Are you the life and soul of the poker table party? Or do you play as more of a cool cucumber? I don’t know about you, but I’m always curious about which boxes I might fit into. Star sign, zodiac animal or personality type, I want to know which one is my tribe. When it comes to playing games against other people though, there’s a practical application for finding out just what kind of player they are.

Poker is well known for its mind games and you need the psychological know-how necessary to emerge from a game triumphant. Being able to read your opponent can make all the difference between sweet victory and bitter defeat, and successfully identifying the individual stereotype they fit into is a valuable tool in your arsenal.

If you know that somebody is new to a game, you can anticipate the enthusiasm and lack of experience which may lead to their downfall (and your triumph); if you notice that a fellow player always plays it safe, then this can give you the confidence to push them a bit harder. Picking up on other players’ body language, mood, tells and style can help give you a more complete picture of how they play the game. This then puts you in a better position to beat them. It's a little different to learning basic blackjack strategy. Poker involves reading body language and betting patterns to work out player types.

Aggressive Players

In poker, an aggressive player would be seen as somebody who plays a lot of hands and places a lot of bets, calling infrequently. However, in any game, this type of player can be identified by their willingness to prioritize a potentially high-level outcome over playing it safe and biding their time. Although this method has the potential to net them a high success rate, it also means that they can find themselves in a vulnerable position if they don’t keep a tight rein on their gameplay. If you recognize an aggressive player, the best thing to do is to learn to anticipate their next moves, therefore allowing yourself to prepare accordingly.

Passive Players

Unsurprisingly, passive players are the complete opposite to aggressive ones. They are more likely to hold back and wait to see how things pan out before making their move. This cautious style of playing can trip you up if you decide to disregard the passive player completely, therefore leaving yourself completely open and unprepared for when they do act. However, it doesn’t guarantee success by any means as this player’s tentative style of play means that all the best opportunities are likely to pass them by.

Wild Cards

Sometimes a player will come along who just doesn’t fit any of the general criteria or modes of play. However crazy their reasoning seems to be, they still fit into a well-known stereotype which is that of the wild card. In any card game, this should be an immediate sign that you should keep your cards close to your chest whilst up against them. They are inevitably going to shake things up at the table, but you can make sure this works to your own advantage. Whilst everyone else is freaking out at the wild card’s unpredictability, make sure that you stay cool, calm and collected and carry on bringing your A-game. It’s highly likely they won’t last long anyway, so all you have to do is keep your head until they lose theirs.

Within these loose approximations of different gaming styles, there are a whole host of different specificities you can identify to better read the players that you’re up against. If somebody is a real stickler for the rules, then they are unlikely to take any big risks; this leaves an opening for you to swoop in and snap up a juicy opportunity that they’re just too stuck-in-the-mud to seize. On the other hand, if someone else is a complete newcomer to the game, your knowledge of that means that you’re able to take the upper hand and carry on to victory.

Whoever you end up playing against, just remember that it’s always worth listening to that old adage: “It’s always the quiet ones who are the most dangerous”.