Poker Style
Know your poker opponent
Most players have their own unique playing style. It’s important for a poker player to determine what type of player he/she is in order to make wise decisions while playing. Knowing the different types of players is also very important in enabling one to decide what moves to make in response to these players. Broadly speaking, there are four main categories of player; Tight-passive, Loose-passive, Tight-aggressive and Loose-aggressive which we explain in more detail below. Once you learn how to spot your opponent’s playing style, you’ll not only have a better chance of beating them, but you’ll get a greater insight into your own style and be able to assess how easily your opponents may be able to read you. The best poker players mix up their playing styles to become unpredictable and dangerous to the competition.
Tight-passive
Tight-passive players are those players who will only make a raise or call when they are holding very strong hands. They tend not to make risky moves and would rather fold if their cards are weak. If a tight-passive player raises or calls to your move, you’d better have some very good cards to back up your next move if you don’t intend to fold.
Loose-passive
Loose-passive players on the other hand will continuously raise their opponents bet. Such players tend to rise even with weak cards. They rarely consider the consequences. It’s therefore very risky to bluff with a loose-passive player because it’s very difficult to determine whether they truly have weak or strong cards.
Tight-aggressive
Tight-aggressive players are players who make their moves in a very bold manner once they’re sure they have the best cards. They tend to play only good hands and will bluff only occasionally. Once a tight-aggressive player rises, it’s usually more obvious that he/she will go with the pot.
Loose-aggressive
Loose-aggressive players are mostly professional players. However, they always tend to mix their aggressiveness with their passiveness. Loose-aggressive players are those who don’t have a problem doing ‘all-in’ and they do this even with very weak cards. They will however occasionally have very strong cards and thus, it’s difficult to read their games. Pros in poker often apply the loose-aggressive method but tend to switch to a passive method every once in a while to avoid giving themselves away and in order to always keep their opponents guessing.
Poker pro’s; style council
Pros in poker have their own way of psychologically defeating their opponents and walking away without really giving away their game plan. For example, Phil Hellmuth has a reputation of always being very arrogant towards other players. He will openly criticize other players and portray arrogance towards them straight to their face. He can however not be criticized for his poker prowess given the number of titles under his name. He has won several bracelets at the WSOP and also has a string of victories in many other real cash tournaments and games.
Hellmuth will apply an aggressive touch to his game but repetitively bet low. This enables him to predict his opponent’s game after the flop and is able to read the game with time while making smaller bets eventually ending up spending very few chips before ultimately bringing the pot home.
Barry Greenstein is another professional poker player with amazing poker playing skills. This player does not play aggressively but rather in a more calculating manner. Many new players to be at a table with Greenstein will initially ignore him and figure he’s a poor poker player. But behind his humbleness and quietness, he is one of the best poker players out there who truly has mastered his skill of analyzing his games.