Poker Player’s Main Styles Of Play

Poker Player’s Main Style Of Play – However Will It Change

Most Poker Players, as part of their strategy, have a main style of play, yet they may well change that style mid-game. However, something could potentially happen that makes a loose player start playing much tighter or vice versa. A tight player alternatively becomes loose and aggressive. I’ve seen this happen on many occasions. A good player loses a big hand, and suddenly they are playing every two cards. For instance, if Peggy Sue can hit a 7,4 flush, and win, then so can I, which becomes his attitude.

Poker Player Profiles fall into four main categories. I have provided a brief description of each below and threw in a couple more.

Poker Player’s Main Styles Of Play – The Four Primary Styles

• Tight Aggressive: These players will play few hands, however, you will often hear “raise” or “re-raise” when they are in a hand. These are the most difficult players to play against, as well as hard to “read”. These players make few mistakes and will rarely, if ever, go on “tilt”. They possess a strong understanding of the game, the math behind the game, and overall strategy.
• Loose Aggressive: The opposite of the previous, these players play nearly every hand. They will often raise and re-raise with any two cards. They make lots of mistakes and are typically easy to read. A lot of these players have watched way too much poker online or on TV. They have mostly studied little and ignore the math, they play by “feel”. I love these guys.
• Tight Passive: Like the Tight Aggressive, this player will play few hands, however, you better believe he has a strong hand when he enters the pot. If he raises pre-flop, he will almost always have AA or KK. If he bets or raises post-flop, be wary. Inspect the board. For instance, If it’s two to a flush, straight, big cards,, etc., you can be certain he has either a made hand or a strong draw.
• Loose Passive: This is the player that doesn’t play any two cards. He plays every two cards. He likes to see a flop and will often call pre-flop raises to do so. If he “misses” the flop, he will usually fold to any bet, unless he has some kind of draw, and it doesn’t have to be a really good one. As with the Loose Aggressive, far too much watching poker on TV. As much as I love the Loose Aggressive, these are my favorite opponents to play against.

Alternative Styles Of Play

In addition to those poker player main styles of play above, I am going to add my favorite – The Maniac. This is the player that raises and re-raises every hand. He will raise 10, 15, or even 20 times the big blind. He is overly loose and aggressive. Most maniacs are losing players in the long term, even the short term. But they can absolutely wreak havoc on a game while they are there. The way to beat them is to use their own aggression against them. We do this by setting repeated traps with our made hands, never raising them, never even betting, they will do that for us. All you have to do is call with your strong hands and rake in their chips.

Alternatively, to the Maniac, we have the NIT. The NIT isn’t going to play anything except very strong hands. If the NIT raises pre-flop, he will have AA, and AA only. He will not raise with KK pre-flop, always afraid an Ace will hit the flop. If he holds a pocket pair, he will fold them the instant an over-card hits the board, assuming there is a bet. He will only engage in a hand if he is almost a certain winner. Reading the NIT is easy, just look at the board and his bets. Assuming there are high cards on the board, if the NIT bets, you can be certain he hit his hand or can beat the board.

More To Come on Poker Strategy – Player Styles Of Play

Just a reminder, there is much more to say about Poker Players’ Style of Play. Each player’s style has a considerably more detailed explanation than what we have discussed here. Be sure to check back with us often, as we will be covering different areas each week. As we progress with the site, there will be numerous discussions on Poker Player Styles, as well as all the other topics here.

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