Player types: four archetypes, four exploits.
No two opponents play the same. Four archetypes cover ~95% of low and mid-stakes poker — maniacs, calling stations, rocks, and TAGs. Each has a specific leak and a specific exploit. Identifying which player is across from you is half the game; making the right adjustment is the other half.
Two axes. Four archetypes.
Every player can be plotted on two axes: how many hands they play (tight ↔ loose) and how aggressively they play them (passive ↔ aggressive). The four quadrants cover 95% of opponents you'll face below mid-stakes. Click a dot for the deep dive.
- Tight-Passive — The Rock. Few hands, no aggression. Bleeds blinds.
- Tight-Aggressive — The TAG. Few hands, hammered hard. The hardest type to beat.
- Loose-Passive — The Calling Station. Plays anything, never raises. Your ATM.
- Loose-Aggressive — The Maniac. Plays anything, bets all of it. High-variance gold mine.
Spot them. Exploit them.
Each archetype has a signature, a list of mistakes to avoid against them, and a specific exploit. Pick a type to see all three.
The Maniac
Maniacs don't want a fight. They want quiet pots. Make them fight for every chip.
- Open-raises 4–5× with junk like A6 offsuit.
- 3-bets light and often, even from out of position.
- Continuation-bets every flop, every time.
- Triple-barrels rivers as a default move.
- Don't try to outplay them with fancy lines — they reraise everything.
- Don't sink to their level by widening your range.
- Don't call wide preflop hoping to outflop — you'll be guessing every street.
- Tighten your range. Wait for premium pairs and big broadways.
- Slowplay AA/KK. They'll bet for you on every street.
- When you have position and a premium hand, 3-bet them hard. They hate being out of control.
- Check-raise the flop with monsters — they'll call thinking they're being attacked.
The Calling Station
The single biggest profit source at low stakes. Stations exist to be value-bet. Don't waste them on bluffs.
- Calls preflop raises with bottom suited and junk pairs.
- Never raises post-flop, just calls down with any pair.
- Chases flush and straight draws regardless of price.
- Will pay off three streets with second pair.
- Never bluff them. They will call you with king-high.
- Don't bet small for value — size up. They'll call the same amount.
- Don't slowplay. They'll fold the flop only if you check, then call any bet you make later.
- Value bet relentlessly. Bigger than feels comfortable. They call anyway.
- Charge their draws. Pot-sized bet when two suited cards land.
- Bet for value with TPTK on every street — they'll call with bottom pair to the river.
- Don't try to induce bluffs. They don't bluff.
The Rock
Rocks barely play. Steal their blinds, respect their raises, and they bleed into your stack one orbit at a time.
- Plays maybe 12% of hands. Folds nearly everything in the blinds.
- Never bluffs. Never 3-bets light.
- When they raise, they have it. When they re-raise, run.
- Min-bets the flop with premium pairs, looking for callers.
- Don't pay them off. If they're raising the turn, fold one pair.
- Don't try to outplay them post-flop. They have it.
- Don't bother trying to extract — they fold to any pressure with bluff catchers.
- Steal their blinds constantly. They fold preflop more than they should.
- Fold when they fight back. Their action range is honest.
- Bluff dry boards heads-up — they fold one-pair hands to two streets of pressure.
- Never call down with marginal hands. Their bets mean exactly what they look like.
The TAG
You don't beat the TAG. You sidestep them — and find a different table when the seat opens.
- Plays roughly 18–24% of hands. Almost always with a raise.
- C-bets selectively — only when board favors their range.
- Capable of folding top pair to pressure.
- Uses position to put you in tough spots, every street.
- Don't play big pots out of position. The TAG punishes that worse than any other type.
- Don't bluff into ranges that don't fold (their value-bet ranges).
- Don't try to out-think them with fancy plays — they read those lines.
- Avoid them when you can. Sit on their left, not their right.
- Pick spots where you can fold pre — don't get into 3-bet wars without premiums.
- Look for tilt. Even TAGs spew when they're frustrated.
- If they're a regular, take detailed notes. Their patterns are exploitable; you just have to log them.
One opponent. Four streets.
The complete strategic matrix. For each of the four player types, what to do on each of the four streets. Print this. Tape it to your monitor.
The numbers that identify the type.
If you use a HUD online — or if you're just paying attention live — four stats identify any player in under twenty hands. Here's what each one means and the ranges that classify each archetype.
Three rules. Memorize.
Maniacs: tighten and trap.
Let them build the pot for you. Slowplay your big hands, 3-bet your premiums hard, never sink to their level.
Stations: value-bet relentlessly.
Never bluff. Size up. Charge their draws. Bet your TPTK on three streets — they'll call with bottom pair to the river.
Rocks: steal. TAGs: avoid.
Rocks fold to anything; steal their blinds. TAGs play position perfectly; sit on their left, never out of position, take detailed notes.