Smiling man at a poker table stacking chips, surrounded by glowing poker chips featuring animal symbols.

Anyone who’s played online poker games can tell you that not every player in a virtual casino uses the same style.

Some seem to bet all the time, no matter what they have.

Others seem to wait an eternity for the perfect cards to come around, and even then are content with a tiny pot.

And there’s plenty of playstyles in between.

In this guide, we’ll go through the different characteristics of each kind of player, and talk about the pros and cons of each way to play real online poker.

Infographic comparing four poker play styles, showing traits, strengths, weaknesses, and strategy tips.

Let’s first cover terminology:

“Tight” or “loose”

Stop snickering.

Tight or loose refers to how choosy a player is when it comes to the cards they will play within their games. A tight player wants premium starting cards (like aces) and is mucking the rest. A loose player takes a look at Q8o (Queen eight offsuit) in early position (i.e. early to act in each round of betting) and thinks, “Let’s see what comes next. I’m in!”

 

Passive or aggressive

These terms refer to how much money a player will bet and raise and how frequently they will do it in games. Passive players are known for being check machines, always tapping the virtual felt and hoping not to face too much of a challenge in a hand.

Aggressive players, on the other hand, bet whenever they smell weakness. As a bonus, very aggressive players bet even when they smell strength, just to see if they can push those players around too. Aggressive players want to control the table and be in the lead in each hand they play. Check to them and they’ll most likely be betting. Bet to them and they’ll often consider a raise. These player personalities combine to form four major playstyles. Which style will win the most money? Read on and find out!

Tight Passive, or Getting Blinded to Death

Green poker chip with a turtle symbol, labeled 'The Turtle - Tight-Passive (TP),' illustrating a conservative poker style.

Even free online poker can sometimes cause a player in the game to sit back and wait for a big hand to come along. If you’ve memorized the starting standards chart and treat it like the Holy Gospel, only playing hands approved by the almighty chart, you might be a tight player. If you see ATs in mid-late position and see that it’s one spot below playable on the chart, you’ll fold those cards 100% of the time.

Passivity further compounds the issues of this play style and the possible bankroll consequences in real online poker at Ignition Casino. Not only are you waiting for perfect cards, but you’re limping along with small bets when you do, or tiny raises. Big bets and raises are out of your skillset, so you’re missing a lot of bonus cash when serious moves are justified.

TP Pros. Your cards are often the best in the hand, statistically. And when you’re drawing, it’s to the nuts or near it. When you have top pair, you’ve usually got a great kicker. Among all players at poker sites and rooms online, you’re sticking to the highest standards.

TP Cons. You won’t get paid enough money in your games when you have a winning hand. Many other players will have read your style and will head for the hills when you finally wake up with a hand. They’ll also correctly put you on premium cards and try to hang around for surprising draws. If their pair of threes flops into a set, they know that you’re going to pay them with your aces or kings over. Even the best online poker software can’t save you from those “bad beats.”

Tips for playing against tight-passive players.

  • Expect the expected. Tight passive players fold everything the starting hand charts tell them to. They very rarely have surprise cards. They have pretty much exactly what you think they have.
  • Bluff them. This type of player can be bullied off of hands – even strong ones. They may lay down queens or kings to big preflop 3-bets. Bluffing works well against them. They’re not masters of the hero call. The “hero fold” is their bread and butter.
  • Fear their raises. They will not get rowdy with big bets unless they feel quite secure. If they are leading the action, they absolutely have the goods. Please don’t pay them off.
  • Take advantage of them. Tight-passive players are likely to let you see cards for free or inexpensively. Play speculative hands against them like middle suited connectors and watch their stack transfer to your side of the table.
  • Example hand – calling with the best hand in position. A tight aggressive player will sit on the button with top pair, aces, and call modest bets with the best hand. If there are a lot of players in the hand, they won’t raise for fear of things getting out of control. Then, at showdown, they’ll reveal the best hand. Many other players would have raised at some point, but that isn’t something tight-passive players are very comfortable with.

Loose Passive, or Hunting for a Hand

Blue poker chip with a fish symbol, labeled 'The Fish - Loose-Passive (LP),' representing a passive playing style.

This is the online poker strategy that’s the most like casino gambling. Instead of sticking to cards and hands that are statistically likely to win a showdown, you’ve got two cards and you want to see if the flop hits. But the problem is, because you’re passive, you’re not going to get paid well. Other players stay well away from passive players who suddenly start betting.

LP Pros. You could show down with anything. What you hold in your hand is very hard to read preflop. This means other players in the game who are attentive have to be somewhat cautious. No matter what kind of board comes out on the flop, it could hit you. As a bonus, if you manage to get chips in somehow, you could be in for surprising paydays after the river.

LP Cons. You’re tossing away tons of money on losing hands, which is not the way to win your games in real online poker (or free online poker, for that matter). You also aren’t betting and raising enough to get paid when you finally do land a hand.

Tips for playing against loose-passive players

  • They could have anything. These folks want to see a lot of hands cheaply. They are essentially playing video poker. They want to walk into a hand with any two cards and flop a monster. If they don’t, they won’t have many moves left. Expect plenty of garbage pocket pairs and lower connectors, or even hands that “feel good” like 10-4. Their mantra is, “Hey, you never know!”
  • Open your analytical ranges. Like the tight-aggressive player, these folks don’t like to drive the action by betting or applying pressure in marginal situations. The difference here is that these players could have a MUCH wider array of holdings. If the preflop action was cheap, they might have anything. Open up the range you are considering when assessing their hands.
  • Believe their bets. They have what they represent, most often. If they are projecting strength and you are scratching your head about what they might have, just assume they have something decent. Passive players generally won’t be trying to steal a pot. The loose-passive player will have 68s and wake up with bottom two pair on the flop. They can make a full house by the river that no one saw coming. Don’t suspect them of too much bluffing.

