If you have at least 2-3 poker games under your belt, chances are extremely high that you have faced at least some of the following types of opponents. Here are the 7 most common types of poker players in terms of personality and playing style.
Which category do you fall into? Do you have friends who play one of these styles?
TAG – Tight Aggressive
Description: Tight-Aggressive is the name that characterizes top poker players. Those who rarely enter the game, only with premium hands, and when they do, play aggressively on the flop and post-flop.
Strategy to follow against a TAG poker player
As a rule, it is good to believe such a player when he bets a lot post-flop and take into account that he bluffs quite rarely. On another note, if you’re going to get into a hand with a TAG player who raised preflop, you’d better avoid doing it with hands like KJ, QJ, QT, Ax. Most of the time you will be dominated, so you can try to call with suited connectors (like 7-8 clubs).
LAG – Loose Aggressive
Description: A LAG (Loose Aggressive) poker player plays more starting hands than those in the first category (TAG). This style of play can often be even more profitable than TAG, but it clearly requires more skill, so it takes a lot of experience to be able to practice this style successfully.
Strategy to follow against a LAG poker player
Playing more hands preflop, it is clear that LAG players bluff more often than TAG players. However, being highly experienced players, it will be very difficult to tell when they are bluffing and when they actually have a strong hand. This is because they will usually keep the same betting lines.
NIT
Description: Extremely tight player, also called “bunker” or “shark”. A style quite similar to TAG, but the starting hand selection is even more rigorous, so they will only play premium hands, in the vast majority of cases.
Strategy to follow against a NIT poker player
The best way to take advantage of the weaknesses of this style of play is to always try to steal the blinds of a NIT. If they call, try a C-bet on the flop but be prepared to fold the hand if you get another call. Just like if you’re facing a TAG player, avoid playing 2nd tier hands (such as AT or A plus anything lower than T, QJ, JT, KT) as you have a high chance of “hitting” better hands (AK, AQ, AJ, KQ), in which case you will be “milked” many times.
PASSIVE FISH
Description: Fish are the “salt and pepper” of any poker table, and the passives are the ones who play almost every hand. Check/Call is their favorite move, so you’ll rarely see them take the initiative. Except for the days when the luck is at its maximum, the other game sessions end badly for the “passive fish”.
Strategy to follow against a Passive Fish poker player
Try to “milk” them! That is, ask them how much to call and they will usually do so with the second pair from the bottom, maybe even the third, with Aces without a kicker and so on. If they get aggressive, consider them to have caught something good and don’t call them unless you have a hand that can take the showdown pot.
AGGRO FISH
Description: Aggressive fish are those who play a lot of hands and are extremely aggressive (like betting the Pot, then the Pot, and the Pot again). Very often they go all-in on the flop, turn or river, so playing against them is not that easy.
Strategy to follow against an Aggro Fish poker player
Normally, to exploit the “aggro fish” you need to have a solid range and only pay them when you have something good. Beware of the frustrations that arise when a fish deals chips to the whole table and only against you wins with any two cards! Don’t be fooled, be patient, wait for favorable moments and in the long run you will profit from these weak and extremely aggressive players! It’s normal to get upset when the fish win, but don’t forget that the chips never stay with them for long, and in the end, they’re the ones who bring the money to the tables.
DONK
Description: They are extremely weak poker players, some of them do not even know the rules of the game properly. Many of the decisions they make at the tables are incomprehensible, so don’t bother too much!
Strategy to follow against a Donk poker player
Since they play almost every hand and make incomprehensible calls, never try to bluff them!
You will be shocked to be called with a small pair or even “nothing bigger than yours”. And if you hit a good hand, bet for value.
They usually call decent bets with very weak hands, so you can “milk” them very easily. It’s all about being patient and paying attention to bet sizes.
SHORT STACK
Description: We are not talking about the cases where a player remains short stacked at a tournament, but those players who enter the cash tables with a minimum buy-in. Thus, with relatively few chips, once they get a good hand, they have a good chance of putting all their chips in play to the river and doubling down.
Strategy to follow against a Short Stack poker player
Don’t underestimate the strength of their hands just because they have few chips! Some of the players who buy-in at the tables do so regularly and successfully, so don’t make the mistake of thinking “he’s low on chips, he’s probably all-in with any decent hand”! Last but not least, expect them to run away from the table once they double or triple their stack!
