weak tight vs. tight aggressive

My understanding is that the weak-tight player, while he plays better starters than the maniacs and loose aggressives, is a good player to have sitting at your table. His unimaginative play will enable you to know where you stand during all streets of play. I'm unsure of exactly what qualities he possesses that puts him in the weak-tight classification. Is it that he's unwilling to take calculated risks, betting draws for value or raising second pair to narrow the field? Will he never cap with anything but the nuts? What does a weak-tight player need to do to his game to turn into a tight-aggressive player?

T..ight preflop - need a good opener

W..eak on flop - won't chase much

A..ggressive on turn - if I reach it I bet it

T..ight on river - need what I think is best

I'd rather be a twat than a twit (insecure on the turn).

See Vol I Essays by Mason for discussion on weak tight players.

You seem to have a better grip on what makes someone weak-tight than you thought when you started writing your post.


Weak-tight players DO play tightly, especially before the flop. However, they are weak for several reasons. They don't take chances, don't semi-bluff enough or at all, don't raise without the nuts, fear the nuts when someone else shows aggression, etc. However, the thing that causes me to give someone the label of weak-tight in my own mind is when they fold too often, especially on late rounds.


When I'm against a weak-tight player, I by default tend to bet or raise more when they are in the pot, because I know they are more likely than the average player to fold. This is especially true on the river, there's nothing like winning a pot with a worse hand than your opponent just tossed. I don't ever show my hand if I successfully get a weak-tight player to fold the river, ESPECIALLY if I was bluffing. The only time I might show it (when all folded) is if I really DID have a strong hand. I do this to reinforce the behavior of excessive folding in my weak-tight opponents.


To become tight-aggressive, a weak-tight player must overcome their own personal nature, their own tendency to be overly cautious and conservative. They must become something they are not, they must adopt a way of doing things that is completely foreign to them, they must become a chance-taker.


People play the way they ARE. It's a generalization that applies to almost everyone. Loose aggressive players are natural gamblers and risk takers, they are likely aggressive people in their daily lives in some fashion or another. They don't fear the consequences of their actions, they don't mind losing a few bets. Loose passive players are meek and timid by nature, but they want to please the people around them, they don't make waves very often. Aggression is likely something that is completely foreign to them. Weak-tight players pretty much fit the bill of the tight-passive player. They won't be in there without a strong hand, but they don't play aggressively enough to maximize their profits. They can probably break a small profit in a place like vegas, where the loose passive tourists are like big, fat guppies with short fins and a clipped tail. However, they will likely have a great deal of trouble in a place like california, where the commonplace aggressive player will constantly be betting them out of the pot. I see weak-tight players get very frustrated in a very aggressive game, and sometimes they just quit, knowing they can't win.


In order to become a winner, you must become tight-aggressive. The difficulty of this is that this is not the way most of us are by nature. I myself have no problem with aggression, but I had to play MUCH tighter than I naturally would in order to become a winning player. To be TA, you must overcome your natural tendencies and learn to play in a very unnatural way. This can be very difficult for some people, sometimes practically impossible.


A weak-tight player has to learn where and when to be more aggressive, to selectively take more risks. They have to let go of the fear that holds them back. I always say "fear is for the weak!" I'm usually joking, but it has a ring of truth to it. They have to learn to be something they are not.


All this is discussed in much more detail in "the psychology of poker" by Alan Schoonmaker, published on 2+2's label. This book is especially good for beginning players, but IMO is must reading for all.


Dave in Cali

nice rehash of very important concepts...gl

I appreciate the insight to my question. It seems to me that it would be easier for a loose aggressive to make the adjustment to tight aggressive than it would be for a weak tight player. I see some weak tight qualities in my play and really don't want to become the dreaded rock. Thanks again, this should immediately improve my game.

Oops. Time to change my password! DOH!!

ttt

loose can probably go to tight much easier than passive can go to aggressive. Still though, aggression, specifically SELECTIVE aggression, is key to developing a winning style.


Dave in Cali