“Poker is a game of pure chance!” – a poker inexpert would conclude with the definiteness habitual of people that lack in enough experience and can only boast of a smattering of knowledge in a given area, but are nevertheless willing to voice their opinion. A poker connoisseur or even a self-respecting poker enthusiast will be deeply offended by such a statement.
Truth is, luck is an essential part of every game of poker. However, it requires a plethora of different skills that a player needs to master in order to be profitable and successful on the felt. Poker, particularly when played live, is a game of observation. Having the best hand on the table does not always mean that a player would win the pot, it simply gives a considerable advantage over opponents.
Knowing table mates well, trying to understand why they act the way they act, effectively analyzing common behavioral patterns are all skills that can help a player perform better while at the table. Of course, the abilities a good player needs to master are not only limited to the above-mentioned but they are the ones that matter the most within the context of this article.
Poker players are generally classified in four main categories when it comes to the way they play their hands. According to this most popular classification, a player can be loose-passive, loose-aggressive, tight-passive, and tight-aggressive. However, limiting playing style only too betting patterns is probably a mistake.
As mentioned above, poker is much more than looking at your cards, betting, if satisfied with what you are seeing, or folding, if not. The above-mentioned four categories have been dwelt upon for so long that there is probably little that has not been said or written by individuals with poker interests of all kind.
The focus of this article falls on a slightly different classification, one based on players’ behavior while at the table. A clear-cut generalization of a large group of people is close to impossible. Different people act in a different manner when in the same situation. Yet, as in every other aspect of live, there are certain patterns that can be noticed among players while on the felt. These patterns provide material enough for several groups to be established.
Here are the types of players based on their table manners, or the way they behave while playing live poker.
The Quiet Ones
Many would say that players falling under that category are the most dangerous ones as it is really hard to read them. Such players remain silent and almost motionless throughout the game. It seems that they are only focused on their own hands and pay attention to nothing else around them. Engaging them in conversations is close to impossible. Their poker-table attire is often completed by a pair of headphones, thus further pointing out that they do not want to be bothered.
The Chit-Chatters
The chit-chatters are the silent ones’ complete opposite. They start talking since the very beginning of a poker game and they keep and keep talking until the very end. They can talk about literally everything that can come to one’s mind – sports, the weather, the state of the oil industry, the New York Fashion Week, the cheapest hotels in Las Vegas, the most expensive hotels in Las Vegas, and God knows what else. In the meantime, they can occasionally slip a word or two about the actual games, thus trying to read their opponents’ next move.
Their goal is clear – they aim at distracting fellow players, maybe even vexing them. Anyways, they want to make their opponents lose control over the situation. Although many would say that such a strategy is quite obvious and easy to save yourself from, there are numerous examples over poker’s long history that show otherwise.
The Emotional Ones
Singing, dancing around, constantly blabbering, laughing, crying, and cursing like sailors when losing an important hand, the emotional ones bring incomparable liveliness to the poker table. Having such an opponent at your table can be annoying sometimes. Not having such an opponent at the table is a pity.
The Intense Starers/The Breathing Scanners
The players belonging to this group are probably the most intimidating ones. They stare at their opponents with determination that suggests some supernatural ability to read minds, cards, movements, and everything that can be read while at the table. They are like breathing scanners that are able to learn everything about their fellow players, or rather everything that can help them win a hand and the whole game.
It is quite a spectacle when two such players play heads-up against one another – a minutes- and hours-long intense staredown, during which opponents are trying to break through each other’s mind walls and find out what the other would do next.
The Sincere Ones
Last but not least, the sincere players that openly discuss poker strategy and even occasionally hint at what their next move would be or what they have in their hands also deserve to be paid attention. Players like these seem to be very open about their playing style. Although many would think that such a strategy never wins, this is surprisingly not true. Said otherwise, the sincere ones are so sincere that no one trusts their honesty. This, in turn, benefits them at the table.
To sum up, different players adopt different strategies and develop them into what works best for them. However, common elements can indeed be noticed in the way they behave and this allows for certain groups to be established, although they are too abstract to be taken much seriously. Here it is important to note that the above classification is not an official one, it is just based on hours spent on watching some of poker’s big names and taking notes on their general behavior and mannerisms while playing. It does not aim at offending anyone, but just to present another point of view on the way players are classified, a point of view casting a bit more light on their manners.
