When you play holdem, you invariably notice how differnet people play. Some people like to jam the pot, raising with anything, while others sit back and call anything. Also in the mix are the people who sometimes call and sometimes raise. Sometimes there are people who you never know what they might have.

There are four basic types of players. To determine what type of player somebody is, you must analyze two factors - how many hands your opponent plays, and how aggressive they are with their betting. Lets look at each factor individually.

How many hands does your opponent play

If you read any kind of literature on Holdem, you will find that you should be playing about 25% of the hands that you are dealt. That means you should be folding 7 out of every 10 hands! There are times when you are on a rush and you play more, but in the long run, you can expect to play about 25% of the hands that are dealt to you. If you see a player that plays more then this, then their starting hand requirements are less than average, and this person is referred to as a "loose player". On the other end of the spectrum, if a player is playing less than 25% of the hands, then they have extremely high starting hand requirements, and they are known as "tight players". Loose and Tight are the first criteria that you must use to label a person. Generally, if you are playing against a tight player, you must have a stronger hand then usual becuase the tight player only plays with premium hands.

The second factor in determining the type of player that your opponent is, is HOW they play the hands. Do they simply check and then call an bet that is put out in front of them (passive), or do they try to take the lead with bets and raises (aggressive)?

Using these two criteria, we arrive at four types of players:
Loose-Passive
Loose-Aggressive
Tight-Passive
Tight-Aggressive

To be a serious poker player, you must be able to identify each style of player. Once you determine your opponents style, then you can exploit their weaknesses.


Loose Passive  Loose Aggressive  Tight Passive  Tight Aggressive