Playing styles


01 Feb , 2010 - Posted by Dan Brown in Playing Styles

One of the great things about poker is that there is no set way to play. Whether you are playing in a tournament or in cash game, you pay your money and you are entitled to play however you like, as long as it is within the rules. Highlighted below are a number of styles that you should be able to identify after you download poker software and start to play your favourite game.

A popular choice of style is tight-aggressive. As the name suggests, the style is based around being selective with your starting hands and being aggressive when you do enter a pot. Tight-aggressive players, or TAGs, are usually at an advantage when they enter a pot as they play mainly premium and strong hands and they will bet, raise and check-raise in order to win the pot. They are usually positionally aware and will play tight in early position and loosen their requirements when they are seated closer to the button.

Players who try to play a TAG style often finish up being tight-passive instead. Tight-passive players usually play too tightly and when they do have a hand. They rarely bet or raise it in fear of someone having a better hand. Often dubbed “calling stations” a tight-passive player is very profitable to play against as they will call your bets on every street and only raise if they have the absolute nuts, allowing you to fold.

A popular and dangerous style to play and face is the loose-aggressive or LAG. A true LAG is a formidable opponent as they play a wide array of hands, from any position and put constant pressure on their opponents. The best LAG in the business is probably Phil Ivey, a player who observes everyone at the table and acts accordingly. His cards do not actually matter to him. To beat a good LAG you need to set a trap and let them bet into you or be prepared to call them down lightly.

Similarly to players wanting to play a TAG style, wannabe LAGs often end up playing a loose-passive style. This is the worst and least profitable style of poker you can play. As the name suggests this type of player generally plays a lot of hands but prefers to call rather than show any aggression. They key to beating these players is to value bet hands even as weak as top pair and expect to be called all the way. Again, these players are very profitable to play against but the variance can be higher as they will showdown all sorts of crazy holdings.

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