Why Categorize Poker Players?

By categorizing players into specific groups you are able to make certain assumptions about their play. These assumptions will enable you to play closer to an optimal strategy against that player. You need to learn the basic player types and then learn the techniques to punish each player type.

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

   -Sun Tsu, The Art of War

Aggression

When discussing a player’s level of aggression the two primary groups that we put them into are passive and aggressive.

Passive: A passive player generally elects to check rather than bet, or call rather than raise. Passive players do not win pots by making their opponent fold. Because they do not make their opponents fold, they must always have the best hand to win.

Aggressive: An aggressive player is more comfortable betting or raising rather than calling and checking. By playing aggressively, a player will pick up many pots without holding the best hand. This opponent type is much more difficult to play against than the passive player because they will always keep you guessing and cause you to make mistakes either by folding the best hand or calling with the worst hand.

Tightness

A player’s willingness to put money in the pot is defined as loose or tight.

Loose: A loose player likes to play a wide range of starting hands. They also don’t like giving up after the flop and will often call bets with marginal holdings. Overly loose players are seldom bluffed off the best hand, but often lose at showdown.

Tight: Tight players have a very specific starting hand requirement. They are fine folding often before the flop. After the flop a tight player must have a stronger than average hand to continue putting money in the pot. Due to the tight player’s strong starting hands and ability to fold post flop, they will often show down the best hand, but will lose many pots to bluffs.

The Poker Player Categories

Loose Passive (LP): Loose passive players can be very profitable to play against. They tend to call bets with very weak holdings and they seldom bet or raise as a bluff. You should play very straightforward against these players. Bet relentlessly when you have a strong hand and check/fold when you don’t. They key to profit against these players is simply to bet for maximum value rather than trying to get tricky.

Tight Passive (TP): Tight passive players can be frustrating to play against. They fold often before the flop, and must have a strong hand in order to continue after the flop. They seldom bet or raise unless they have a very strong hand. This player type seldom loses big pots, however, they will lose many small pots. In order to beat this player type you must bet frequently in order to pick up pots and be willing to give up when faced with resistance.

Loose Aggressive (LAG): A loose aggressive player will play a wide range of starting hands, and he will play them aggressively. This type of player is difficult to play against because they always put you in tough spots where you are unsure of what to do. This pressure often causes a player to make incorrect decisions. In order to beat a LAG you must pick spots to counter their aggression and sometimes make thin calls with marginal holdings.

Tight Aggressive (TAG): Tight aggressive players play a select group of starting hands. The main difference between the TAG and the tight passive player is that the TAG is willing to bet and make big raises both with their strong hands and as bluffs. This willingness to make bets as bluffs makes the TAG more difficult to play against than their passive counterpart. In order to exploit a TAG’s tendencies, a LAG style can be used. Playing with a LAG style makes it more difficult to read your hand and you can use that to punish a TAG by betting and raising with a wider range.

Remain Flexible

Playing optimal poker means adjusting your strategy in ways that will enable you to exploit your opponent. While a loose passive style may not be ideal against most opponents, it may be perfect when you’re faced with a maniac (a LAG on steroids, and crack). When the maniac continues with his relentless aggression, utilizing a LP style will let him continue betting as a bluff while you sit there calling him down. It sounds easy, but when faced with two barrels and a river shove, and you’re holding second pair, it takes some monster cajones to click the call button.

My next article on player types will discuss specific strategies to use in order to combat player tendencies.