Changing Your Poker Style to Maximize Profit

Never commit to one style of play like tight aggressive. Sure it’s a good starting style but you will miss opportunities to have your chip stack grow and your opponents will take advantage of you.

What do I mean, well, let’s say you notice that when you’re the button, the blinds are usually also playing tight aggressive. So, rather than wait for a great hand to play against them, play almost any hand with a raise. They will either continually lose their blinds to you or they will need to change their style and play against you. If they play against you, then you have them playing hands that they normally wouldn’t in a bad position which can add up to even more chips in your stack. If they don’t play back, then you have your license to steal and you are obviously now playing loose aggressive.

Now let’s say a donkey sits down in front of you and is constantly loose raising. You have the position and can decide what hands are worth a call or even a re-raise. By re-raising with a strong hand, the donkey either has to let the hand go, or play a weaker hand in a bad position. Either way, you have the advantage and because he is used to just bullying the table, now he is going to have to play out of his comfort zone. This will usually result in the donkey losing a significant portion of their stack. On the other hand, if a solid player sits in front of you and raises, you know you need a high quality hand to play against them and can muck the hands that will get you into trouble and play the hands that either are stronger or have the possibility to hurt a tight aggressive player like 7/8 suited. Again, it’s just a matter of adjusting your style.

If you are playing loose aggressive and you notice that the other players are catching on, then it’s time to start playing tight aggressive and getting paid off. They will still be in the mode to call you down and play back at you but you will have the goods. It is always a good idea to play the opposite that the table is playing and to mix up your play when you think the table has you figured out. By changing your style, not only do you keep your opponents guessing and make them play outside their comfort zone but you can maximize your profits.