When playing poker, it is important that you study your opponents and classify them so that you have a rough idea on how you will play against them and how they will react to your moves. Studying one’s opponents doesn’t have to be so difficult, especially since you can do it when you’re not doing anything else. For example, if you folded early because your hand was poor, you can use this time to study your opponents, their hands, and the way they play. You don’t have to give each of them a separate character profile. That would be too tedious and far too unrealistic. All you need to do is to classify them into these four basic types: Passive – Aggressive and Loose – Tight. 

 

Loose and Tight refers to how they handle their money. If they throw it away like tissue paper, then they’re loose. If, however, their moves are very conservative, and they avoid risking their chips if they can, then they are tight. Passive and Aggressive, on the other hand, refers to how they play their hands. If they raise often and play several hands, then they are aggressive. Those who fold often, and are content to just check and call, are passive.

 

Loose/passive players can either be hellions or godsends. For those who want to play a good game, loose/passive players can prove to be very boring and very predictable opponents. But for those who simply want to win, loose/passive players can make rather good ‘golden geese’ – they lose money slowly but steadily. Their bets are usually very conservative when they do raise, only risking a very small portion of their pot. And so, even when they do win, they still cannot maximize their winnings. Loose/Passive players are labeled as ‘fish’, indicating that they’re just fodder for the so-called ‘sharks’ or the pro players.

 

Another type of player is the tight/passive player. You’ll recognize these guys easily because they rarely play their hands. They always wait for a good hand to come their way, and they fold if the hand is just mediocre. When they do get a good hand, though, they’re still rather inactive. They tend to just check and call, and rarely ever raise. While this type of conservative play is good for saving money, it also means that the winnings are never maximized.

 

Loose/aggressive players are like loose cannonballs in the felt. They bet and raise aggressively, and they rarely fold or simply check. As such, they’re the ones whom you will always notice. They tend to be talkers too, so they’re really easy to spot. These players are rather dangerous because they tend to bluff outrageously and they usually have the guts to back up their bluffs with big bets. This makes the more passive players fold hands that are good.

 

Tight/aggressive is generally said to be the most effective playing style of all. They never play weak hands and always wait for good ones. When they do come upon a good hand, they bet aggressively, and never check or call. This not only maximizes the pot, but it also puts other players on defensive, inducing them to make more mistakes.