If you're a tight Texas Hold'em player, you won't be playing many hands. Don't waste your idle time watching TV or daydreaming; put that time to use by studying the style of the other players and capitalizing on what you learn.
According to Lee Jones in his excellent book, Winning Low Limit Hold'em, you can identify four different types of opponents. The first type calls all the time. He confidently believes that any two cards can win, and doesn't want to be out of the action if his hand could turn into a big winner. A large percentage of players at low limit hold'em fall into this category, and that's a good thing for the rest of us. Once in a while they'll get that miracle they are hoping for and will beat us, but most of the time they'll steadily toss chips into the pot in losing causes. The important thing to remember is not to try to bluff these players; it simply won't work. They keep on calling no matter what. Jones labels these players as "calling stations" or loose-passive players.
The next type is the loose-aggressive player. He also likes to play a lot, but he's not satisfied with just calling, he prefers to raise even with marginal hands. He wants to gamble and loves to bluff. He plays too many hands of little or no value, and will bluff his way to winning some pots, but eventually he'll lose all his chips. If you have a good hand, you can sit back and relax because this player will do all the betting for you. If you have two or more of these at your table, pots can become very large, but you must be careful to stay in only with excellent hands. When the pots are large, your risk gets large also.
The "rock" is the type of player who has played many hands and knows which are the good ones. He waits for two big (high) cards and then bets them. He doesn't like to gamble on speculative hands or throw his money around. You won't win much money from this type but on the plus side he's very predictable.
You should try to be the fourth type: tight-aggressive. This is the solid player, who won't be playing many hands, but takes control when he does play. He takes advantage of all the strategies open to him: checkraising where appropriate, laying back to get a free card, playing errorless poker, and capitalizing on his opponents errors. You like to be the only player of this type at the table; however if there are too many of this type at your table, pack up and find another table.
Watch about 20 hands before you sit down to play. Notice the types of players at the table. Also notice what cards each player shows after the showdown and notice what they don't show. For example, if the winning hand is top pair and the other player throws his hand away you have a fix on what he could have been holding. Gather information which will be useful to you and use it to help you win.
One last word of advice: be alert for players who change their style of play for no reason. They are dangerous since you never know what they are doing.
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Joseph Starr ended his formal education when he earned a Ph.D. in finance and accounting. He taught business, economics, and computer subjects at the college level for 30 years and is now retired. He writes on a variety of subjects to keep his brain from fogging over. Visit his website http://allaboutcasinogambling.com to read all about popular casino games and strategies.
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