, QJs, 33+). Since you'd call a shove with these hands if he was shoving instead of 3x'ing, you can't make any mistake by shoving yourself.
And if he's really 3x'ing 80% or more, then I'd just extend this range a lot by adding most suited Kings and Queens and a lot of broadways.
Sure it's high variance, but it's highly profitably long-term.
I wouldn't really flat with too many hands - you just create a huge pot oop and he won't let you get to showdown cheaply. His range is 50+% of all cards, so he'll miss the flop most of the time - but he'll bet at it regardless
Oh, and never 3bet him unless you're willing to get it in no matter what - ie. you need to consider that he might flat your 3bet, leaving you with barely a pot-sized bet left, so you'd basically need to openshove almost any flop.
Jack