At the top of poker strategy is the tight-aggressive style that the vast majority of successful players use. All you need to do is wait for a favorable situation and play strong hands as actively as possible. Let's take a closer look at the two components of a tight-aggressive style.
Tight style
The two-card combinations that are dealt by the dealer at the beginning of the game are called starting hands. A tight style is based on a limited number of starting hands that are more likely to be victorious. Good tight players use only about 20% of the 169 possible combinations to enter the game preflop, choosing only the strongest ones. Premium hands such as AA, KK or AK will rarely come across to you, but a lot of weak starting hands, on the contrary, will make up the majority. Please be patient and always strictly adhere to the rules, which will be detailed in the article "Preflop Basics". Remember that the starting hand charts in this article have been tested by professionals over the years and have proven to be unshakable.
Each player has many temptations that lead him to play too many hands. If you succumb to these temptations, chances are your poker career will be over before it even starts. By playing weak hands preflop, you too often put yourself in a situation where, far behind your opponent, you cannot win chips. Therefore, we will learn to play only decent hands and not allow ourselves to play weak preflop.
Aggressive play
Dan Harrington in his book "Cash by Harrington" formulated one of the fundamental principles of Texas Hold'em.
Generally, aggression (bets and raises) is better than passivity (check or call).
Aggressive poker is undoubtedly one of the ingredients for success. Don't be afraid to bet and raise and try to avoid checking and calling if you think you are ahead. Be especially wary of preflop calls as with this move, you personally give the initiative into the hands of your opponent and put yourself in a difficult situation at the very beginning of the rally.
Aggression will allow you to control the course of the game throughout the entire rally. Plus, playing aggressively gives you two chances to win. First, you can win immediately if your opponent folds. Second, you can win at showdown if your hand is stronger. But passive play can only allow you to win at showdown, if your combination is victorious.
Another advantage of being aggressive is the constant pressure on the opponent. After all, forcing your opponent to play under the onslaught of bets and raises, you can force him to make less balanced or obviously wrong decisions. And this is exactly what you need!
If you are new to poker, you may be the tight player. True, some professional players can be named as well. But there is a big difference between various tight players, as some of them use this style due to inexperience, while others, on the contrary, rely on vast experience and knowledge of a successful strategy.
Tight Poker Player Is a poker player who uses a very cautious style of play and only enters with the most promising pocket cards. But at the same time, tight players can be divided into two subtypes: tight-passive and tight-aggressive. These subtypes have their own characteristics. It is necessary to know them, as it will come in handy when forming your own style of play, as well as when assessing opponents.
Tight passive player
A tight passive style of play is used only by inexperienced players who do not know the basics of a successful trading strategy or are unable to put into practice the theoretical knowledge they possess. Such a tight poker player plays a narrow range of hands, choosing only strong hole cards to enter the trade. And even if he gets a winning combination, he continues to play it passively. Raises and raises are extremely rare. Playing in this style, the poker player suffers losses for the following reasons:
Loses money in the blinds, since he has been waiting for cards suitable for entering the trade for a long time and does not take any action to compensate for these losses;
Small pots wins, since the trading tactics do not allow a high pot to form;
Loses with promising combinations, as it allows opponents to look at the board cards cheaply and build stronger hands in later betting rounds;
It becomes predictable for opponents because of what either gets into difficult situations, or wins a small pot, making a good combination, as the opponents "read" the hand.
In this case, a tight poker player is an inexperienced player who uses cautious tactics due to uncertainty about his strength and inability to assess the potential of cards and position. For example, he behaves in the same way with the same starting cards in early and late position, enters the trade with a limp or a small increase, regardless of how many opponents are in the trade. Such a player does not use bluffing techniques and refuses even an elementary attempt to "steal" the blinds, and does not know how to defend his obligatory bets and gives up easily.
This is not to say that a tight-passive player is a loose opponent, since he has certain basic knowledge. A loose player enters into a trade with any cards, and a tight-passive player realizes that there is a certain range that is promising to play.
Vivid examples of the behavior of a tight-passive player on preflop: compares the rise of the previous opponent with pocket Aces, makes a bet with pocket queens, enters into bidding limp on the button with Ace-King. On the flop, he can fold a promising draw or fold top pair, since the opponent has bet first.
If, after reading these characteristics, you see yourself as a tight-passive player, you need to start learning how to play successfully again. First of all, you should master the following aspects of the strategy:
Starting hands - a range of hole cards suitable for playing in various conditions - taking into account the position and behavior of opponents.
Trading strategy - in what cases a player should increase in the auction, make a fold or compare the rates of opponents. What is the meaning of each of the listed solutions.
Opponents' play styles - what tactics should be used in the bidding when playing against opponents of different styles of play.
Bluffing tricks - how to use bluffing techniques and identify their use by opponents. How blinds are stolen and how to protect your own mandatory bets.
Probabilities - the chances of improving the hand and making combinations on different trading streets.
