Poker is a game which is being played with normal set of 52 cards. Poker is a of course a gambling game which involves luck and skill both to ace it. In poker, players make bets against each other depending on the value of their poker hand or the cards they got. Bets are usually made with plastic chips or coins of different colours.
Poker players are classified into categories according to how they play. Lets learn all four types of poker players with few detail.
The Rock (tight-passive)
These players only plays few hands and rarely bets and with very rarely raises.
Benefits of tight-passive play
•Limitation leads to reduced losses
•This seems to be a good strategy, and let other players take care of betting and bluffing.
Disadvantages of the tight-passive play
•Being following a passive way of playing, a Rock is not getting the maximum profits from good hands and giving opponents the chance to draw him out on dangerous boards
Optimal strategy for playing against a Rock
•If a rock bets or even raises preflop you should only play the very best starting hands and fold the rest of the hole cards as they bet when there is minimal risk.
The Calling Station (loose-passive)
A calling station plays a lot of starting hands, but rarely bets or raises. It is virtually impossible to play this loose-passive style and make a profit in online poker.
Benefits of the loose-passive play
•if the effective stacks are very large then this strategy can profit from high implied odds
Disadvantages of the loose-passive play
•Like as the Rock, the Calling Station is not getting the maximum profit from his strong hands and is not sufficiently protecting his made hands against draws
•Since this player type also plays too many weak hands, he constantly has the risk of only holding the second best hand in the game (eg, AT vs AK on a board like K-T-4 or A-J-2)
Optimal strategy for playing against a Calling Station
•Against a Calling Station you should only bet if you have good hands, do not try to bluff a Calling Station as he will call your bluffs anyway
•With strong hands, try to make higher than usual pre-flop raises if the Calling Station is already in the hand or sitting in the blinds
•If a loose-passive player bets, you should fold your medium strength hands
The TAG (tight aggressive)
A TAG plays few hands and is a player who frequently bets or raises, but only rarely makes calls. Most multitabling-regulars in SnG’s and MTT’s play this style of poker.
Benefits of tight-aggressive playing style
•Restriction on the good starting hands, which limits losses and simplifies the game (important for multi-tabling)
•Thanks to the aggressive play a successful strategy, since a TAG can either win by holding the better hand or by making the opponent fold
Disadvantages of the tight-aggressive playing style
•Due to the tight playing style the hand ranges of a TAG become easily readable. Attentive opponents will quickly adapt their game to TAG players
•There is an increased risk to lose the whole stack when holding a strong, but not very strong hand such as top pair, top kicker
Optimal strategy for playing against a TAG
•As he plays tight, try stealing his blinds if you are sitting in late position
•If a TAG bets or raises pre-flop, you should fold all but the very best starting hands. Play these hands aggressively and always re-raise with AA, KK, QQ (and sometimes JJ and AKs)
•If you play out of position against a TAG and hold a strong hand, then check to him on the flop: TAGs usually make continuation bets, regardless whether they hit the flop or not
•Overall, a tight-aggressive strategy in poker in the most profitable one. Try to learn the TAG strategy by yourself and try to avoid or limit the number of TAG players at your table
The LAG (loose aggressive)
A LAG plays many hands and is a player who frequently bets and raises, but only rarely calls bets. Some poker tournament pros use this strategy with great success, but this is also a high-risk strategy and should not be used by inexperienced players.
Benefits of the loose-aggressive style of play
•Because of playing many different starting hands, it is difficult to have a read on a LAG player
•The image of playing loose-aggressive can make opponents wrongly assume that the LAG is always bluffing
•Thanks to aggressive play a successful strategy, because a LAG can either win with the best hand or by making his opponent fold
Disadvantages of the loose-aggressive style of play
•A LAG must be able to know when he is beaten and fold his hands (which will often be the case), otherwise he will lose lots of money with this strategy
Optimal strategy for playing against a LAG
•If you’re a good player yourself, you can play more hands than usual against a LAG, as you will usually be a pre-flop favourite against his wide range of starting hands
•When a LAG bets before the flop, you can raise with your strong hands in order to isolate him
•If the LAG has position on you, you can often check and wait to raise his bets
The Nit and the Maniac
In addition, there are two other common types of poker players
•The Nit: a coward who folds most of the very few (<15%) starting hands he plays to bets from opponents. Many Rocks and some TAGs are Nits. If a Nit calls your bet, you can assume that he has a strong hand
•The Maniac: a very loose and very aggressive player. Against a Maniac, it is important to avoid tilt if he wins with cards like 64s. Stay cool, in the long run he will lose all his chips to other players at the table