In blackjack, you’re trying to beat the dealer. In roulette, you’re hoping that the ball will fall in your favor, and when you play online slots, you’re entrusting your fate to chance. Poker, however, is nothing like these games.
When you sit down to play poker, you are not only playing against yourself, but you’re playing against a table of different people with different motivations. Not only do you need to be aware of the cards that you have been dealt and the ever-changing list of probabilities as each additional card is drawn; but you also have to be aware of the different poker motivations and why they matter, for example, is the guy to your left playing to blow off steam? Is the woman sitting opposite you brushing up on her game ahead of a high-stakes tournament? And why are you playing? What is it that brings you to the table today?
Understanding all of those things won’t guarantee success, but they will give you a firm foundation to build upon. In this article, we take a look at some of the most common poker styles and what they say about each player.
By the end, you’ll not only understand more about your own game and how that impacts your fortunes, but you’ll be able to recognize patterns in your fellow players as well.
The Tight Passive
Of the four basic poker styles, this is the most common. The Tight Passive player likes to keep their wagers to an absolute minimum and is reactive as opposed to proactive. How this typically manifests at the table is by a player regularly meeting their blinds but folding as soon as the stakes begin to rise.
The only time they will deviate from this pattern is when they are fairly confident that they have a good hand. However, if the stakes are too high for their liking, they can be prone to folding to protect their bankroll.
The reason this is the most common style is that it is the style that most beginners tend to fall into because of a lack of confidence and a willingness to stay at the table as long as possible to learn. If you’re in a lobby with players like this, a good style to adopt is…
The Tight Aggressive
Known in short as a TAG, this type of player is often also referred to as a ‘shark’. That’s because they lie in wait, guarding their bankroll and not getting overly involved until they smell blood. Typically, they do this by working out that those around them are Tight Passive and pouncing, when they have a good hand, by aggressively raising the stakes.
This sees them win a lot of hands by forcing their opponents to fold. When they do finally get called, they often win anyway, thanks to their tight nature, thus reinforcing the idea amongst the other players that they are someone to be wary of.
The Loose Passive
These guys like to take part in as many pots as possible for as little as possible. Instead of getting into a betting war, they are more likely to keep calling and calling to see what happens. Their success lies in the mistakes of others.
They are the type of player who will call you to the end on a seven-high card just to see what happens, so if you recognize you’re at the table with someone like this, the last thing you want to do is start bluffing!
The Loose Aggressive
Poker is a hard, long game, but it is exciting, so it attracts a whole lot of people who don’t particularly have the skillset to succeed at it. These players are the Loose, Aggressive types who are slaves to their boredom.
They might sit through several hands patiently before succumbing to boredom and rising crazily on a high card. They can then follow this up with a spate of raises that leaves you wondering whether they are just bluffing or have a great hand.
Chances are that they usually don’t know themselves. Our advice in this scenario is to hang tight and let them work away. Fold early to minimise your chances of becoming collateral damage and wait until their boredom sees them leave the game altogether.
In Summary
The four styles detailed above are the most common ones that you are likely to come across. Of course, there are variations within each, but if you develop an ability to recognize these four styles at the table, then you can adapt your tactics accordingly and start to win an awful lot more than you lose.