Playing Tight Aggressive Poker (TAG)

[TeUnit]

Think this is the best style to start out with, as you get better you can read hands better and play better out of position. Think a lot of players start out playing way to loose and way too much out of position.

 

[bruno13xs]

Tight always I played because I wanted to make sure he would win the pot. But after reading this article I will play but Tight Aggressive as well partciparei more moves and try to win more pots

 

[dragunovich]

I think playing tight aggresive is just a momentary modality .. you can not play 100% of the hands like that because you would become a predictable player .. but it is important to keep this strategy in mind because it can work against some crazy opponents.

 

[Martin Carreira]

I always try to play this way. However, on many occasions when I face fish players, which play all hands with garbage, I allow myself to play more free trying to take advantage of these players and be able to earn more money. Many times I lose with bad beats and I get very angry too hahaha

 

[PsychoVas]

TAG is definitely the spinal cord of every profitable player. We have to rule out passive play completely, wether tight or loose. On the other hand, as mentioned in the conclusion, a skilled and observant player can and will exploit it. Thus, mixing plays and changing gears is absolutely necessary. I am still at the first step, I play TAG (even nitty sometimes) and it works a lot of the times, but not all. Playing tight and aggressive has more small wins and a few (very) big losses. I mean that you build a pot trough your aggression and the miracle river hits... In most cases your aggression might have chased away others and you win smaller pots. In my opinion, the really good players are the ones that adapt instantly and play tight or loose according to the circumstances.

 

[Eric Salvador]

This a great way to play when starting out but as you increase your skill level you should separate your playing by GTO and exploitive and even then you should be playing with a mixed bag to keep opponents guessing. LAGs and TAGs can be easily exploited by aware opponent.

 

[BentleyBoy]

Another great article, thanks Cardshat.

One of the important points raised in this article is about table image. The main aspect of this is that while assessing everyone else’s table image, everyone else is assessing everyone including you.

Be aware of the image that you are portraying and if you can spot it, then it’s easy for others to aswell. This can be a good ploy if employed correctly to ensure that your opponents do get to understand your table image so that’s you can go on and exploit it throughout the game.

TAG is important, but more importantly to exploit it and throw in a few bluffs once your image is set.

Thanks

BB

 

[Amanda A]

I like playing a TAG style but sometimes that's hard when you are playing a tournament and blinds are going up and you are just card dead and running bad, not hitting anything. You've got to pick your spots to try and pick up a pot or 2 that you might not deserve. TAGS can still bluff and the bluffs of TAGS are more likely to get through, more respected.

 

[M13A13]

Being aggressive and even more tiled when it comes to tilt, it takes a lot of poker experience, and knowing how to control your own emotions so you do not make mistakes, the most important thing is to realize that the other user is making mistakes and making a profit on a given occasion.

 

[Bev]

Interesting read.
Very good description of the types of play for strategy . Tight play is good in the beginning of a game , especially if in a tourny.
I understand to the reasoning behind switching up your style to . I agree with that strategy. The starting hands are good to work with , but they did not mention in this article that if you are watching the board - and 9 out of ten rounds the cards are flopping out small , then your high pair , or monster hand is nothing to a strait or 3 of a kind with smaller cards - so for that reason , I will try and watch what the cards are coming out like ... trust me - I have had AA, KK beat too many times to count by smaller cards .
So, I feel this is great advice for anyone learning the basics , and it is a great guide to work with , but not a strict rule to play by - otherwise if you fold all cards that are less then 9`s , you will see that you will lose a lot of pots .
Pretty much concluded at the end of this article - also don`t forget that ``Luck thing and that ``Patience" one to - those seem to go hand in hand with any style of play

 

[Bricxjo]

Playing TAG is a solid strategy most of the time. As others have mentioned, it is good to mix things up; but if you are disciplined and play TAG as a general rule. One thing to keep in mind is also your table image. You could be playing TAG and get a run of good cards, and if none of those go to showdown; even though you are playing TAG, your image at the table could be LAG. This seems to happen to me sometimes.

