Find Which Poker Playing Style Suits Your Personality
Poker is more than simply a card game; it’s a people’s card game. As you progress through the levels of poker mastery, you will realize how strong this statement is. In this session, we’ll look at some of the most common poker playing styles and how to recognize them. When you see the types of decisions your opponents make, whether you’re playing online or in person, you can really pick up on their psychological and emotional patterns, which can help you figure out how to best play against them.
Although the complexity of human nature has yet to be unraveled, academics have attempted to categorize us, poker players. One such study examines poker players’ playing styles, based on which people have designed winning poker strategies. People can play poker using one or more variants of these strategies, but there are definitely several that fit your personality! So, let’s figure out which one you are:
Tight Aggressive (TAG): The bulk of pro poker players on the felts play in this style of play. When it comes to starting hands, these poker players are incredibly picky. Most of the time, they won’t enter the pot with trash hands. A TAG normally plays 18% to 25% of the hands in a poker cash game, depending on the game. Rather than checking and calling, TAGs like to gamble and raise.
The tight-aggressive player rarely plays many pots. They are picky and only play the strongest starting hands. A tight-aggressive player, unlike a tight-passive player, will play their cards aggressively. They are patient and wait for the ideal opportunity to present themselves, yet they are not averse to wagering. Because a tight-aggressive strategy is typically beneficial, regardless of the game variant or betting structure, the best tight-aggressive players have often been dubbed “sharks.” Most astute opponents will avoid a confrontation with a tight-aggressive player because they will feel they have the best hand and fold under pressure.
Tight-Passive: A typical tight-passive player does not play many pots and instead prefers to call pre-flop when they have a good hand. They’ll play so tight that everyone else will fold when they do. As a result, even when they have a solid hand, they are unable to profit. This type of player is also known as a ‘rock’ or a ‘nit,’ and their general style of play is known as ‘weak-passive.’ They’re simple to bluff, and they’ll often fold to scary board cards like an Ace. Players who are extremely fearful may get paralyzed and refuse to take shots. This is due to their proclivity for playing with a dread of losing. Players who have recognized a weak, predictable player will be on the lookout for scenarios that can be exploited simply because the tight-passive player succumbs to aggression too frequently.
Loose Aggressive (LAG): These traits are most common in losing poker players, but they often make far more than TAGs. In online poker games, this style of play necessitates more skill than the TAG style. So, if you’re generating money while displaying this type of play, you must be a fantastic poker player. Because they play such a wide range of hands, they can be exceedingly tough to read. Some very strong players in no-limit hold ’em use a loose-aggressive style of play to great effect. They utilize their chips as weapons and put pressure on their opponents all the time. They are difficult to play against since they bluff a lot of the time. The maniac,’ on the other hand, is at the extreme end of the loose-aggressive scale, who appears to raise without rhyme or reason. Due to the maniac’s proclivity for overplaying his cards, you will almost certainly be exposed.
Loose Passive: Loose-passive players enjoy limping into a large number of pots. They’ll call raises “just to see a flop” and stay in the hand if they hit any of it, no matter how insignificant. They rarely take chances or get aggressive in their plays, and when they do, they tend to be “calling stations.” Their entire strategy for playing poker is to sit back and watch while others take the risks. Many novices, as well as experienced players, can get into the trap of just calling, calling, calling. This is especially true in games with low buy-ins. They’re easy to spot and easy to catch. You won’t be able to bluff them, unlike the tight-passive players — you never want to bluff a calling station! When you do get a strong hand, however, you should go for value and milk it as much as possible.
