What group are you in?

[jdl22]

Having been here for a couple of months I've noticed that just like there are four groups that most poker players can be put in (LAG, loose passive, tight passive, tight aggressive), there are also four groups of posters.

Here are the groups:
1. Newbie
2. Not so newbie
3. Better than being a dumbass
4. Old sage

Characteristics:
1. Newbie
Most obvious. Tend to have very few posts but that's not always the case. Could be new to poker or just NL. Ask plenty of questions about opening hands, limit strategy vs. no limit strategy, getting aces cracked when they min raised preflop, and similarly getting sucked out when they underbet the pot every street.
Playing style tends to be: loose-passive
Most annoying for: group 3 (they can't handle people not searching for old posts on these topics)
Most helpful to: group 2 (more on that in a bit)
Receive most help from: group 2

2: Not so newbie
Also pretty easy to spot. Tend to have between 100 and 1500 posts here. Post loads of help to people in group 1, which is perfect because while they are slightly more advanced they are very much still learning some of the basics. Some post what seems like 50 hands per day most of which seem pretty obvious and would even be to the poster if they were played by somebody else. When involved in posts by those in higher groups they are often wrong as is shown by the higher group posters. They frequently fall for the group 3 trap described below.
Playing style: tight-passive/weak-tight
Most helpful for: group 1
receive most help from: group 3* (* see below)

3. Better than being a dumbass
It's the motto of every smartass. These posters are also not too hard to find, but it takes more time. They normally have over 1500 posts. There is no doubt that these players are skilled and they let people know it in their own special way. There favorite trick is to post a hand with a play that on the face of it seems completely horrible. It's a trick because it's a horrible play without information on the villain which somehow doesn't get provided until at minimum one person has posted "terrible play, what were you thinking." This play tends to involve pushing all-in preflop with some weak pocket pair or a high suited ace like AJ and is generally brilliant given all the information they provide after the responses. This group provides a lot of quite helpful insight to group 2 when they are in the mood to provide insight and not just comments like "Stop playing weak-tight, my grandmother is more aggressive than that."
Playing style: moderately tight to a little loose and super aggressive
Worst for: group 1 (they can't handle the smart ass nature of the comments to their questions)
Most entertaining for: anyone with a sense of humor (they are normally pretty funny, especially if they aren't addressing you)
most helpful for: group 2
receive most help from: group 4 (obviously)

4. Old sage
Everybody except those in group 1 knows who they are. You tend to learn their names because you will frequently see "this essay post by X is a must read" and such. They don't seem to post very frequently, typically responding or posting about hands at limits that seem mind boggling to those in groups 1 and 2. Occasionally they go on a rant about something and this results in the essay posts mentioned above. At times they will even slap around those in group 3 which is an impressive sight. They don't tend to respond to posts from groups 1 and 2 because they can't be bothered answering such basic questions and pointing out such obvious mistakes.
Playing style: tight aggressive like the book only better because they fully understand what "vary your play" means
Most helpful for: everyone - group 3 gets help on hands and tweaking some things they have wrong, lower groups get help from essay posts
Get most help from: everyone and noone. Nobody can really help them directly other than other sages. Everyone here helps them because more interest in poker and specifically NL is created from those in lower groups who then keep the tables full of players for them to feed on.

While I haven't read the essay in question, Mason apparently wrote that in poker successful players start playing too loose (and I assume passive), then way to tight, then too loose again, followed by a happy medium. That seems to be the progression here too. Seems that people go through the groups in order 1 then 2 then 3 then 4.

So I'm in group 2. Which group are you in?

[scrub]

[ QUOTE ]
This play tends to involve pushing all-in preflop with some weak pocket pair or a high suited ace like AJ and is generally brilliant given all the information they provide after the responses

[/ QUOTE ]

If you're talking about the posts of the posts I think you are, you ought to go back and reread them.

scrub

[jdl22]

This was one of your responses to the specific recent thread that made me think of this (italics added):

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I'd either set her all in preflop or call and set her in on a flop without an Ace.

I like it .


[/ QUOTE ]

[scrub]

My point was that he didn't bait-and-switch you with the post. All the information was up front.

If you want to complain about my posting style, that's fine. Last time I checked I wasn't getting paid.

scrub

[jdl22]

Ah, ok. I thought you meant that they weren't good plays.

It is true that in this post he didn't do a full bait and switch. Having said that, at the time I remember reading his post and thinking something like "no f***ing way is that a good play" but after reading his response with more of the thought process thinking "seems way above my level" which it no doubt was. Perhaps I should have said "the thought process" instead of information on the opponent. Yes, I do recognize that giving the thought process up front defeats much of the purpose of posting.

As for your comment about me complaining about your posting style I'm not. I actually think posts of this form, and in fact in all forms mentioned in my post above add a lot of variety and flavor to the forum and make it much better as well as informative. I'm merely trying to make some observations and add a little humor. That's why I chose the smiley with the tongue.

If you don't like my sense of humor, that's fine. Many (probably most) don't either. Last time I checked I wasn't getting paid as a comedian.