There is a popular saying that we could apply to the poker world without fear of being wrong: information is power.
Among the first tips that a player who is starting out in poker receives is the one that refers to knowing the opponents. Knowing the style of the players at your table allows you, among other things, to anticipate their moves, predict them and even bluff with practically guaranteed success.
But not only that. Detecting a TAG profile at your table should set off all your alarms, because you are measuring yourself against a real shark, the type of poker player that everyone wants to aspire to. If, on the other hand, you are facing a passive tight, just enjoy it.
If this is the first time you hear the acronym TAG, the term shark or the passive tight profile in your life, stick around. We bring you closer to the four poker player profiles you can find and encourage you to discover what kind of poker player you are.
Passive tight player
Before we start with this very common, recognizable and sometimes hated by many players, it is worth clarifying that the types of poker profiles are divided into tight/loose and passive/aggressive.
Broadly speaking, tight players tend to be very selective with the hands they play as opposed to loose players, who tend to play too many. As for the terms passive and aggressive, they would define how they bet.
For example, a passive player is the one who tends to call or call the bets or, directly, to pass his turn, while an aggressive player is very fond of raises.
Having clarified the different profiles, we define what a passive tight player is and what his main characteristics are.
A passive tight player is one who, as you know, tends to be conservative and very selective in his plays. If you find at your table a player who plays few hands and, when he plays, he wins them, he is probably a passive tight player.
Also known as “rocks”, they do not like to risk the welfare of their bankroll, so they only play tight when they are 100% sure they are going to win the hand. This type of behavior is very beneficial for the opponents because, if they notice that the tight-passive player makes a strong bet, the best option is to fold. He will win for sure.
On the other hand, if you identify yourself with this type of player, one of the best strategies you can adopt is to modify your style throughout the game. In this way, you will unsettle your opponents and prevent them from pigeonholing you as a passive tight.
Loose passive player
This type of profile is the one that every poker player wishes to find at the table. The loose-passive profile corresponds to the recreational player. Also known as fish, it is the target of grinders or players who aim to get some extra money playing poker.
As the name implies, the passive loose player plays many – too many – hands, experiencing large variations in his bankroll. While one of the basic poker tips is not to play every hand, it seems that the loose-passive player misunderstood this warning.
His main objective is to have fun in the games, but also to win money. Thus, when they have a relatively high hand in their possession, if they have not overestimated it, they bet too heavily. At the showdown, they are faced with their impulsivity.
The passive loose players or fishes are very sought after by the rest of the profiles, because of how easy it is to beat them. If you are looking for an app where the passive loose player is one of the main profiles, you will find it at https://pokerhub.cc/ .
Tight aggressive player
While everyone would like a table with the occasional loose-passive player, no one wants to encounter this profile: tight aggressive.
This is the model poker player, the one who knows how to select the hands he plays very well, thanks to his great analytical skills and, surely, his knowledge in the calculation of probabilities and poker mathematics, and also has an admirable control over his bankroll.
This is the famous shark, a profile that bets hard when he has to, but knows how to fold when he does not have the odds. A tight aggressive player knows perfectly well that a timely withdrawal is a victory.
One of the most defining traits of this profile is that he leaves nothing to chance. TAGs are constantly analyzing the game, observing their opponents, playing based on their position at the table, and betting according to the cards that appear.
If you share a table with a TAG, you have to be aware that you are facing one of the toughest players betting. Although, if we are talking about more than considerable raises, we are undoubtedly talking about the loose-aggressive profile.
Loose aggressive player
At this point, you can imagine what kind of player is the loose aggressive profile: he goes to many hands and he does it betting very strong.
This profile shares a trait with the passive loose player type: high probability of suffering tilt. With this term, we refer to one of the most feared situations by any poker player.
Being on tilt means losing control over the game. It is usually triggered after a bad beat, that is, a hand in which a player was a clear winner, with a high probability of winning the pot, but the last card has turned out to be in favor of the opponent, who has managed to tie a better hand at the end of the game.
Tilt is a state of frustration that is very difficult to handle and that has, as a consequence, a series of bad decisions that can lead the player to lose all his bankroll. Loose profiles are prone to this type of situation, especially those who bet really hard, such as loose aggressive players.
Sharing a table with a loose aggressive player is not easy to manage. They are very unpredictable and even unconscious players. That is why they are also known as maniacs. Their bankroll is a real roller coaster ride, suffering heavy losses as well as sharp rises.
What about you? What kind of poker player are you?
