Poker, Knowing your Opponents and How to Beat Them!

Most players fall into one of four categories or styles of play and then try their best to disguise this to the best of their abilities. Once you know what to look for you will very quickly be able to place your opponents into one of these groups and begin to work out a strategy how best to beat them.

The 4 categories are:

1) Tight-Passive
A tight-passive player is one that typically won’t raise or call unless they are confident they have a particularly strong hand. They are seen as weak players who can be pushed off most hands since they are risk averse. If you suddenly notice them bravely placing a bet or moving “all in” then chances are they have a great opening hand or have flopped a monster. In most cases you would be wise to stand aside and let them claim the occasional pot unless you are sure you have them clearly beat. This style of player is normally one of the easiest to spot and read so you can adapt your play and beat

2) Loose-Passive
Loose-passive players are known as “calling stations” as they will call most hands and will very seldom fold once they have seen the flop if they have any sort of cards. Most amateurs known as “fish” will fall into this category as they have yet to learn the art of patience and are just happy to be in the game. They will often call and check with medium pairs and high cards in the hope of a lucky turn or river card, and annoyingly sometimes they do get lucky. In most instances it will prove difficult to bluff these players off a hand with a raise as they will just call the bet hoping for divine intervention.

Be prepared to raise with a decent hand but be careful of the bet size as too large will only scare off your opponent. The use of continuation bets will enable you to build the pot throughout the hand as you look to take as many chips as you can.

3) Tight-Aggressive
Tight-aggressive players tend to play very few hands, only the best will do. Beware should they have one they will bet aggressively and try and take a large proportion of your chip stack. This type of player will seldom bluff and chooses their hands carefully before playing. Instead of limping in they will play the percentages, betting and raising to stop competitors from seeing free cards and making a hand. If they make a good hand they will use large and aggressive bets on the turn and river to build up significant pots. This style of play is relatively easy to spot, so to avoid getting typed by your competitors you will need to mix up your play and throw in some bluffs as well as a few different opening hands.

4) Loose-Aggressive
Many of the most famous poker players are classified as loose aggressive, always prepared to move “all in” the true high-rollers of the Texas Holdem poker world. Known as the maniacs of the poker table these players will call and raise with little more than a 7,2 but they could just as well have a hand to really hurt you separating you from a large amount of your chips. This is what makes them the hardest style of player to read so you may well be biting your nails if you decide to go head to head. This style of play can be very effective but not without its weaknesses. I urge caution, look for tells and watch for a players betting patterns with other players before you decide to cast your hook and reel them in.

The great players of this world are able to move between the four different categories or disguise themselves in such a way making others players believe they are playing one way when in fact they are playing another. Thus setting the trap.

Identifying Playing Styles and Building Leverage.

Learning to read and play against the different types of player takes time but is most commonly determined by observing your opponents and their actions. The two critical observations that you need to make are:

1) How many hands a player typically plays

2) The players betting patterns

A person who plays relatively few hands is said to be tight and risk averse this means they only tend to play premium hands in an attempt to win the pot. Loose players on the other hand will forever pay to see the flop in the hope of making a hand on the turn or river. Clearly the frequency of hands played between the two styles of play is very different allowing you to identify the different players.

Secondly players betting patterns are either known as passive, a person who often checks and calls when compared to those players who tend to bet and raise, the aggressive players of the poker world. Between the two observations you can make some fairly strong assumptions about your competitors and estimate the types of hand that they are likely to play. This should allow you to make more informed decisions about the hands before you decide to play and hopefully increase your chances of winning.

There is no winning formula to poker, just right and wrong decisions. The more information you have hopefully enables you to make a few less wrong decisions and a few more right ones.