There are four standard, “catch all” playing styles, each based on two concepts; Tightness and Aggression. A player is either “tight” or “loose” with what cards he or she chooses to play, and either “aggressive” or “passive” with how she chooses to play them. It is the combination of these four titles that give us the four playing styles: Tight-Aggressive, Tight-Passive, Loose-Passive and Loose-Aggressive.

Tight-Aggressive
This is considered the best playing style and is the one that most old school pros have used to make a living over the years. A Tight-Aggressive player will wait for the best hands or until they make a great hand, and then will put on a lot of pressure in terms of pushing with raises and reraises. This player is called a “stone cold killer”.

Tight-Passive
This player hardly seems to play at all. He or she is always waiting for the best hands to play, but then does not capitalize on it with aggressive enough betting. They may not lose a lot of chips, but they don’t win a lot of chips either. This player is called a “rock”.

Loose-Passive
This player plays a lot but does not win a lot. Loose-Passive players do well in small stakes poker and limit poker, where they don’t have to risk a lot to play. They play a lot of hands but fold quickly when the pressure is too great, or calls small bets because of their passive nature. This is a losing playing style, and these players are “calling stations.”

Loose-Aggressive
Here we come to the player affectingly known as “the maniac.” This player plays a lot of hands, and very aggressively. This kind of player is either going home with all the chips or going home broke—there is very rarely an in-between. Wild swings are the stock and trade of the Loose-Aggressive player.