How YOU Can Classify Online Poker Players

Classifying other players in your games requires a system of note taking that can quickly inform you of the type of opponents that you are facing. In online poker, note taking is quite easy so that you can classify a player and use that information at a later time.

There are two areas of classification that should be looked at first. They are the passive-aggressive rating and loose-tight rating. To easily adjust to the kind of play that an opponent is likely to do, you need a system of note taking that is easy to remember and record. One of the easiest that I have found is the alphanumeric system. With this system, you assign letters for the degree of passive-aggressive play and numbers for the degree of loose-tight play.

Passive-Aggressive Rating

The passive player is one that never raises but tends to call. The aggressive player is one that consistently raises whenever he is in a pot. All players fall into one of these categories to some extent. Knowing what that extent is, tells you what kind of player he is.

For recording this type of play I assign letters from A to E.

"A" would be the most passive player and "E" the most aggressive player. So if a player were somewhat aggressive you would assign him the letter "C", meaning that he is not aggressive all the time but that he is not overly passive.

Loose-Tight Rating

The loose player is one that plays in numerous pots. He tends to call or raise every blind. The tight player only plays in a few pots. Again all players fall somewhere in one of these categories. For recording this type of play I assign numbers from 1 to 5.

The number "1" would be for the tightest player and "5" for the loosest player. Therefore, if a player played an average number of hands (one of every three hands) you assign him the number "3", meaning that he saw the flop about 30% of the time.

Remember when assigning these ratings to do it in reference to the game you normally play in. In other words, give the loosest player in your regular game a 5 and the tightest player a 1 and use them as a benchmark for all the other players. This is also true for the passive and aggressive players.

When you first sit in a game look for any notes you have on the other players. Then watch them play to see if they still match what you have written about them. This is important as people tend to change their style of play after a while.

Another thing to look for, which only happens in online play, is the player that plays at more than one table. These players tend to play a straightforward game, as they have to watch more than one game. I usually put a "+" sign in their notes to show this.

After you have mastered this system, you will find that you will invent more codes to give you more information about each player.

Good Luck