Example hand – check/call all the way. You’re playing someone heads up and they check call you on a dry flop and turn. You’re trying to figure out whether to put in a river bet with top pair. If your opponent is loose-passive, they could hold anything. Their range is actually huge. Go ahead and make that river bet. There’s good value in the amount of lesser hands they will call with.

Tight Aggressive (TAG), or Making Good Hands Pay

Purple poker chip with a shark symbol, labeled 'The Shark - Tight-Aggressive (TAG),' representing a strategic, aggressive player.

The tight aggressive style of playing online poker games reveals a player that is selective, but who knows when to push on the gas. These players are usually playing the best online poker software while waiting for decent new hands to come around, but they don’t let the rest of the table skate by. Instead, if they have top pair, they’re betting it. If they have the goods, they’re raising. These players make their hands pay and tax others heavily if they want to come along with a draw. In fact, these are the poster players at the casino for ensuring that you never give an opponent favorable pot odds.

TAG Pros. You usually hold decent cards in your games that are statistically favored at most showdowns. You have a high expected value in hands just based on that. But by pairing this with aggression, the bonus is that you’re also making it hard for other players to suck out a hand on you. You get the goods and you make it pay. It’s a pretty decent strategy for winning real online poker.

TAG Cons. Your hands are rarely surprising to the other players at the poker rooms and sites you visit. Opponents are used to you having the goods and may learn to avoid your hands and protect their cash. They also can anticipate that you won’t let them slide, so they may bet more themselves and put you to more difficult decisions. Lastly, you’re quite susceptible to traps. Getting check-raised is a way of life for the tight aggressive online poker player.

Tips for playing against tight-aggressive players

  • Prepare to do battle. These players have premium holdings and won’t let you see cards for free. If you check, expect to see a bet. If you bet, expect to get raised. And don’t think that they can be pushed out of a hand easily. They will stand their ground.
  • At least they are readable. For the most part, they have what they represent. They don’t bluff often. But the good news is that you can get out of the way of strong hands and won’t waste money trying to push someone around who is hard to bully. Plan accordingly.
  • Use their tendencies against them. They’re going to lead out and bet their hands when they have something. Let them feel confident. You don’t have to spook them. They’re going to put money in the pot, so let them lead the betting. Show small signs of weakness and let them get surprised at showdown.

Example hand – top pair gets overplayed. If a tight aggressive player is leading the betting on a K-T-8 flop, you better believe they hold a king. Feel free to chase that straight if their bets aren’t too big. Against a passive player, the odds of getting paid off in the end aren’t great. But against an aggressive player like this, you stand a much better chance of seeing the payday you want when that straight connects.

LOOSE AGGRESSIVE (LAG), OR HOW TO WILDLY BULLY A TABLE

Orange poker chip with a lion symbol, labeled 'The Lion - Loose-Aggressive (LAG),' symbolizing an aggressive poker style.

This is a real online poker strategy that causes a lot of people to pull their hair out. The loose aggressive player might get and play any two cards in any position. And they might bet or raise whether the flop hit them or not. How, oh how do we play against these wild cards?

  • LAG Pros. You can hit any flop and are often unreadable. When you hit a hand, you will puzzle other players and may pull in some callers when you have the goods. They will never be quite sure whether you’re on your usual nonsense of betting anything and everything, or whether luck smiled on you and the best online poker software blessed you with a real hand for a change.
  • LAG Cons. Playing every new hand in a game is expensive, costing you a lot of cash, especially when other players hold their cards and aren’t scared of your aggression. A lot of bets and raises will come out of your stack and never come back, which isn’t a way to win whether you’re playing free online poker or not. You also will often be drawn into hands that you don’t belong in – getting outkicked, holding second-best pairs, and chasing draws with poor pot odds. This is a fast way to go broke.

Tips for playing against loose-aggressive players

  • Hold them accountable. They could hold any two cards, so make your good hands pay. Do not let them see cards for free and catch an unexpected monster on you.
  • Pay attention to how much action they’re giving. They will check and call with a very wide range. But if they are giving you a lot of action by betting and raising, be careful. Some of these players will stab at a pot and give up. The very aggressive players will keep firing bullets to the river, however.
  • Play decent cards and stand your ground. The game of the loose passive player works in two ways. One is that they could hold anything, and often surprise opponents. The other is that their aggression bullies people out of hands. The counterplay is to hold solid cards and withstand the betting. Making it to showdown with halfway decent cards is usually all it takes to win here.
  • Turn the tables. Some aggressive players will melt when you fire back. This can be a great way to put the brakes on a loose cannon. Bet into them and don’t be scared to raise. You can often buy yourself a much calmer session by checking their aggression a few times and showing them that you’re hard to push around.

What is the Best Style for You?

This is really a trick question. You don’t want to adopt a single style and stick with it rain or shine in every game when playing real online poker. Instead, you need to be able to play ALL the styles and shift towards the one that will win you cash at a given table or in a given poker game. When you’re playing the best online poker software, you’re going to encounter players of all kinds. Your mission is to read a new table and figure out how to win.

Try leaning on other players with raises from late position. Do they hold on, play back, and show strength a few times? Now you know the table won’t be bullied. Do they fold? Good, keep up the aggression.

See some showdowns and keep an eye on what other players flip over. Was a player taking a bluff to the river? Be ready for wild aggression and consider standing your ground. Are people usually holding the goods? Open up your range a bit and give their bets high credibility. As you can see, each online poker game has a way to win. You just need to bring the best of each style to become the enlightened winner we know you can be. Join us at Ignition Casino!