Strategy For Types of Poker Players

There are four general categories of poker player types that most players fall into. Once you become a more experienced player, you will be able to recognize these profiles after playing a few hands with your opponents. Being able to analyze the playing styles of your opponents will ultimately help you make better decisions and foresee the way a hand or tournament will probably play out. You will also be able to categorize your own poker personality, which can also help you win more hands.

Do keep in mind the marginal overlaps of the categories, as well, as some players may not be clearly defined as one exact type, and good poker players will vary up their style, so that their behaviours change when necessary depending on the hand they have, the opponents they are up against, the type of game, and other personal factors that may influence a player’s style.

Tight Passive
Tight passive poker players are very by-the-book players and are straightforward in their play style, playing honestly and refraining from bluffing. They wait until they are dealt a very strong hand before they call or raise. This player does well in limit Texas Hold ‘em and rarely takes any kind of risk whatsoever in poker. When this player calls your raise, you better have the hand to back up your bet because he’s serious. This player is easy to read, however, because his bets are typically proportionate to the strength of his cards.

To beat this player, understand that by following the rules of the game, he is pretty much showing you his hand. He’s prepared to only get into a betting battle if his hand has a high possibility of winning, which makes him more likely to fall victim to other players’ bluffs. This is useful in lifting small pots off this player using aggressive bluffing tactics. When this player is willing to call, you can get a few chips out of him before he succumbs to the pressure and folds. However, just to be on the safe side, if your tight-passive opponent is raising confidently, unless you have a killer hand, don’t give your chips back to him. He’s likely to take the pot because when this player gets aggressive, it’s for a reason.

Loose Passive
The loose passive player is also known as a “calling station” because he calls every bet you make. You should avoid bluffing this type of player because once he’s seen the flop, he’ll rarely fold. He will call your bluff even with a weak hand, which can still beat your pure bluff. The loose passive player is the stereotype rookie.

The best way to beat this player is to raise him when you get a decent hand, but be careful to bet just enough to keep him in the hand because amateurs will scare easily from large bets. Alternatively, raising a large bet is a good way to get this player out of the pot. In other words, if you are going to bluff him, do it big.

Tight Aggressive
This player plays only good hands, bets aggressively when he does have a good hand, and bluffs occasionally. He is also concerned with betting from good position. He is often the most successful player at a table and the most difficult to beat. When this player does raise, don’t fall into the trap of losing a large portion of your chips in one sweep. Be careful not to play out of position when up against these types of players because they will frequently raise on a semi-bluff in the same way that they will raise on a made hand, which make it difficult to read them. They will typically enter the pot with a raise pre-flop, followed by a continuation bet on the flop, which causes confusion among their opponents making the other players think they may have pocket Aces, whether they hit the flop or they’re only bluffing.

In order to beat this player, you must mix up your game continuously. Play the role of tight aggressive, loose aggressive, tight passive, and loose passive. They’ll be betting and raising in order to gain insight into their opponents’ hands, so rotating through the different types makes it harder for the tight aggressive to read you.

Loose Aggressive
This category is what most of the famous professional poker players fall into. They have no problem going all-in. The best loose aggressive player mixes up his aggressive and passive behavior to mess up his opponents’ radar for reading his hand. They’ll go all-in with pocket Aces just as quickly as they will with 7/3, which is why they are the high-rollers of Texas Hold ‘em. They are extremely wild and act like maniacs at the table when it comes to betting.

To beat this player, resist the urge to fire back at him with your own loose aggressive play. This is easy to do because he’ll take pot after pot after pot, and eventually, you may think it best to stand up to him. This is not best. Turning yourself into the calling station is ineffective against a loose aggressive player. Rather, be patient and wait until you get a strong hand. To beat the maniac, you must use patience as your primary resource