Types of Poker Players

 

Players that fall into this category will win many games because of the simple fact that there are so many bad players in the poker world today. That being said, for an experienced player, though, this type of player can often be the best to play against. Basically, they’re the cheap skates of the poker world. They’re the kind of people that enjoy gambling, without the gambling part.

 

Tight - Passive players, as their name suggests, are very tight with their money. Very rarely will you see a tight - passive player bet, or even call, with a weak hand. Even more rarely than that will you see a tight - passive player bluff. It’s just not how they play. If they’re going to bet, they’re going to bet big - and have the cards to back it up. These facts alone, however, make this type of player very easy to recognize. When you’re playing with a tight - passive player, you’ll know it. Furthermore, you’ll know how to control their play, and, ultimately, beat them.

 

 

          - Will stay in the game for a long time.
          - Rarely go on tilt.
          - Doesn’t waste chips.
          - Will take down some of the biggest pots.

 

 

          - Won’t win a lot of pots.
          - Their strategy revolves a lot on the luck of the draw. If they don’t get good cards, 

            they won’t win.
          - Can be bluffed out of pots if the bet is big enough.
          - Rarely change pace.
          - Extremely easy to recognize.

 

 

This type of player is extremely timid when playing. Use this to your advantage. If they’re checking a lot during a hand, or if they’re just calling your small bets, they probably don’t have much better than middle pair. With good timing, you can probably bet big and scare them off. If this type of player isn’t betting large sums of money, they probably don’t have much. They’re very cautious and susceptible to bluffs - use this to your full advantage.

 

 

Most pros will fall into this category, and if you ever want to be successful, this type of play is what you should strive for. This type of player will only play premium hands dealt to them, and once they get a solid hand, they’ll play it to its fullest, extracting the most money they can from it. Expect raises. Bluffs could be common with this type, but tells, however, will definitely not be. Be wary of a player of this type. If you don’t know what you’re doing, they’ll take your chips in no time.

 

 

          - Play cards to their fullest.
          - Almost no tells.
          - Don’t throw away chips.
          - Will play only premium hands.

 

 

          - Can be prone to slow playing.
          - Will sometimes miss out on a pot because of folding pre-flop.
          - Wins less pots than looser players.

 

 

This type of player can often be the most difficult to take down. They will only play the best pre-flop hands, and usually have the best hand going into the river. If you hit a monster flop, though, by slow playing, you will often entice them to bet big, hoping to scare you away. It’s the classic check-raise situation. This technique will often pay off huge for you, but leave them in quite a bind, possibly putting them on tilt. Very rarely will you bluff this type of player out of a pot - you’ll have much better odds beating them in a showdown. Milk all you can out of this player, as you may only get one chance to do so.