What Kind of Poker Player Are You?

Poker players are a breed all of their own and whenever you sit down at the poker table, you are bound to bump into one of these five types that frequent the game.  Each type of player requires you to change your own playing style in order to compete with them.  The longer you play poker, the more you will be able to recognize your opponents’ playing style.  It doesn’t matter if you are playing at a real table or at an online poker room; the styles are the same. Do you know what type of players you are playing against?  For that matter, do you know what your particular playing style is?  Here is a quick overview of the types of poker players you may run into.

Poker is naturally an aggressive game although some players play the game more aggressively than others.  These are the players that fiddle with their stack of chips or raise on the blind twice as high as everyone else.  They may even just decide to go all in for the heck of it.  These players also tend to lose more often than they win.  The best strategy against an aggressive player is to play your hand normally and into the raise if possible.  Their raise does not mean the same as yours and if you are careful, you can take the hand because of their mistakes.

Tight players, on the hand, are the ones that will not bluff or try to out buy the blinds.  They are usually very easy to read and are the ones that win almost every showdown hand they are involved in.  If they bet into you, you better hope you have the higher hand or else they will get the pot.  Tight players can be pushed out of the hand with a little bit of patience.  Don’t get in this player’s way when they bet and if you can bet them out of the pot and force them to fold, you will take them down.

You have to love the professional bluffer.  They are the ones that try to lay claim to every unclaimed chip.  They will bet big with unhelpful cards on the flop and they will buy out the blinds on a consistent basis.  Heaven forbid the action at the table stagnates as well because they will liven up the game by trying to grab the pot with a lousy hand.  Bluffers can be caught by checking them, calling their bluff, or raising the bet after them.  They will make the mistake of continuing to bet and this is where they can be trapped and taken out.

Fish and sharks are on the opposite ends of the scales – the worst poker player and the best.  Fish will bet on whatever they are holding and their playing style is all over the board.  They are not consistent whatsoever and your regular level of play is enough to make them call the hand.  Bet big on that good hand and they will call you, and hopefully swim away.  Sharks are the players that understand the nuances of the poker variation you are playing, are unreadable, and leave you questioning your own skills.  The Shark can adjust their game to every situation.  
The Shark is the player we all want to become.