Player Types You’ll Find in Las Vegas Card Rooms

 

Middle-stakes, no limit Texas hold’em poker games attract a wide variety of players with many different styles of play. Successful middle stakes no limit players will be able to quickly identify the different types of players and be aware of how to play against them. Here are some of the players you may see at your middle-stakes, no limit Texas hold’em poker table.

The Maniac:

At the same time the most desirable and often most feared type of poker player, this opponent seems not to understand the value of his chips or basic Texas holdem strategy. He pushes chips in with reckless abandon, before the flop, on the river, and anytime in between. When this type of player is getting lucky, he can be a fearsome opponent, as he almost always gets paid off on his big hands and therefore can amass an enormous stack of chips. In a live game, this player is usually easy to identify due the frequency of his betting. He may also lament that he usually plays in a much bigger game and is just killing time or talk about what a successful professional he is. Your best bet against this player is to slowplay your big hands and look to trap him. Limping pre-flop with marginal hands can be costly, as he will often raise you off your hand before you have a chance to see cards, whether he has cards or not. If you have played free texas holdem online you have definitely come across this player type.

The Tourist:

Commonly found at Las Vegas casinos rather than online, this player is often using poker as a diversion from blackjack or craps. They may seem tentative with their chips, might be drinking, and often have a significant other watching over their shoulder or even playing next to them. These are great opponents to have, since they tend to not be very sophisticated players and straightforward plays usually work against them. Be warned, since these players do not always have a great understanding of hand strengths, they may give off clear signals as to the strength of their hand that are actually inaccurate, behaving as if they are strong or weak when they are not simply because they don’t know, rather than that they are trying to deceive you.

The Shark: 

These players are tight and aggressive, not playing many hands, but playing them strongly when they do. These players may also mix up their play, occasionally playing marginal hands very strongly or slowplaying a hand they would normally raise with. These players usually have a lot of chips and are often either quiet, not wanting to give away how savvy they actually are, or excessively boisterous, trying to project a maniac image counter to their actual level of poker understanding. You should usually try to stay out of the way of these players and focus on weaker players at the table.