Just like high school, there are stereotypes in poker. Poker players generally adhere to a particular strategy in their poker games. They will bet, raise, check and call depending on their own perceptions. Poker players can thus be loosely classified into the following categories.

The Passive Players: The Trying Hard

You must have encountered lots of people in high school who were trying hard to fit in. They always went with the flow; they shouted when the cool guys shouted, they were disgusted when the cool guys were disgusted. You will meet this type in poker gaming rooms, too.

In poker, these are known as the passive poker players. These people are hard to miss. They know enough about poker to begin playing, but they never really catch up to learn good poker strategy. They are usually following the cue of other players, always basing their decisions on other players’ decisions. They bet when most others are betting, they raise when most people are raising and they stay in the game when most players remain.

Consequently, passive players are the best source of income for seasoned poker players. They’re very easy to lead on and bluff. Find this type of players and you’re almost always guaranteed to win.

The Aggressive Maniacs: The Bullies

There were always bullies in high school. These were the guys who are always laughing and chattering gibberish and nonsense. Confidence fairly oozes out of the bullies’ skin. They are very aggressive when crossed and they get easily physical with people they don’t like.

Bullies are known as the aggressive maniacs in poker. They are always raising and betting high. These are players who frequently go all in. Their main strategy is to scare other players into folding and thus leave the pot for easy taking.

Dealing with aggressive maniacs should be done the way you dealt with high school bullies. Ignore them for the most part and don’t let their chatter or their nasty ways distract you from playing to win. Do not call their bluff merely to show them up. Do this only if you have cards that can reasonably win the hand.

The Conservative Players: The Timid

There were guys in high school who got out of trouble’s way as much as possible. These are the guys who always passed papers, always drove with a seat belt on and never cut classes. They are also non-confrontational.

In poker, the timid guys are the conservative or tight poker players. These are the guys who almost always fold when they have a bad hand. They also want to win money but their most important priority is not losing much money.

You should deal carefully with the tight poker players. You have to play it right if you want to lure them into betting a few more rounds so that the pot can grow bigger. When you want them out of the game, just raise the bet and they’ll oblige you by folding. However, when these conservative players raise and re-raise in one hand, beware. They probably hold a monster hand.