Poker Playing Styles

Regardless of the specific brand of poker being played, certain elements of strategy are common to all types. Thus, experienced players find it relatively easy to move from one game to another. One way of describing a person's play is whether it is "fast" or "slow." This is sometimes called "strong" and "weak," but it refers mainly to the aggressiveness and decisiveness of the player in betting a hand. Fast play communicates a strong hand and confidence in the outcome. Slow play communicates more of a "wait and see" attitude. The first style is also sometimes called "active" and the other, "passive." Players will dissemble by playing weak hands fast or strong hands slowly. It is a form of bluffing. It is essential to be a bluffer, at least on occasion. The adversaries will then not be sure if a player has a strong hand when he or she plays aggressively, or vice versa. The cost of not bluffing is that everyone else will flee a game in the face of aggressive play from the consistently sincere bettor.

Another way of describing a person's play is either "tight" or "loose." Loose players essentially take risks by hanging on to weak hands into the last stages of a game. Tight players are more risk averse and fold more often. Optimists play loosely, and pessimists are tight. It is hard to define a "realist" in these terms, since a good player can play "loose" and still not take any sucker bets (i.e., bets with negative expectations). The point is really how close to the breakeven does the player want to get before play is not justified.

Playing "tight" might mean simply to require a good margin of safety, in other words, a relatively high minimum edge before putting a chip in jeopardy.