Learning Poker Player Types

USAPlayers.com Online Poker Poker Strategy Learning Poker Player Types

One of the best strategies for increasing your success at the poker tables is Learning Poker Player Types, and how to deal with each one of them. There are four general categories associated which just about every poker player falls into. We will discuss these different types of players you are likely to encounter and how to play effectively against each of them. Use our help to better understand your opponent, so you can step the tables at USA Poker rooms with more confidence, and leave with more cash.

Tight Passive Poker Players

The first of the Types of Poker Players is an easy player to exploit and is known as a tight passive player. These players do not play many hands and when they do play they are not playing them aggressively. They will fold most of the hands before the flop and will not take the lead in the hands that are playing. When involved in a hand they will simply call their opponents bets instead of betting into them. Instead of initiating the betting or raising their opponents, they will almost always be checking or calling when playing a hand. Appropriately these players are also called weak tight players due to not playing many hands and playing the hands they do play weakly. When facing these tight passive players it is a good idea to raise them a lot before the flop and also make a bet on the flop. More times than not this will be enough to win you pot as your opponent will likely fold their hand. A good way to take advantage of them is to bet every time they check to you as it will usually win you the pot. You should not be calling the bets of these players. It is likely that they do indeed have a big hand since they are betting, but if you are going to continue to play the pot you should raise them as they do not like to be raised and will often fold avoiding confrontation. The best way to succeed against playing the tight passive player is to routinely bet at them and bluff them at will. Tight passive players are easy to exploit and you should be happy to see them at your table.

Loose Passive Poker Players

The next of the Poker Player Types is known as a loose passive player. These players play a bunch of hands and usually check or call instead of folding or raising. These characteristics have earned the loose passive player a nickname as a calling station. It easy to spot these players as they are usually in every pot. You will almost always see them passively checking or calling a bet and rarely see them take the lead in a hand by betting themselves. Most inexperienced players fall under this category of a calling station. A good idea is to not try to bluff this type of opponent too often as they will be calling you most of the times. Remember they do not like to fold very often so it will tough to force them out of a hand. If they do actually show strength when in a hand and place a big bet at you or raise one of your bets, then it is a good idea to fold your hand as they most likely have you beat. Do not spend too much time trying to read the strength of their hands as they will play almost any two cards and truly could have anything. What you should focus on is getting plenty of value out of your good hands and bet them strongly. The calling station will live up to his name and pay you off when you bet your good hands. The loose passive player is the easiest and most profitable opponent you can play against. Bet at them when you get a good hand and do not try to bluff them very often. They will pretty much never raise your bet, so when they do show strength you can safely assume you are beat and let your hand go.

Tight Agressive Poker Players

A tight aggressive poker player is usually a good solid player who is difficult to win money from. These players are one of the most diffcult, Different Types of Poker Players you will encounter at the tables. Generally, they will not play very many hands but when they do play a hand they will be play it aggressively. When in a pot the tight aggressive player will usually be betting or raising and will rarely be checking or calling a bet. They will not be playing many hands so they likely will have a strong starting hand when they do enter the pot. To combat this you should also have a strong hand when up against this opponent. Even though this type of player does not play many hands they play the hands that they do play aggressively. A good idea is to try to trap this type of player. Whenever you have a big hand use their aggressiveness against them and let them continue to bet at you. This is an effective tactic to use against the tight aggressive player. Also you can do a good job of guessing what the tight aggressive player has in their hand and use that to your advantage. Since they do not play many pots it is a safe assumption that they have either a big pair or big cards in their hand. If the flop does not look like it helped them then you may be effective in bluffing this player. The tight aggressive player is a good type of player to try to bluff against as they will fold before the flop most of the time and will not want to play a big pot without an equally big hand. You can manage to steal their blinds and pick up small pots off of tight aggressive players, but will find it difficult to win any big pots against them since they will almost always have a huge hand when they put a lot of their money in the pot.

Loose Agressive Poker Players

The fourth type of poker player is the loose aggressive player. These are very tough opponents to play against and are the most difficult when Learning Types of Poker Players. Many of the top players in the world play this type of poker. The loose aggressive player is a very active player who likes to play almost every pot. They will be betting and raising in almost every hand and cannot be ignored at the table. This player will be frequently raising before the flop and will often fire a continuation bet after the flop. Many times you will try to fire a bluff and they will raise your bet forcing you to fold. Do not spend too much time on trying to guess what this player has since they will be playing almost all of their hands. If you have a good hand do not be afraid to play against this player, but if you want them to fold you may have to bet a large amount or even go all in since they will not easily fold. Ideally you do not want to act before this player and would like to sit to the left of them. This will allow to see what the loose aggressive player has done before deciding what you want to do. If you have a good hand definitely bet it strong and try to get as much value as you can from this player. Do not be afraid to play against this player if you believe you have a good hand. They will often have a very weak hand and will be bluffing trying to get you to fold. If you hit a good flop then go ahead and raise the loose aggressive player if he bets before you. Be prepared to take a stand against this player as he will look to put the pressure on you throughout the hand.