Poker is not just a card game, it is a game between people in which cards are involved. As you progress and gain poker skills, you will come across situations in which you will really understand how convincing this statement is. In this article, we will look at the main existing styles of playing poker and how to identify them.
Whether you're playing online poker or a live game, watching your opponents' decisions can pick up trends, both mentally and emotionally, that will ultimately help you determine the best way to play against them.
You must have come across such a concept as LAG or TAG in poker more than once. It refers to the definition of a person's playing style at the table. But, even having figured out that LAG is a loose-aggressive player, TAG is tight-aggressive, and that there are still tight and loose-passive players, does not mean that you fully understand what this means and how this might work in your favor. In this article, we will not only help you understand who a TAG is in poker, but also how to play against it in the most effective way.
Definition of Poker Styles
Poker is a game of observation. Therefore, the first step towards determining the style of the players is to observe their general tendencies. Such a factor is a key link in achieving success in poker. Studying the tendencies of your opponents is considered a must, especially if you plan on becoming a winning player. Every action an opponent takes already means something. Why did the player x-raise or just call from that position? It should be emphasized again and again that you should always keep an eye on the game, especially when you are not in the hand (which you can be in most cases), in order to understand what your opponents are thinking and how they will act.
Poker players can be divided into two main categories, which will determine their style of playing poker. These categories are tight versus loose, and passive versus aggressive.
- A tight player usually only plays a small number of the best hands.
- A loose player plays a wide range of hands.
The name "tight" or "loose" refers to the choice of starting hands, not the way they are played. It all depends on whether the poker player will play with a narrow (tight) or wide (loose) range of hands. Tight style of poker is chosen, as a rule, by cautious poker players who are afraid of losing their stack. Loose play in poker is more "creative".
The passivity or aggressiveness of the players is reflected in their willingness to take risks.
- Passive players try to avoid confrontation and play with the fear of losing.
- Aggressive players raise more than they call and are not afraid to put their chips at risk.
Also, the passivity or aggressiveness of opponents depends on how you play against them.
How to determine the style of a poker player?
By observing your opponents, you will be able to classify them based on what you see.
The first thing to do is determine whether the player is tight or loose. If your opponent folds most of his hands, then classify him as tight. If he tends to play a lot of hands, then the player has chosen to play loose poker.
The next step is to determine whether he is passive or aggressive. Does he call and check more often than he raises and bets? Then classify him as a passive player. If he bets and raises a lot, then he is an aggressive player.
4 basic poker styles
Based on the above categories, there are 4 main styles of play:
- Tight-passive.
- Loose-passive.
- Tight-aggressive (TAG).
- Loose-aggressive (LAG).
Knowing these general characteristics will help you understand your opponent and what kind of cards he has in his hand. If a loose-aggressive player bets and raises, it does not mean that he has a strong hand, unlike a tight-passive player. He raises or re-raises rarely, but with good hands.
Consider the 4 main play styles in more detail:
Tight-passive style
The typical tight-passive player usually doesn't play many pots and calls preflop when he hits a hand.
If attentive opponents notice him at the table, no one will enter the game on his initiative, so a tight-passive player will not be able to make money when he has a good hand. This type of player is sometimes referred to as , and the overall playing style can also be considered "weak-passive".
They are easy to bluff. Often, they fold weak and even medium-strength combinations on a controversial board, and also rarely make bets themselves, fearing a loss.
Players who have identified weak and predictable opponents will always be on the lookout for situations in which they can be exploited, simply because tight passive players fold to aggression too often.
Loose-passive style
Loose-passive players like to limp into a lot of pots. They will call raises just to see the flop and stay in the hand whenever they hit anything, no matter how small. They rarely take risks or become aggressive, being more of an "auto-caller". Their approach to the game is simply to observe and let others take risks. Especially often such players can be found among beginners, as well as at micro limits.
Loose-passive players are very easy to spot and also easy to target. It's best not to try to bluff autocallers, but when you have a strong enough hand, you should bet for value and make the most of it.