The tight-passive style cannot be profitable, so it should not be adhered to. Experienced opponents will quickly recognize a "fish" in you and will begin to create a lot of difficult situations that will lead to even greater losses.
Tight-aggressive player
Many experienced poker players play a tight-aggressive style. However, to play profitably using this style, you need to have a lot of gaming experience. The bottom line is that the player chooses only good starting hands to enter the trades, but plays them aggressively, pressing on opponents with high stakes. Even if the poker player does not make the desired combination on the flop, he often continues to rise, for example, playing a draw hand. This style has the following advantages:
When a player wins, he always gets high pots, which justifies a cautious game that incurs losses due to the loss of the blinds;
The poker player is less likely to face difficult situations postflop, since in the auction he is left to play against one or two opponents, and often takes the pot preflop without resistance. Playing with promising starting hands rarely gets you into difficult situations;
The player gains a reputation as an opponent who plays only on strong cards, which alarms opponents every time they enter the auction. This allows him to successfully use various bluffing techniques and put opponents in difficult playing positions.
An aggressive tight poker player is a strong opponent who must respect himself. It is difficult to play against them, since, together with a lot of experience, such players become unpredictable. It is not easy to know if he is bluffing or if he has a really strong hand. Plus, it's always expensive to check! Many beginners try to use this style in the game, but forget to always remain unpredictable. Therefore, an experienced tight player alternates this game with a loose or aggressive one in order to remain a "dark horse" for opponents.
A tight player can be a beginner or an experienced player. You can distinguish one from the other by the behavior in the bidding. An inexperienced opponent, playing carefully, does not realize the potential of his hands and drives himself into difficult game situations. On the contrary, an experienced poker player creates difficulties for opponents.
Each poker session consists of two types of confrontation: tight versus loose and passive versus aggressive. These parameters characterize the style of play of those sitting at the table. Let's see how it works.
Tight versus loose preflop
Tight players play a narrow range of hands usually of high value, such as A-A, A-K, A-Q, and so on.
Loose ones can flop with the most unpredictable ranges for example 7-2 offsuit.
At the same time, both types can play both passive and aggressive games with their range.
Passive play style will be accompanied by the following actions:
- the player often enters the pot by limping or calling pre-flop bets;
- periodically steals the blinds, but does it really rarely;
- in 99% of cases, the game is played based on the real strength of the hand, that is, bluffing is a rare guest in the strategic arsenal of those who choose a passive style.
Aggressive tactics are always distinguished by numerous methods of pressure:
- the player enters the bank either by raising or by 3-betting (this is the main indicator of aggressiveness);
- stealing the blinds is almost a sacred thing in the first round of betting - there is an attempt to isolate and clear the table as much as possible, right up to the heads-up game;
- bluffing when the aggressive style dominates plays the role of heavy artillery, and since events are developing aggressively, “heavy weapons” are used quite often.
Postflop
The first three cards come out on the board, the postflop begins and a new round of confrontation between the two styles.
A tight player evaluates the odds of an existing top pair or a stronger hand. Loose opponent continues to operate with marginal hands and draws.
Depending on the odds of the pot and the likelihood of coming outs on the turn and river, the passive style will either call or fold. If everything is fine with the strength of the hand, he can raise, but it should be either the second stronger pair, or something starting from the set.
The adherent of the aggressive style continues to bet, raise, re-raise and so on, despite the fact that he understands that he has a tight-passive opponent in front of him and if he goes further, then he clearly has something more powerful than 7-2 offsuit pocket and J-5-10 on the board. In turn, it is extremely difficult for a tight player to form a realistic picture of the cards of a loose-aggressive opponent.
Don't be guided by templates
Have you already decided what style you will use in your poker sessions? If so, then give yourself a crucial statement: as you gain experience, get rid of your choice at any cost! "How so?" - you ask. All of the above is just a theory, the main points of reference, but you should not use them as a template in any situation.
There is such a concept as "The ideal player". It is rarely mentioned where and, perhaps, because the ideals of the poker community are not so many. It's about a kind of band man at the poker table. He is not tight and not loose, not passive or aggressive, he is different and this is what you need to strive for. No matter what they say that any variation in an aggressive shell is the best weapon against any opponents. The best weapon is the ability to read opponents as accurately as possible and smoothly transition from one style to another, depending on what the specific situation requires.
= Tight Aggressive Style =
The tight-aggressive style is most common in full-table games. There, you simply fold all weak hands and enter the pot when you have the advantage. This usually means playing with strong hands. When you raise preflop, you usually have the best hand. When you get a call, you often cbet, because your hand will stay strong on the flop much more often than your free hand.
The problem with this tight heads-up style is that by posting the blinds every hand you can go broke waiting for premium hands. However, there is a trade-off here. By playing tight-aggressive, you can play, as in loose-aggressive style, not only premium starting hands, but become more careful about their choice. From the button, you will open with a raise from one third to half of your strongest starting hands, and limp or fold the rest of the hands. Playing in the big blind will require you to have stronger hands to raise and reraise as you will have to play out of position postflop.
