Types of opponents in poker: how to find weak players and win at poker

Why separate players into different types?

In poker, the player who wins is not the one who frequently gets good cards, but the one who better understands the people at the table. Every player plays in their own way: some play cautiously, some too aggressively, and some even give chips away left and right. If you learn to distinguish between types of opponents, you can adjust your strategy to exploit their mistakes. This gives you a huge advantage - you start using the weaknesses of a particular player for your own profit. If your goal is to win, you should focus on playing against opponents who are weaker than you and avoid large pots against strong opponents.

Let's define some terminology

To make the article clear, we will explain some terms in advance:

VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money In Pot) - the percentage of hands with which a player voluntarily puts money in the pot pre-flop, in other words, chooses any action other than Fold: they call or raise.

PFR (Preflop Raise) - the percentage of hands with which a player raises the bet, meaning they made a raise.

3bet - the percentage of hands with which a player made a 3-bet pre-flop, meaning they raised someone else's raise.

VPIP, PFR, and 3bet can be seen either in the poker client itself or in a special poker tracker, such as Hand2Note or HoldemManager3.

This is what a standard HUD in Hand2Note looks like: The three numbers represent VPIP, PFR, and 3bet. You can set up the HUD to suit your needs in the tracker itself, but if you are a beginner player, we recommend using a HUD that only includes these three metrics.

This is how the built-in HUD in the GGPokerOK poker client looks - in other rooms it looks different, but in a similar way.

For the VPIP, PFR, and 3bet numbers to tell us something about an opponent, we need to play at least 100-200 hands with them, but certain conclusions about an opponent can be made over a distance of 30-50 hands.

Passive Recreational Player

Who are they: A player who aims to play many cheap hands, often entering the game with any cards, plays cautiously, but rarely folds to bets if they have managed to put together some combination.

How to identify them: Preliminary VPIP/PFR/3bet 40+/10+/5. The indicators are approximate; the principle is enough to understand: high VPIP, low PFR, very low 3bet. Such a player often enters the game with a call and very rarely with a raise.

How to play against a passive recreational player: 

• This type of opponent will bring you the most profit at the table, so try to play as many hands with them as possible. To do this, use an isolation strategy: if a passive recreational player enters a hand with a bet of 1bb, then raise that bet to 3.5 big blinds with all the hands you want to play, not being in the hand with the recreational player. This size of bet will allow you to "isolate" the recreational player from other players at the table and play one-on-one with them, as it becomes unprofitable for others to continue participating in the hand.

• Passive recreational players are characterized by their stubbornness. They poorly understand the strength of their hands, so they often call bets with weak combinations. Actively use 3-bets with your strongest hands from your range. Increase the pot size and use large bets to win more when you have a good hand, but refrain from expensive bluffs.

• If a passive recreational player starts showing aggression by raising your raises or betting themselves - trust them and let go of hands of medium strength and weaker.

Aggressive Recreational Player

Who are they: Also an incompetent player, but unlike the passive recreational player, they try to play as many hands as possible, taking advantage of active actions: raising, 3-betting, and large bets.

How to identify them: Preliminary VPIP/PFR/3bet 52+/27+/16. The indicators can be different, but such a player will always be distinguished by huge VPIP and PFR.

How to play against an aggressive recreational player:

• Aggressive recreational players have a poor understanding of positions in poker, so they often play the same and very wide range of hands in any situation. They never fold to aggression and often show it themselves. Refrain from bluffs against aggressive recreational players and focus on getting paid with your strong hands. Due to the fact that your opponent plays a lot of weak hands, you can consider even top pair to be a strong combination.

• Remember that you are playing no-limit poker and can use any bet sizes. Aggressive recreational players are the type of opponents against whom you can use unusual expensive lines with strong hands. For example, a pre-flop all-in with strong pocket pairs against their raise even with a very large stack, or post-flop bets larger than the pot size (overbets) when you have a good hand (set or better).

• Do not respond to bets from aggressive recreational players with weak combinations; remember that all your profit at the table against them is concentrated in pots where you have a strong hand.