Tight Aggressive Style (TAG)
Tight-aggressive players don't usually play many pots. They are selective and generally play the best starting hands. Unlike tight passive players, tight aggressive players will play their cards decisively. They are patient and wait for the right strike opportunity and are not afraid to bet.
Often, the best TAGs are referred to as "sharks" because the tight-aggressive poker style tends to be effective, regardless of changes in the game or betting structure. Most observant opponents will avoid TAGs as they will assume they have the best hand and will fold under pressure.
Loose-aggressive style (LAS)
A loose-aggressive player will raise or re-raise with a wide variety of hands preflop and will bet most flops. They are extremely difficult to read because they play a fairly wide range of hands. In no-limit hold'em, there are some very experienced players who use the loose-aggressive style of poker very effectively. They use chips as weapons and constantly put pressure on their opponents. They will bluff at high percentages and are difficult to play against. However, at the very end of the loose-aggressive category is a maniac who seems to be raising for no reason. The maniac's tendency to overplay his hands means you are more likely to show profit in the long run against this type of player.
A question that is often asked by players online is how to determine the opponent's poker playing style, ? To do this is quite simple. In order to roughly determine the style of a player, it will be enough for you to know his main indicators, such as VPIP (how often he enters the game), PRF (preflop raise percentage) and AF (aggression factor) - they are usually present in all standard HUDs .
For example, those who choose a tight-aggressive style of play use the chart of starting hands quite narrowly and play, as a rule, premium hands. This means that they rarely enter the hand, but at the same time, the hands they play - they play aggressively. Therefore, their VPIP is low, but the PFR is very high.
Our simple table will help you roughly determine your opponent's style of play in online poker:
If you have enough hands played with your opponent, you can already draw certain conclusions about him.
Veiled or direct?
Once you have previously assigned the players to one category or another, you are ready for the next step - determining the degree of their cunning, or vice versa, its absence.
It's not always easy, as poker players often drift between cunning and being completely direct. However, this is a very important step, since once you place them in a category, you can begin to interpret their actions with greater accuracy.
For example, let's say a tight-aggressive player raises preflop from early position. If he's a "straightforward" tight-aggressive player, then you might consider giving him a strong hand like a premium pair. If you have calculated that he is very tricky, then he can also bluff or semi-bluff by raising with two strong cards or an ace.
The main key is observation. You really need to watch the players and pay attention to their tendencies, as well as understand what type of players your opponents are and what decisions they tend to make. This will help you play much more profitably.
The Importance of Aggression
Remember that this applies especially to Hold'em. If you don't want to be aggressive then don't play, or at least don't expect to win. Poker is full of conflicts, this game is not for the weak. This is why an aggressive poker style is essential to success.
This is the core of the game that we deal with every time we sit down to play. We are trying to "beat" other players and get money. As Jack Straus once said: "I would even ruin my own grandmother if she played poker with me."
There are obvious times when it's good to cheat and just call preflop with a premium hand or check-call a strong hand postflop. Even aggressive players do this sometimes, but the big difference is that they mix up their play as opposed to tight passive players who only call when they should probably raise for fear of losing. As the well-known proverb says: "He who does not take risks does not drink champagne."
The main disadvantage of the passive style is that it offers only one way to win the pot - when you have the best hand. Aggressive poker strategy gives you two ways to win - when you have the best hand and when you force your opponent to fold the best hand, thereby forcing him to abandon the pot.
For example, by playing aggressive preflop poker, depending on what cards are on the flop, you can continue your aggression through betting and often win the hand even if you don't hit the board.
What is the best poker style?
We have already discussed the importance of aggression and why it is almost always considered the best solution. A good solid strategy for playing tight and aggressive is usually rewarded with profits. There are experienced players who have successfully adapted the loose-aggressive style into the game. However, for most players, the tight-aggressive approach is usually the most profitable. This style is undoubtedly the best way for beginners as it teaches good habits such as patience and discipline. The tight-aggressive approach also works well as a "default position" and, oftentimes, players gain a strong skill base from this style.
