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Choosing a Playing Style
Poker has several different playing styles and iterations thereof that make up a wide variety of approaches to the game. Some players are aggressive by nature and others are a bit more laid back. It all depends on what works for you. Most poker players incorporate their true personalities into how they approach the game. For instance a gregarious type of personality might be a little more aggressive than others. A laid back kind of personality may have a more tight approach to their play. The good thing about poker is that all kinds of approaches to the game can be successful. It’s up to you to find what works best for you. So let’s talk about playing styles and how to choose one.
Tight
When you first learn how to play no limit Texas Hold'em or Limit Hold’em you were probably not playing very many hands and a little afraid to get in there and mix it up. Well that approach will get you to the break and that’s about it. Playing tight means that you do not get to see many hands. In a poker tournament that is not a particularly good thing. Conventional poker strategy says that we want to play good hands. For the most part that is true. However, none of us is dealt enough premium hands to sustain us throughout an entire poker tournament. Knowing this it makes it very easy to identify a tight poker player. That is not a good thing for you and you will need to loosen up a bit in order to keep your opponents from folding when you raise the pot. Yes, if you are a tight player and the table perceives that as being your image you will have a tough time getting action on your premium hands or when you have hit the flop hard.
Loose Aggressive
You can find loose aggressive poker players in all forms of poker. You particularly find loose aggressive play in play poker online cash games as well as tournaments. The idea of being involved in a lot of pots is appealing to many players and some simply cannot fold a hand. This kind of player type will call large raises with mediocre hands or small pairs hoping to hit the flop and take down another player with Kings or Aces. This player type will sometimes chase flush draws even when they are not profitable for them. Loose aggressive play is for the player that really enjoys the action. However, loose aggressive play can also lose you a lot of chips and should be avoided later in the poker tournament unless you have a monster stack you are nursing to the final table. Again, all playing styles can be profitable but this particular style requires a great deal of risk by those that choose it. If you can manage to play well you will accumulate a lot of chips because it will be difficult for your opponents to know when you have a hand or not.
Solid Aggressive
Of all the playing styles available to poker player’s solid aggressive is probably the most prominent of them all. Why? Because it allows you to accumulate chips from weaker players and protect your hand and chips with the help of your table image. It also provides you the freedom to roam without getting too far from your preferred hand ranges. A solid aggressive player typically will not play too many hands or weak hands out of position. But they will get involved enough to accumulate chips and take advantage of the weaker players at the table. A solid aggressive player is also capable of morphing into the other player types periodically as the cash game or poker tournament progresses.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that all playing styles are viable. We only covered a few here just to give you an idea of what playing styles are all about and where you may fit in. A good poker player is capable of moving from one style of play to another almost flawlessly without anyone noticing the difference. That takes time, experience and a whole lot of practice to do it well on a consistent basis. As so many books have told us over the years that we must be like chameleons capable of adapting to our environment and using it as camouflage for our true intentions. When you can do that you are truly playing poker. Choosing a playing style may not be easy at first because of the newness of the game. However, as time moves on and you gain more experiences and familiarity with poker you will find your place and a style that fits comfortably for you and allows you to be successful.
Curtis Mayfield III
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