Nit

Who are they: A very cautious player who enters hands only with the strongest hands. They can patiently fold cards for hours, waiting exclusively for premium combinations.

How to identify them: Preliminary VPIP/PFR/3bet 16/12/3 or less. This opponent participates in hands very rarely, so their statistics will show low numbers.

How to play against a nit:

• Nits rarely participate in hands, so we can often steal their blinds by raising from late positions (cutoff and button).

• Pay close attention to their raises and 3-bets pre-flop: most often in such situations they have a strong hand.

• Post-flop, such a player has a hard time letting go of the hand they have been waiting for so long, so with strong combinations, bet a lot, but it’s better to reduce bluffs. Pay close attention to their aggression and fold if you do not have a nut combination.

Weak Regular

Who are they: An experienced player who has already learned the basic strategies but still plays predictably and makes many mistakes.

How to identify them: Preliminary VPIP/PFR/3bet 24/17/5. Plays according to familiar templates, beats recreational players but loses to stronger opponents.

How to play against a weak regular:

• This type of player folds well to 3-bets, so use 3-bets not only with strong hands but also with bluffs. Weak combinations with an Ace, such as A5, A2, A3 will suffice.

• Regulars have a good understanding of positional advantages in poker, so they raise a lot from late positions (cutoff and button) to steal blinds and play in position post-flop. Pay close attention when in the big blind and do not miss the opportunity to defend your blind with a call or a 3-bet.

• Post-flop, weak regulars tend to fold against aggression, but they do not bluff often enough. Their betting sizes honestly describe the strength of their hand: the larger the size of the bet used by such an opponent, the better their hand. When playing against them without position, trust their large bets. In position, play more aggressively, betting a lot and often both with good combinations and in bluffs, but easily fold when facing counter-aggression.

• Pay close attention to their river bets: weak regulars very rarely bluff on the last street, and a bet from them is a sign of strength.

Strong Regular

Who are they: An experienced and aggressive player who understands table dynamics, knows how to bluff, and adapts to opponents.

How to identify them: Approximate VPIP/PFR/3bet 30/22/12. They play aggressively and in a balanced manner - in any line of betting, they have both bluffs and strong combinations.

How to play against a strong regular: it is important to understand that while you are a novice - this is not the opponent you want to find yourself in a pot with. Nevertheless, at times you will be forced to play hands against opponents more experienced than you. Here are some general recommendations for playing against them:

• A strong regular plays aggressively: raises and bets a lot. When playing with such an opponent, try not to lose many chips; therefore, play good starting hands with which you can make strong combinations post-flop, and refrain from playing weak hands.

• Turn their main weapon - aggression - against them: play through check to give them a chance to bet in a bluff and call with good combinations. Try to control the size of the pot so that it is not too large when you have a medium strength hand - this will help avoid difficult decisions. Such opponents will try to push you into uncomfortable situations using bets in scary scenarios for play.

• With your very best combinations, don’t be afraid to play aggressively; this will simplify your decisions post-flop. Strong regulars often call large bets with slightly worse hands, making this profitable.

Conclusion

Now you know what types of opponents exist and how to structure your gameplay strategy against them. This knowledge will allow you to feel more confident at the poker tables. Observe your opponents and learn to identify which type they belong to in order to choose the right strategy. If you are a beginner player, focus on mastering the game against the weakest opponents: recreational players and nits. This skill will bring you a significant portion of your profit at the table.

FAQ

Is it possible to play without differentiating opponents by type?

It is, if you are playing for fun. However, if your goal is profit, you need to understand the types of opponents you are playing against and correctly exploit their weaknesses.

I don’t use a poker tracker, how can I understand what type of opponent is in front of me?

In that case, it's best to play only in poker rooms that have their own HUD, such as GGPokerOK and PokerDom. In rooms without a built-in HUD, you will have to pay closer attention to the game to understand the types of opponents.

Which types of opponents is it most profitable to play against?

In poker, you rarely get to choose the opponent you will find yourself in a hand with, so it's important to understand how to play against each type of opponent. However, focusing specifically on playing correctly against recreational players will earn you the most money.