In an effort to make his first book on poker strategy accessible to even the most basic of beginners, Phil Helmuth compared certain playing styles to animals. According to Phil there were four distinct types; the jackal is crazy and unpredictable, the elephant plays too many hands, the mouse plays too conservatively, and the lion is skilled and tough to beat. Not that this comparison is in any way new. There are posts every day about donkeys and sharks and even a few jackasses. <READMORE>

But rather than calling somebody’s play “a donkey move,” Phil was talking about people’s personalities. This is a very important distinction. These days most decent players are capable of changing their playing style depending on various situations. The loose and hyper aggressive guy to your left can suddenly become tight and passive should game factors warrant it.

On the other hand, an overly aggressive person is always happiest when they can be aggressive, and a passive player is often uncomfortable when they have to take control. Even though good players can change their styles, the urge to be true to your own human nature is almost irresistible. So how does this simple fact of people’s personalities affect your poker game?

Good players and poker authors have often said that poker is at least as much a game of people as it is a game of cards. Much has even been written about how paying attention to little physical signals called “tells” can add a lot to an observant player’s bottom line. So much has been made of this that there are even those multi-level thinkers out there who try to throw off “false tells” to confuse those who are paying attention. If I have subtly winked my left eye every time I bluffed over the last hour and then next time I have the stone cold nuts and bet out I wink my left eye, I may catch a fish or two in my carefully laid trap.

Unlike these easily changed and mimicked physical actions, personality traits are ingrained in all of us on a much deeper level. The aggressive police officer may not make as effective a negotiator as the more thoughtful officer because the aggressive officer wants to act and not patiently and calmly talk. The hothead defensive end on a football team may be easily drawn into giving up a penalty by constant trash talk. The average looking fearless guy often gets more dates than the good looking shy guy because the fearless guy simply tries his luck more.

At the poker table, it is important to notice what your opponents want to do most often. The player who, given a choice between betting and checking, will most often bet is usually aggressive at heart. The one who typically checks down his top pair/top kicker is generally more patient and passive.

To be specific, just yesterday I was playing the $3 rebuy on stars. Our table was fairly deep stacked, and most of us had been there for more than an hour or two already when we got into the money. The player two seats to my left had shown his nature to be well on the aggressive side. One common situation kept coming up. If I raised pre-flop with AK or even AQ and missed the flop I would check to him. He would usually make a small bet on the flop that I sometimes called. He would also make a small bet on the turn that I occasionally called as well and then he would push on the river if no straight/flush/overcard came and I would fold. When I made this same pre-flop raise with a good size pocket pair, I usually check raised him on the turn and he mostly let it go.

On his button, I picked up pocket tens and made my standard 3x raise pre-flop followed by his inevitable call. The flop came up TT2 with two spades, so, as I had done many times before, I checked to him. He bet small and I called. The next card was the four of hearts, so I checked again and then called his small bet. The final card was the nine of hearts so I checked once more, and he once again pushed the river, doubling me up and leaving him with only a few thousand chips.

There are a few reasons this play worked so well. Firstly, I did set it up nicely by following my true nature and being such a nit for a long time. Secondly, I continued to follow the same pattern we had set, with which he had gotten comfortable. But lastly and perhaps most importantly, I allowed him to follow his true nature. He didn’t want to call, he wanted to bet, so I let him do it. A big bet or raise by me at any point would have killed the action.

Expert hunters know that sometimes to catch a lion you have to pretend to be a gazelle. By allowing the lion to be true to its nature and hunt you, you can catch it unaware. If you are a ten foot gorilla, the lion will avoid you, and you have lost it. In poker, let people be who they really are, and you can catch them as well. Let the aggressive players bet and raise, while letting the timid players call, and your stack will reflect your wisdom.
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