 

[Benego]

I do not play for a long time but somehow i find myself as a TAG, not in every situation, but in the most of them - yes.. I dont know how to feel about this..

 

[fa1920]

The strategy usually depends on who you are at the table and what buy-in you are playing. But usually in the lower levels, the TAG is the best style to follow and erl that has given me the most

 

[PeedroZack]

I think this is the best option but you need to adjust your game in relation of your opponents

 

[veritasi]

very interesting article, i always try to play tight-agressive, but sometimes i cannot find optimal level of agression, but i think, i'll correct it in future)

 

[Serjo600]

I don't afraid tag or lag players, me not thing how to play against the donk? cooler donks, who all my life eat my money on razz. ebanye tvari

 

[step055]

I am absolutely a LAG player but sometimes it's very interesting to play with TAG player. It's something new to me. I guess that I am going to try TAG poker))) But I have to improve my skills for it. Thank you for this interesting article.

 

[danoscar]

Task#3- Tight Aggressive Play

For me this is the best way to play. Aggressive play in position with cards that are a good chance of winning with a decent amount of chips is like having your cake and eating it too! Stressful, yes, but makes for good outcomes.

 

[Misaki]

tight aggressive style is pretty successful way to play poker. Especially on micro stakes. When people limp a lot, call a lot, you can't just play too wide range, because people don't realize that their equity in multiways is lower than they think. So best option to adapt is just playing tight with good constructed ranges which mostly includes hands like broadaways and pocket pairs. Next problem is that people try to slowplay their big hands if they hit something. That's not the best option. Sometimes it is, but remember if you play tight you want to get value as fast as possible so mostly betting with made hands will maximize your winnings. If you don't hit you can still cbet on many boards as your image of tight player will take many pots postflop. When you climb on stakes I think you should play a little wider every time, because players are better and if you want to get a value from your strong hands you can't be so tight, because people just won't pay you off.

 

[Dejange]

I found TAG style rather profitable at cash tables and STT's, but for larger field mtt's I am changing my style depending the opponents, stage of the event, position, etc. In general, I am following TAG rules, but sometimes use creativity and intuition to surprise my opponents and give me more chances to win

 

[martina pinto]

an aggressive player is much more times away than one that is not - I think we have to be aggressive considering the position on the table and the amount of chips we have to be able to speculate with that too .. and take advantage of the opportunities

 

[Splitpot88]

I really liked this article. I think playing TAG is the way to go in MTTs and mixing in a little LAG to keep the other player from figuring you out. Things I got out of the article are better pre and post flop play, table awareness, watching opponents style and learning when to let the hand just go.

 

[vovqa93]

About playstyle

Nowadays, it's almost impossible to play with like some one typical strategy. We always playing against differenet opponents and our playstyle changes. It depends on opponent, but playing passive in 2018 is not profitable for sure. So, we can say most players who make some winnings are playing in aggresive game, we can't say it is TAG or LAG! New hand, new position, different players in pot = different styles/scenarios.

 

[Spaceman]

Thats odd. I have read the article and thought I have posted in this thread

Anyway, I believe the best style is mixing it up. I dont think many players do this. Most stick by their favorable style either tag or lag and end up being easily predicted. Also many players think they are playing tight agressive but in reality they are playing tight passive. I try to change playing styles depending on opponents and table.

Unbalanced tag style is the most easily exploited style. Its like playing with your cards face up. Especially in micros where a lot of beginners play, its so painfully obvious what cards they have. If we dont exclude cash games and talk about turbo tourneys format, spin n go etc, I think playing tag is a disaster.

 

[whiskers77]

Very interesting article, thanks CC. I would say, usually I play the TAG style, but also sometimes I try to add some more loose moves. What is for me most important and therefore so interesting in this article, is what I still have to improve, is what you called: "Let the oponent make his mistake on the flop." Here I am often too impatient.