In the end, you should choose the style that is not only the most profitable for you, but also the most suitable for you. A lot of how you play at the poker table is determined by who you are off the table. Some people may play in a manner that they don't normally play, but most will return to the usual type. So the best advice I can give you is to find out what works for you and also gain experience.
It is important to note that the best players adjust their style to suit their opponents and circumstances. If you are playing at a table full of tight players then you should loosen up, and if you are playing with aggressors then playing tight is the most effective strategy.
Always watch the game and the actions of your opponents, and adapt your playing style if necessary. This is exactly what good poker players do.
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At the pinnacle 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 combinations of two cards that the dealer deals at the beginning of the game are called starting hands. The tight style is based on playing a limited number of starting hands that are more likely to win. Good tight players only use about 20% of the 169 possible combinations to enter the game preflop, choosing only the strongest. Premium combinations such as AA, KK or AK will come across very rarely, but a lot of weak starting hands, on the contrary, will make up the majority. Be patient and always strictly adhere to the rules, which will be discussed in detail in the article Preflop Basics. Remember that the starting hand charts that are given in this article have been tested by professionals for years and have proven their inviolability.
Every player experiences many temptations that push him to play too many hands. If you succumb to these temptations, your poker career will most likely be over before it even starts. By playing weak hands preflop, you will too often put yourself in a situation where, being far behind your opponent, you will not be able to win chips. Therefore, we will learn to play only decent hands and not allow ourselves to play weak preflop.
Aggressive game
Dan Harrington, in his book Harrington Cash, formulated one of the fundamental principles of Texas Hold'em.
Generally, aggression (betting and raising) is better than being passive (checking or calling).
Aggressive poker play is undoubtedly one of the components of success. Don't be afraid to bet and raise and try to avoid checking and calling if you think you're ahead. Be especially wary of calling preflop, as with this move, you hand over the initiative to your opponent and put yourself in a difficult situation at the very beginning of the draw.
Aggression will allow you to control the flow of the game throughout the draw. In addition, by playing aggressively, you get two opportunities to win. First, you can win immediately if your opponent folds. Second, you can win a showdown if your hand is stronger. But passive play can only allow you to win at a showdown if your combination turns out to be a winner.
Another advantage of aggressive play is the constant pressure on the opponent. After all, by 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!
Or heard of discussions between poker players, you must be familiar with certain combinations of words that are used to describe the players at the poker tables.
As a rule, all players are divided into the following groups depending on their play style:
- Tight Aggressive (TAG)
- Loose Aggressive (LAG)
- Tight Passive
- Loose-passive
But what do these words mean? tight», « loose», « aggressive" or " passive» in relation to Texas Hold'em. And what is the best poker style?
Explaining the main features of different poker styles
First word - tight or loose
The first word in each style of play explains how many hands each individual player plays, and depending on this variable, players can be described as "tight" or "loose".
- Tight Player plays few hands, and usually only tries to enter the game with premium hands that have a good chance of winning.
- loose player plays a wide range of hands, and tries to play a large number of pots with both strong and weak hands.
The more starting hands each individual player plays, the looser he will be.
Second word - aggressive or passive
The second part of each poker style word describes how each individual player bets on each betting round. It is described by the words "aggressive" or "passive".
- Aggressive player frequently bets and rearranges opponents' bets, creating a lot of action with his bets.
- Passive Player is more prone to check-calling his hands, and will very rarely bet himself or rearrange opponents' bets.
So, as you can see, combining these two parts of words with each other in various combinations, together with the descriptions of each of them, gives us 4 different styles of play, with which we can immediately describe the number of starting hands played by the opponent, as well as the degree of aggressiveness of these draws.
This information can be very useful, especially when talking about poker strategy, because bluffing against a loose-passive player who plays a huge amount of starting hands and often calls postflop bets is not the same +EV decision as bluffing. against a tight-aggressive player who only plays the best hands and only bets and re-raises with strong hands.
