Different Poker Player Styles

In poker, it’s important the you understand the different poker player styles you will encounter whilst at the table. When you first sit down at a table, one of the first things you want to do is to be able to identify the different poker playing styles of every player at the table.

It would be impossible to know how to play your opponents if you didn’t understand their playing style and tendencies. Its crucial that you learn how to read your opponents in a poker game. There is a saying in poker, “play your opponent and not your cards”.  Have you noticed the best professional poker players can still manage to win poker games when they are card dead? Because they are playing their opponents, not their cards! Think of it like a war when you sit down on the felt, and you want to beat down your opponents.

For the most part, reading your opponents comes down to identifying their poker playing style. If you know what poker player style they are, you can more accurately put them on a range of hands. So even if you don’t have a hand yourself, you can put them to tough decisions if you don’t think they have a hand either.

What are the different poker player styles? There are big differences between the different playing styles, so let me explain the four most common poker player styles you will find at the table.

1. LAG (Loose Aggressive)

Loose aggressive players will play many hands, but play them very aggressively. It can seem like they are involved in every pot. Hyper aggressive players are maniacs and for the most part are just spewing money. Smart LAGs can be tough to play though. This player is susceptible to very big swings because LAGs are always involved in big pots to put the pressure on their opponents. Their aggressive playing style will enable them to get paid off big when they have a big hand because everyone thinks they are bluffing, so when they’re running good they will have epic upswings, but can also lose a lot when card dead.

2. TAG (Tight Aggressive)

Tight aggressive players will play fewer hands, but play them very aggressively. It’s the most popular player style adopted by online poker players. If you play this style well, there is no reason why you shouldn’t do well – they typically maximize value of their big hands and minimize their losses because they play fewer hands.

3. LP (Loose Passive)

Loose passive players will play many hands, and play them very passively (by passively I mean less raising and more calling and checking) These type of players tend to be weak/fish and are also labelled as calling stations because they have a difficult time finding the fold button. You definitely want to be sitting down at a table full of LP players!

4. TP (Tight Passive)

Tight passive players will play fewer hands, but play them very passively (so lots of calling and checking). They are also labelled as rocks. There is the misconception that rocks is a winning strategy to play, which the truth is that most rocks would be marginal winning players. They tend to win because they only play premium hands, but fail to maximize value because they are not aggressive with their monster hands, but do minimize their losses. The big problem with this playing style is its very predictable. Experienced players will know when they are beat when involved in a pot against a rock, so they are not getting paid off. Tight passive players get very little action because they are so rarely involved in a hand that even the fish can sense they are beat.

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