|
The Type of Players |
|
|
|
Every successful player
knows that there are not
only "bad" and "good"
players. It's not that
easy and there are
different types of
players you should know: |
|
|
|
Loose player: |
|
|
|
This player is playing
far too many starting
hands. He calls a raise
with J6 just to see what
develops on the flop. He
calls with any two
suited cards because he
might flop a flush. Most
of the beginners are
playing too loosely.
After seeing some flops
with weak hands, he
loses chip after chip.
Of course you can hit a
good flop with any two
cards, even 72 but it's
highly unlikely. To make
money with an 85 you
have to hit trips like
A88 and not 5AJ giving
you bottom pair. If you
played some poker hands
you have to know this
type of player because
there are plenty of them
around the tables. |
|
|
|
Tight players: |
|
|
|
For most people Poker is
supposed to be fun and
sitting there waiting
for very good hands
isn’t fun. So a big
share of players are
loose and the opposite,
tight players, are rare.
They are waiting for the
right starting hands
like QQ, AK, TT and so
on. |
|
|
|
These were the
categories before the
flop. Let's take a look
at different types of
players after the flop: |
|
|
|
Passive players: |
|
|
|
Usually, passive players
don't raise. They just
call over and over
again, even with worse
hands and draws. Their
first mistake is to call
too often and the second
is not to extract enough
money from their good
hands because they raise
and bet too rarely.
|
|
|
|
Aggressive: |
|
|
|
This player likes to
bet, raise and re-raise.
If an aggressive player
has a good hand, he bets
and raises. If he's on a
draw he plays
aggressively. An
aggressive player rarely
calls. He wants to have
control over the betting
and to take the lead.
|
|
|
|
Now, we have the
pre-flop and post-flop
categories and in
general there are four
types of players: |
|
|
|
Loose-passive
player: |
|
|
|
Also called fish. The
fish plays far too many
hands (loose) and plays
passively after the
flop. He calls again and
again and he wants to be
involved in most of the
pots. He doesn't believe
in odds and pot odds and
just keeps calling with
weak draws and hands
because „it might be
good“ or „the right card
must come on the river“.
This is the player
you’re happy to find at
the table because he's
so easy to exploit. |
|
|
|
Loose-aggressive
player: |
|
|
|
A very loose-aggressive
player is called a
maniac. You find some of
them online and even
more of them in card
rooms. This guy wants to
play every pot (loose)
and he wants to play
aggressively. He makes
huge raises before the
flop and keeps on
betting and raising
after the flop. Beating
him is not as easy as
beating the fish but in
the long term he loses
because of his lack of
starting hand
requirements and his too
aggressive play after
the flop |
|
|
|
Tight-passive
player: |
|
|
|
This player is called
rock. He only plays the
very best hands but
plays them passively. If
he has JJ, he might
raise before the flop
but if there's a single
over card, he backs down
and thinks he's beaten.
A very tight-passive
player is called a
weak-tight player. This
guy always thinks there
are monsters under his
bed and if there's any
single card that might
kill his nuts he often
check folds because he
thinks he must be
beaten... |
|
|
|
Tight-aggressive
player: |
|
|
|
All the other players
are playing quite badly.
Thus, there must be a
category that beats all
the others. And here it
is: The tight-aggressive
playing style. Such a
player is also called
"shark". The shark plays
only quality hands but
he plays them
aggressively. If he
enters a pot, he raises.
If he thinks he's ahead
after the flop, he bets
and raises to defend his
hand. If he's on a draw
he bets and raises and
might win the pot
without showing his
hand. |
|
|
|
As a future successful
player you have to learn
the tight-aggressive
style. And not enough:
you have to pay
attention to your
opponents and classify
them. As a
tight-aggressive player
you're not playing every
pot, only about every
fourth hand. If you have
folded, you should pay
attention to the other
players and try to
categorize them. If you
see a player limping and
limping and almost never
raising or betting, then
you can be quite sure
that you found a fish, a
loose-passive player.
|
|
|