Describing poker styles using a table
Below is a table where you can see how different combinations of looseness, tightness, aggressiveness and passivity of poker players are described:
Which of the described play styles is the best?
In order to be a good poker player, you must play aggressively, as described in the article The Importance of Aggression in Poker. Therefore, the best play style is somewhere between TAG and LAG.
There is not a shred of doubt in the poker community that playing your hands aggressively is much better than passive play.
Many winning players will say that tight-aggressive play style is the best way to win money in poker because you will always enter the pot with strong hands and play them aggressively to maximize your winnings. This is true, and very often this style of play is used by beginners and developing poker players.
Regardless, it turns out that good poker players make a lot more profit from loose aggressive play than tight aggressive play, but in order to play loose aggressive poker well, you need to have a lot of experience behind your back.
Loose-aggressive poker style can be profitable, but if you don't know how to use it, you will most likely lose a lot of money
The loose-aggressive style of play means you'll be watching a huge amount of flops while putting money into the pot in marginal situations, so this style of play is strongly discouraged for beginner poker players. The main advantage of the loose-aggressive style of poker is that whenever you have a strong hand, opponents will be suspicious of your bets due to your previous history of playing with you, so they will often call your bets, paying strong hands.
Passive Poker is Never Profitable
Passive play style is never profitable, so if you want to be a successful winning poker player, you must bet and re-raise a lot more often than playing check-call lines. No other poker player has yet managed to win a lot of money this way.
You can win the pot either at showdown if you have the best hand, or if you bet and your aggression manages to knock your opponent out of the pot. By playing passively, you lose another option to win the pot - you do not bet, so you cannot win the pot without a showdown, and even a small child can win a showdown with a monster hand.
Thus, for beginner poker players, we recommend learning the tight-aggressive style of play as it is the most profitable and safest way to learn poker. If you gain some experience and learn how to play solid poker in the future, there is no reason to be reluctant to try loose-aggressive play to see if you can profit from it.
Poker veterans like to play loose-aggressive because they can play a lot more hands and see a lot of flops without getting bored waiting for premium hands and they always have action. However, it's much safer to stick to solid tight-aggressive play in the first couple and not go to extremes. Everything has its time.
Conclusions about poker playing styles
In general, you should play the style that brings you the most money. If you feel like you're playing best in a tight-aggressive style, then there's no point in making any changes to your game strategy.
Likewise, if you play poker for fun and like to play passively rather than aggressively, then that's fine too, because you should enjoy playing poker. However, you should be aware that if you want to increase your winnings, an aggressive play style will allow you to do so much faster than a passive one.
If you sort the poker styles in order of profitability, then they can be sorted as follows:
- Tight Aggressive (TAG)
- Loose Aggressive (LAG)
- Tight Passive
- Loose-passive
The top two lines are interchangeable, as a loose-aggressive play style can be very beneficial for some players. However, the TAG style of play is best for beginners, but remember that the LAG style of play can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and don't read opponents' hands well enough.
See also the article Switching Gears in Poker to find out how you can profitably change your playing style from tight-aggressive to loose-aggressive.
= Tight-aggressive style =
The tight-aggressive style is most common in full-table games. There you simply fold all your weak hands and join in the fight for the pot when you have an advantage. This usually means playing with strong hands. When you raise preflop, you will usually have the best hand. When you get called, you will often c-bet, because. your hand will remain strong on the flop much more often than a random hand.
The problem with this “tight” heads-up style is that by posting blinds every hand, you can go broke waiting for premium hands. However, there is a certain compromise here. Playing tight-aggressively, you can play, as in the loose-aggressive style, not only premium starting hands, but will become more careful in choosing them. From the button, you will raise from one-third to one-half of the 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 since you will have to play out of position post-flop.
We'll talk about limping and folding from the button later. In the meantime, when talking about “playing” from the button, I will be referring to opening a preflop raise.
