Changing Up Your Game: Intermediate Poker Skills
by Bodog Poker | Sep 1 2010
Once you've learned the basics of poker - hand strength, basic odds, betting - your next step should be determining how best to approach and defeat the various kinds of players that you'll encounter both in online poker rooms like Bodog and in live events. The ability to shift their playing style from situation to situation and player to player is one of the things that make a professional poker player stand out from the rest of the crowd. Understanding how to establish and then manipulate your table image from moment to moment requires forethought and concentration, something that most players that are new to the game are only able to devote time to after making the basics part of their subconscious. We're going to review a few different types of players that you're likely to come across at the tables and tell you how to approach them.
Calling Stations
We've discussed these guys in previous articles, and they do exactly what their nickname in the poker community states: they call. That's all they do. They don't raise, they don't fold if they're in on a hand unless things are shaken up a bit. They just call. If they consistently call and then check-raise on the turn, then they're likely holding a strong pair, likely with a kicker. Back off and let them take the hand. You don't want to bluff the guy that's willing to call you just because that's what they do.
Aggro Players
An aggro player will bet and raise without regard for the rules, much more often than the close cousin, the strong/aggressive player. A good aggressive player is interested in dominating the pot and taking control of the table while agro players want in on every pot, no matter what, and will frequently bet just to see some action. The best thing to do with a player like this is to set them up. Check-Raise them, since they'll bet your hand for you and if you can count on their aggressiveness beating common sense, then you're likely to swell the pot a bit in your favor. Of course, there's always the risk that you'll fall victim to them actually having a good hand, which is something you should keep in mind.
Tight Players
It is very, very tough to get chips from tight players who are determined to keep their chips, the ones that begrudgingly throw the blinds into the pot. They're waiting for premium hands only and simply won't play otherwise. It's rare that you get a real chance to crack these players, which tend to lean towards the older end of the spectrum. They might be up to playing a hand if they've thrown in the blinds, so that's probably your best chance to get some money out of them.
Knowing how to read people is critical in higher-limit games, because more often than in lower-stakes and free online poker games, the showdown will be a heads-up event, you against one other player and that player is generally going to be determined at the turn. Try different things when you spot these players at lower limit games and it's likely that you'll be able to use the same behavior against them in bigger money cash games and at tournaments.
