Poker is a game of people. You are not playing against a casino with a built-in edge but rather live humans who make mistakes and have no pre-established advantage against you. This makes it critically important that you develop the ability to read and make assumptions about your opponents when you play poker, based on their demeanor at the table and how they play their hands.

What is labeling an opponent?

To label an opponent is to create a certain schema of how you expect them to play. These labels are usually based along the dimensions of tight-loose and passive-aggressive. A tight player plays fewer hands and is not willing to go as far with them unless they are very strong. An aggressive player bets strongly most of the times they are in the pot.

Players are thus labeled as loose-aggressive, tight-passive (or tight-weak), tight-aggressive or loose-passive. These are dimensions, so most of the time you will label a player as something like: fairly loose but very passive; average, slightly loose at times; pretty tight and somewhat aggressive, etc.

Players that fall in the extreme ends of these category ranges have special names. Very tight-passive players are called "rocks," extremely loose aggressive players are referred to as "maniacs," the loose passive players are "calling stations" or "ATMs" and the tight-aggressive, long thought to be the most effective style of play, can be called "solid," "killers" or "pros."

How do you label an opponent?

Online poker sites encourage you to label your opponents. The software allows you to take notes that can be accessed by clicking on the player in question, so you can literally label your opponent right there on the screen.

In a live game, you will have to remember your impression of an opponent, but putting a label on them will make it easier to recall who they are next time you see their face across the poker table.

Pitfalls of labeling an opponent

Labeling an opponent too quickly can cause you to make mistakes. A player you have labeled as a maniac may have just amassed a lot of chips on a lucky run and decided to play loose for a change. Similarly your .rock. may just be a maniac who has run out of chips and is trying to stretch his remaining bankroll.

Be able to revise your impression based on new information and be wary of acting too strongly on your impression until you have sufficient evidence. Once you have gathered such evidence however, labeling an opponent can be a great decision-making tool in poker games.

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