Four Types of Poker Player

 

Loose-passive, loose-aggressive, tight-passive and tight-aggressive. These are the four basic types of poker player. Then, within each of these types, there are different gradations; for example, at the extreme end of the loose-aggressive spectrum, we find the "maniac", a player who not only goes to most hands, but also raises all the time, practically without taking into account the cards he is holding. But in this article I will focus on commenting on the typical characters of each group of players.

 

All poker players have a natural tendency to play in a certain way. For most players, their natural tendency will cause them to lose money as they will play too many or too few hands, too aggressively or too passively. However, with a little effort we can all learn to play with a winning style.

 

It is important that we identify what our natural tendency is; that will be the first step in correcting our mistakes. It is also important that we recognize the style of the players who sit at our table; this way we can neutralize their strategy, and exploit their flaws if they are lazy players, or leave if they make things too difficult for us.

 

Loose-passive

 

The loose-passive player goes to a lot of hands pre-flop and call a lot post-flop. He has a tremendous need to participate in as many hands as possible, and he often holds out to the end without having the slightest chance of winning. It goes without saying that loose-passive players, also known as “calling stations”, have a total disregard for the pot odds.

 

Players in this group play for purely recreational purposes and are repeat losers. As it is easy to deduce, they are the type of players that we are most interested in having at our table. Bluffing doesn't work against them, and it is certain that periodically they will hit us with hateful bad beats, but if a tight-aggressive player plays enough hands with them, he will inevitably end up pocketing the money.

 

What should we do if our natural tendency is to play loose-passive? Two things. Play fewer hands, and play our favorite hands to win more aggressively. Of these two things, the most important is the last one, because although there are players who win playing loose (especially in no-limit), players who win playing passively do not exist. Passivity in poker is incompatible with winning game. So it's about making fewer calls and more raises.

 

When playing against a loose-passive we must refrain from bluffing and never slowplay when we have a good hand, as we know that they will callus with anything. When they raise us, we should fold unless we have a good play, since they sure do.

 

Loose-aggressive

 

The loose-aggressive player goes to many hands and plays them aggressively. He does a lot of re-raises and a lot of bluffs. Although most of these players lose in the long run, they are dangerous players, especially those who have the loose side of their game under control. In no-limit Hold'em tournaments, luckily they accumulate chips quickly and become the dominant forces at the table they occupy. In cash games it is less uncomfortable to play against them (the blinds do not go up and you can wait for a good play to catch them).

 

Due to the number of hands they play and the aggressiveness with which they play them, the advantage these players have is that they get a lot of action when they make good plays. That means that when they have a streak of good cards they get big wins. Normally, when a tight-aggressive player loses a lot of money in a session, most of that money ends up in the hands of ar loose-aggressive player. Allan Schoomaker, the poker psychiatrist, argues in his book, "The Psychology of Poker," that r loose-aggressive players have a drive for prominence and a great need for action. And really, they get huge doses of both.

 

If our natural tendency is to play loose-aggressively, we should strive to reduce the number of hands we play, discarding mostly trash suited hands such as J5s and others with negative expectation, going to fewer pre-flop raises with hands that can be dominated (AJ, KQ ...), and learn to fold when it is evident that someone else has a better move.

 

When facing a loose-aggressive player we must lower our requirements when evaluating the plays with which we continue post-flop, since we know that many times this type of player goes with nothing or very little. We must also raise with less good plays than usual (especially on the river), but instead we must dose the bluffs. It is good to be seated to the left of a player who is very loose-aggressive, since this way we can “isolate” him when he raises pre-flop, with hands like A-10, for example; Of course, for this, the rest of the table must allow us (if they play well, they will realize what we are doing and they will re-raises us frequently).

 

Tight-passive

 

The players in this group, also known as "rocks", play few hands and play them passively. They only bet big when they are sure they have the best hand, which makes their winnings small on many of the hands they win. One of the downsides of playing like this is that vigilant opponents notice when these players have a great play and can fold without incurring further losses. The tight-passive player gives little action and consequently receives little action.

 

The tight-passive player does not usually suffer sudden variations in bankroll. The graph of his monetary evolution draws a gentle but steady slope. The sessions where they win big are very sporadic. Other players have a hard time ripping a good chunk of their stack out of them, but it's even harder to lose a lot of money to them.

 

To improve their game, players in this group must lose their fear of gambling. They have to get used to the idea that to win money in a poker hand it is not usually necessary to carry the nuts, but simply to have a positive expectation.

 

When we play with a tight-passive at the table, having him on our left is ideal, that way we can steal the blinds with impunity. On the flop we can win the pot by betting (especially if low cards come out), but if he calls us and we don't have anything, we should think about giving up to continue betting on the turn. Of course, we must give in to the slightest sign of aggression on the part of one of these players (that is, if we do not have a hand good enough to win the hand that he may be raising with). If the showdown is reached with a tight-passive it is usually better to check if we talk first, unless we have a better play than the one with which he can call us.

 

Tight-aggressive

 

Their game is selective and they bet hard when they have the upper hand. Most players who follow this style have learned to play this way, since it is not usual to play with control spontaneously. A good tight-aggressive player takes pot odds and implied odds into account when going to a hand with a play draw, re-raises to protect his hands against multiple players, and wisely chooses times to slowplay, steal the blinds and bluffing (it should be noted that not all tight-aggressive players are good).

 

It is the hardest group of players to beat, many professionals belong to it, so if we find ourselves at a table with several of them, the best we can do is get up and let someone else take our seat. It is the group of players to which we should aspire to belong, especially if we play in money games of limit Hold'em (as we know, the best players in the world of no-limit Hold'em are loose-aggressive, but reach that level it is difficult task).

 

When we play against them we should study their game and try to detect betting patterns. There are players who never bluff check-raise, for example. There are players who always or almost always who raise on the turn take the winning move (and consequently they can be folded). When you know the individual style of a tight-aggressive player, you can often read his game. Unless, of course, his behavior varies frequently against the same type of play, in which case we will be dealing with a tricky player.

 

Tricky vs straightforward

 

Regardless of the group to which he belongs, the tricky player makes unexpected moves and varies his game; He sometimes bets hard when he has a mediocre play and sometimes cheats with his best hands, making him a difficult opponent to guess. Most tricky players belong to the loose-aggressive and tight-aggressive types. Playing deceptively is a must in short-handed games (with 3-5 players), but in low-stakes full ring games you can win without using too many pretense tactics.

 

The straightforward player uses a direct style and does not tend to vary his game to disorient opponents. That makes it an easy player to read.

 

Tight/Loose and Loose/Tight

 

There are players who are loose pre-flop and instead play tight post-flop; and vice versa, there are players who play tight pre-flop, but when the flop comes out they no longer know how to fold. At low stakes, there is no shortage of tight-aggressive players who are loose post-flop; these players fight for every pot and never fold AK, which costs them dearly in the long run.