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Tight Play (Poker)
A tight poker player is a style of poker in which a player doesn't play a lot of hands or show much aggression, instead limiting himself to the premium poker hands. This is a trait often found in new players who are happy to sit about for hours without playing a hand in wait for one of the top starting hands. Is this a bad way to play?
Well this is an easy answer. Play tight all the time and yes, this is not good for a number of reasons. Firstly you will become very predictable only playing premium hands and will find it difficult to extract money from your opponents when you play a hand and raise it up as they will put you on a big hand. Tight players often fail to change gears and this is key to keeping your opponents guessing. Additionally changing gears and playing aggressive all of a sudden will catch your opponents off guard.
In terms of profitability, tight players don't risk as much. They are very patient and do not play many hands and when they do generally won't commit too much unless they have a very strong hand. When tight players get involved in a hand, this generally means they have a good holding. The reality is that they fold too many hands and so do not make as much as an aggressive player. The shortfall of not changing gears is that they will be folding away their blinds (particularly in tournament play) and when they get a big hand, will find it difficult to coerce the observant into the pot for much money.
That said, there is nothing wrong with tight play - at times, as getting involved in every hand is not a recipe for success. It is important however to change gears and exploit table position, chip stacks and the weaknesses of your opposition.
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