Exploiting Different Types of Opponents in Poker

Understanding your opponents’ play is a crucial skill for strong poker performance. In this article, we will examine four types of players, discuss their playing styles, analyze their distinctive stats, and learn strategies for exploiting them.

Table of Contents:

- Nits

- Fit-or-Fold Players

- Calling Stations

- Maniacs

Nits

Nits are overly tight players who play very selectively preflop, only participating in hands with very strong cards, and prefer to avoid risk. They rarely bluff and strive to maximize the safety of their play.

Typical stats of nits:

VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money In Pot): low, usually around 10-15%.

PFR (Preflop Raise): also low, about 8-12%.

AF (Aggression Factor): medium or low, as they rarely show aggression without a strong hand.

WTSD (Went To Showdown): low, as they seldom reach showdown.

You can exploit nits in the following ways:

● Bluff more often

- Since nits often fold hands that do not hit the flop, you can use frequent continuation bets and bluffs to take down pots on later streets.

● Fold to their aggression

- If a nit shows aggression, they most likely have a very strong hand. Therefore, if you face a raise from a nit, be prepared for them to hold a premium hand and act accordingly.

● Steal their blinds

- Use their excessive caution to frequently steal their blinds from late positions whenever the opportunity arises.

We are dealt T4 suited on the Small Blind, and all players before us fold preflop. Obviously, we have a weak hand, but the Big Blind is a nitty opponent with stats of VPIP 13% and PFR 7.3%.

The dynamic HUD from Hand2Note 4 also shows that in blind confrontations, this player defends by calling only 24% of the time and has never 3-bet so far. This means that a raise will win the pot preflop 76% of the time, or about 3 out of 4 times, making a raise with any hand very profitable over the long run.

Fit-or-Fold Players

Fit-or-Fold players adhere to a very simple strategy, playing by the hit-or-miss principle. This playing style is common not only among fish but also among many relatively tight players. Preflop, they usually play a wide range of hands and often fold if they miss the flop.

These players tend to avoid aggression, preferring to call or fold to bets instead of betting or raising, and they rarely reach showdown. Aggressive actions from them usually mean they have a strong hand.

Typical stats of fit-or-fold players:

VPIP: medium or high, from 25%.

PFR: low or medium, 5-15%.

AF: low, as they rarely make aggressive moves.

WTSD: low, as they rarely reach showdown without a strong hand.

Against fit-or-fold players, you should make the following adjustments:

● Isolate them

- Use their tendency to frequently call preflop to isolate them with good hands. Raise when they enter the pot to stay heads-up with them.

● Avoid complex maneuvers

- Against such players, do not resort to complex strategies. Stick to simple and reliable lines without inventing anything.

● Bluff more often on the flop

- Since these players tend to fold if they miss the flop, frequent continuation bets and cheap bluffs will be very effective.

We open-raised with KQ offsuit from the Early Position and got a call from a loose-passive player with VPIP 27% and PFR 13%. We missed the flop, but that is not a reason to give up.

In the HUD, we see that our opponent often folds to continuation bets on the flop, specifically 60% of the time, and reaches showdown only 23% of the time. Based on these statistics, a good decision would be to make a continuation bet on the flop as a bluff to put pressure on the opponent and take down the pot.

Calling Stations

Calling stations are players who play a very wide range of hands and love to call bets regardless of the strength of their hand. They rarely fold and rarely raise, preferring to passively get to showdown with their hands.

Calling stations do not like to fold, hoping to improve on later streets, and often reach showdown with marginal hands.

Typical stats of calling stations:

VPIP: high, from 40%.

PFR: low, 5-10%.

AF: low, as they rarely raise.

WTSD: high, as they often reach showdown.

Use a simple approach against calling stations:

● Avoid bluffs

- Do not bluff against such players, as they tend to call bets even with weak hands.

● Value bet with medium-strength hands

- Calling stations often call with any pair, so if you have a middle pair, you should bet, expecting them to call with a weaker hand.

● Make large value bets with strong hands

- These players often will pay you off regardless of the bet size. Therefore, if you have a strong hand, confidently make larger bets.

We made an open raise from the Early Position with QJ suited, and a fish with VPIP 78% and PFR 0% called on the Button. On the flop, we immediately hit a flush, and the opponent checked. Surprisingly, many players in this situation make the mistake of either betting small or even checking to set a trap.

The best play, however, is to start betting big right on the flop. In Hand2Note 4 HUD, we can see that the opponent folds to continuation bets only 40% of the time and reaches showdown 37% of the time. Such stats indicate a typical calling station, who will often call on the flop with any pair and any draw, and the most profitable decision for us will be to make an overbet.

Maniacs

Maniacs are aggressive fish, as well as loose-aggressive players who love to bet and raise with almost any hand. Preflop, they enter pots with a wide range of hands to apply pressure on opponents through aggression postflop and often bluff. These players are particularly aggressive on the river.

Typical stats of maniacs:

VPIP: high, from 30%.

PFR: high, from 20%.

AF: high, as they often bet and raise.

WTSD: low, as they often force opponents to fold before showdown.

Effective strategies against maniacs:

● Tighten your preflop range

- Enter pots with hands that can connect well with the flop. This will allow you to more often counter their aggression postflop.

● Bluff-catch them

- Give them the opportunity to bluff and call their bets with medium-strength hands.

● Apply check-raises with your strong hands

- Since they often bet, you can employ check-raises to play big pots with your strong hands.

Preflop, a loose-aggressive opponent with VPIP 35% and PFR 22% raised from the Early Position, and we defended the big blind by calling with KJ suited. On the flop of AJ3 rainbow, we hit a middle pair, the nut backdoor flush draw, and a backdoor straight draw, so we played check-call against the opponent’s continuation bet.

On the turn, we hit the nut flush draw. We checked, and the opponent also checked back. On the river, we made the nuts, and our goal is to extract the maximum value. We can either bet ourselves or go for a check-raise.

The opponent’s low WTSD suggests that by betting we will get value only from hands like two pairs or better, but with these hands, the opponent is likely to bet themselves. Thus, we lose nothing by checking.

On the other hand, our opponent has a very high Aggression Factor, and by checking, we can induce them to bluff with air, which they would obviously fold to our bet. Therefore, in this situation, it’s better to lean towards a check-raise rather than betting.

Effective exploitation of various opponents is your key to success in poker. By understanding how they play and knowing how to adapt to their playing styles, you can significantly increase your winnings.

Use the HUD and statistics from Hand2Note 4 to make informed decisions and maximize your profit when playing against different types of opponents.