You can find 1000's of articles about poker strategy on the Internet. This one focuses mostly on the differences between tight and loose play, and the differences between passive and aggressive play. These 2 concepts are fundamental to becoming a better poker strategist.

Common Sense Poker Strategy

An element of poker strategy that a lot of players don't seem to "get" is that most decisions are common sense. If you have a good hand, you should bet or raise. If you have a lousy hand, you should check or fold. Optimism is usually not an ideal quality to have when deciding whether or not to play a poker hand. All of the talk about tight aggressive play, poker tells, and value betting, etc, all stem from this simple common sense default play.

(Common sense is demonstrated in the rules of poker when you think about why one poker hand beats another.)

Tight Play VS Loose Play

One way to examine a person's tendencies playing poker is to look at how many hands they play. If a player plays lots of hands, that player is considered a "loose" player. On the other hand, a player who plays very few hands is considered "tight". There is a poker homily which says that "tight is right". I agree with this, based on my experiences at the table. If you get into a pot with better cards to begin with, in the long run, you'll win more money than you lose. (You can read more about this in this article about poker tendencies and habits.)

Keep in mind though that the long run is a LONG time indeed. You can play poker online for months and still not see results that will correspond with your true long run results.

You might also enjoy our strategy article about how to play pocket aces preflop in a no limit Texas holdem game.

Aggressive Play VS Passive Play

Another way of examining a player's poker tendencies is to look at how often the player raises or bets compared to how often she checks or calls. A player who raises often is considered an "aggressive" player, while a player who checks and calls often is considered a "passive" player. The terms "aggressive" and "passive" have nothing at all to do with how many hands someone plays. These terms only concern raising, betting, calling, and checking tendencies.

Aggressive play is strategically superior to passive play. By betting or raising with your strong hands, you give your opponent an opportunity to fold, which increases your chances of winning a pot outright, and which also decreases the chances that the player will "draw out on you", or get additional cards which will give him the winning hand.

Rocks - Killers - Maniacs - Calling Stations

You can use these distinctions to categorize your play (and your opponents' play) into one of four categories:

Rocks - These are players who are tight and passive. They don't play many hands, but when they do play a hand, they usually check check or call. "Rocks" often play timid poker, and fold any time they don't have the best possible hand. (The "nuts".)
Maniacs - "Maniacs" are loose and aggressive. This type of player is the polar opposite of a rock. Any starting hand will do, and any starting hand warrants a raise. In some games, maniacs can play quite profitably by stealing blinds and antes.
Calling Stations - The most profitable type of player to play with is a "calling station". Loose and passive, they play lots of hands but don't raise with them. They usually call bets in hopes that their hand will improve and win.
Killers - This is the type of player you should aspire to be. Tight and aggressive. is a winning poker style. Don't play many hands, but when you do get your money in the pot, get it in there as the favorite. Tightening up your play reduces the amount of times that your opponent gets into a pot with you with a better hand, and raising a lot keeps players with weaker hands out of the pot.

Play with calling stations whenever you can.

Reading Other Players

Poker Articles If you've determined that a player is a rock, and you have JJ preflop in a game of Texas Holdem with that person, you can alter your decision making process with that player. Suppose you raise preflop with JJ, and the rock raises you all-in. You might want to fold.

On the other hand, if you're playing with a maniac who has been ramming and jamming with A nothing offsuit all night, you might want to call that all-in. (Circumstances might vary, but it's clear that getting at least a peripheral understanding of your opponents' tendencies can affect your win-loss rate.)

Bad Beats

Tight aggressive players see more bad beats than any other type of player. Some online players get really frustrated by this, but they shouldn't, because the only time you'll see a bad beat is when you get your money in with the best starting hand. That means you're playing well. If you're not seeing your share of bad beats, then it's quite possible that you're not playing well at all.

Tilt and Self Control

Getting mad and betting and raising with nothing is called "tilt". For some reason, lots of players make dumb plays when they're mad. Why someone would reward an opponent they're mad at by giving them more money is amazingly stupid, but it happens all the time. When you're playing with a player on tilt, then you're in a profitable situation. When you're on tilt, you're going to probably lose money.

"Tilt" is a bad habit, and you should stop tilting if that's a habit of yours. The way you stop losing control of your play is up to you, but you might try walking away from the table until you calm down, or practicing meditation or something. Mike Caro has a great mantra, by the way: "I am a winning poker player. A powerful winning force surrounds me."

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