We'll talk about limping and folding from the button later. In the meantime, when I talk about "playing" from the button, I mean opening a trade with a preflop raise.
On the flop, a tight-aggressive approach is more like playing a loose-aggressive style. Against an opponent who calls your raise, you will also be using continuation bets as your standard flop play. If your opponent levels your cbet or makes a 3-bet, then your further actions will be based on the strength of your hand, knowledge of the opponent and other factors. Given that you often start with good starting hands, you will be more likely to have strong hands postflop.
The main difference between styles postflop is that your requirements for continuation in a tight-aggressive style are higher. Marginal draws or weak pairs that a loose-aggressive player can bet or 3-bet with will usually be folded by a tight player. His requirements for the strength of the hands with which he is ready to continue the rally or simply stay in it will be significantly higher.
Tight-aggressive play is a kind of guarantee that you have a strong hand when you play most of the big pots. On the other hand, by playing this way, you miss out on a lot of small pots that a loose aggressive player will win with his frequent bets and raises.
The main criterion for choosing the style in which you will play is your opponent. As we already know, the tighter your opponent plays, the more loose the game you should choose. Without a strong hand, a tight opponent will often fold to your bets and raises. Loose players, on the other hand, will call your bets very often and wide, and against them you just need to collect value on your strong hands.
Another factor that determines your strategy is your postflop skills. Playing loosely aggressively, you will often find yourself in marginal situations that can only be dealt with with good postflop skills. Therefore, the better you play postflop, the more loose style you can afford.
Let's take a look at a couple of examples. In both cases, you are playing online against an unknown opponent. Blinds are $ 15- $ 30, stacks are $ 1,500. Let's compare tight-aggressive (TAG) and loose-aggressive (LAG) approaches.
- Example No. 1 -
You have J2 on the button. How will you play?
A tight-aggressive player would prefer to limp in or fold such a weak hand. In terms of strength, J2o ranks among the 25% of the weakest hands (see Appendix C: Top Starting Hands). It's hard to play postflop. So you can limp it or raise it against a weak or passive opponent, but this is not a hand that TAG will be happy to open with a raise.
In contrast, LAG will tend to raise. He will sometimes limp it too, but in most cases a loose-aggressive player will raise with any hand that has at least one picture in it. The advantage of this game is that the opponent will often give up on the early streets. And the main drawback is that you often have to make difficult decisions postflop. For example, if you have top pair on the flop with no kicker and your opponent starts to get active, would you be willing to risk a lot of your chips to get to showdown with that hand?
- Example No. 2 -
Your hand: T9
Trade: You raise to $ 90 from the button and your opponent calls. Bank - $ 180.
Flop: 842
Trade: The enemy checks. You bet $ 120. He calls. Bank - $ 420.
Terne: 7
Trade: The opponent bets $ 350.
Question: What are your next steps?
Answer: First, note that both preflop and flop were played fairly standardly for both styles. Your middle suited connectors are very strong and deserve to open preflop with a raise, but on the flop you make a conventional continuation bet.
The difference between the styles appears on the turn. The bet from the opponent is unexpected, given that you had the initiative before. Is he bluffing, betting with a draw, or attacking with a strong hand? What do his actions mean, and how should you play?
A loose-aggressive player here will raise much more often than his tight-aggressive counterpart (aggressive style makes calling such a large bet unprofitable, at least if the stacks are not deep enough 1)
LAG will argue its decision by the fact that the pot is already large, and there are enough hands in the opponent's range that he will fold to an All-In bet, and even in the case of a call, LAG's hand will have 8 outs on a straight, and possibly 6 outs for top pair. Thus, without additional information, he will often raise this bet on the turn.
The TAG, in turn, will be much less prone to semi-bluff All-In shoves. Obviously, his hand is behind, the opponent is showing strength, and only two bets are invested in the pot. The TAG will fold often and wait for a better situation to bet his chips.
This distinction between the styles is, perhaps, a little artificial. A good loose-aggressive player will often fold in this situation if he thinks his opponent is tight enough to bluff $ 350 on the turn. A good tight-aggressive player will be willing to raise if he can reasonably assume that his opponent is capable of bluffing or semi-bluffing in such a situation. The bottom line is that a loose-aggressive player is much more likely to chip into the pot by bluffing and semi-bluffing, while a tight-aggressive player is more likely to rely on the actual strength of his hand.
The main idea that you should take away from this paragraph and the two preceding ones is as follows:
In no-limit heads-up poker, you have to play aggressively.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the assignment of a name to your style does not oblige you to play only within its framework. You can play in a mixed style, changing bet sizes and your hand strength requirements as the game progresses, whenever it suits you. It will be more difficult for your opponent to read such a game and adapt to your style, but for you, such a switch will allow you to successfully exploit your opponent's style.
1 With starting stacks of $ 5,000, we can call and potentially win a very large pot if we hit our straight. If we don't get the straight, we can sometimes bluff the pot if our opponent shows weakness and checks on the river. But with 50 BB stacks against a bet that practically ties us to the pot, the options are very limited.