On the flop, the tight-aggressive approach becomes more of a loose-aggressive style. Against an opponent who called to your raise, you will also use cbet as your standard flop play. If your opponent calls your c-bet or 3-bets, then your further actions will be based on the strength of your hand, knowledge of the opponent and other factors. Given that you will often start the game with good starting hands, you will have strong hands more often post-flop.
The main difference between styles post-flop is that your requirements for continuing to play with a tight-aggressive style become higher. Marginal draws or weak pairs that a loose-aggressive player can bet or even 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 hand or just stay in it will be much higher.
Tight-aggressive play is a kind of guarantee that you will have a strong hand in most of the big pots. On the other hand, by playing this way you will 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 looser your play should be. 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 widely, and against them you just need to collect value on your strong hands.
Another factor that determines your strategy is your post-flop playing skills. When playing loose-aggressively, you will often find yourself in marginal situations that can only be handled with good post-flop skills. So the better you play postflop, the looser style you can afford.
Let's look at a couple of examples. In both cases, you are playing online against an unknown opponent. Blinds $15-$30, stacks $1,500. Let's compare tight-aggressive (TAG) and loose-aggressive (LAG) approaches.
- Example #1 -
You have J2 on the button. How will you play?
A tight-aggressive player will prefer to limp or fold such a weak hand. In terms of strength, J2o is in the top 25% of the weakest hands (see Appendix C: Top starting hands). It's hard to play postflop. Therefore, 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 a raise with.
Unlike him, LAG will tend to raise. He will sometimes limp it too, but most of the time a loose-aggressive player will raise with any hand that has at least one picture in it. The advantage of this play is that the opponent will often give up on early streets. And the main disadvantage is that you often have to make difficult decisions post-flop. For example, if you flop top pair 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 this hand?
- Example #2 -
Your hand: T9
Trade: You raise to $90 from the button and your opponent calls. Bank - $180.
Flop: 842
Trade: Opponent checks. You bet $120. He is a call. Bank - $420.
Turn: 7
Trade: Opponent bets $350.
Question: What are your next steps?
Answer: First, we note that the preflop and flop were played fairly standard for both styles. Your mid-suited connectors are quite strong and deserve to be opened preflop by a raise, while on the flop you make a conventional continuation bet.
The difference between the styles comes out on the turn. The bet from the opponent is unexpected, given that you had the initiative before. Is he bluffing, betting 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 big bet unprofitable, at least if the stacks aren't deep enough 1)
LAG will justify its decision by saying that the pot is already big, and there are enough hands in the opponent's range that he will fold for an All-In bet, and even in the case of a call, LAG's hand will have 8 outs on the straight, and possibly 6 outs for top pair. Thus, with no additional information, he will frequently raise this bet on the turn.
TAG, on the other hand, will be far less prone to semi-bluff all-in shoving. Obviously, his hand is behind, his opponent is showing strength, and only two bets are invested in the pot. TAG will often fold and wait for a better situation to bet their chips.
This distinction between styles is perhaps a little artificial. A good loose-aggressive player will often fold in this spot if he thinks his opponent is tight enough to bet $350 on the turn as a bluff. And a good tight-aggressive player will be willing to raise if he can reasonably believe that his opponent is capable of bluffing or semi-bluffing in this situation. The bottom line is that a loose-aggressive player is much more likely to put chips in the pot into bluffs and semi-bluffs, while a tight-aggressive player comes primarily from the real strength of his hand.
The main idea that you should take away from this paragraph and the two preceding ones is the following:
In heads-up no-limit poker, you have to play aggressively.
In conclusion, I note that the assignment of any name to your style does not oblige you to play only within its framework. You can play in a mixed style, changing your 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, while such a switch will allow you to successfully exploit the style of your opponent.
1 With $5,000 starting stacks, we can call and potentially win a very large pot if we make our straight. If we don't get a straight, we can sometimes take the pot with a bluff if our opponent shows weakness and checks on the river. But with 50BB stacks against a bet that practically ties us to the pot, the options are very limited.
