An Observation about Aggressive Players

Generally speaking, a tight aggressive style will bring home the money when you sit at a poker table. However, have you ever noticed how some of the looser aggressive players always seem to have your number? Lets assume that you are a tight player and you notice that another player is playing very loose and aggressive. This player is making the weaker competition fold when he bluffs and call when he has a good hand. You end up in a pot with this player and figure that your A-K is good on a board of K-8-2 rainbow. The maniac style player raises you a large amount as he has done to other players at the table and you call, figuring him for a bluff and he turns over 2-2 for a set and you're practically drawing dead.

Here is an observation I've had. This "maniac" knows that you are a tight player. He is trying to exploit his image by playing against you in the same fashion that he plays against the weaker players at the table. However, when he does this to you, the loose aggressive player will usually have a hand. Think about it. What kind of hands does this player need to raise you on the rainbow flop described earlier. Certainly he is not drawing in this situation. He is raising big hoping to get action from a hand that the tight player is "supposed to have" like A-K.

This "maniac" will play garbage against weak players and get them to fold. The "maniac" will play good hands against good players in the same fashion and hope to hit a monster. If you are playing tight, be aware when a good player raises you. They know you have a hand and it is most likely that they are holding a better hand. Also don't be fooled by an active player at the table who is chatting it up. Those players are trying to convey an image of being loose and aggressive when in reality, they are playing somewhat tight just like you. You always need to be observant when you are at the table.