poker.style — Poker Playing Styles Checker (TAG, LAG, Nit, Maniac, Calling Station)

1. You sit in a 6-max cash game. How do you usually choose your starting hands?

I wait for very strong hands only.I play a solid, tight range by position.I open quite wide, especially in position.I love action and play lots of hands.I call a lot just to see a flop.

2. Preflop, someone raises from middle position. You are on the button with a borderline hand. Your default reaction?

Easy fold. I don’t like marginal spots.I think about position and ranges, sometimes call or 3-bet.I often 3-bet light and put pressure.I love 3-betting, even with trash.I call a lot – I want to see a flop.

3. You flop top pair with a good kicker in a single-raised pot. What describes you best?

I’m cautious, often check/call small pots.I usually bet for value and protection.I apply pressure and barrel many turns.I bet big, pot or overbet is fine.I call most bets but rarely raise.

4. On the turn, a scary card comes and villain bets big. You have a medium-strength hand.

I fold a lot in these spots.I think about ranges, sometimes call, sometimes fold.I dislike folding; I may call or even bluff-raise.I love turning my hand into a bluff and raising.I call again – they might be bluffing.

5. Bluffing frequency: how often do you bluff in big pots (turn/river)?

Almost never – I need real hands.I bluff in good spots with equity or good blockers.Quite often; I attack weakness aggressively.Very often – sometimes just for fun.Almost never – I prefer calling to bluffing.

6. Facing a raise on the river after you bet with a decent but not great hand:

I almost always fold – people are honest.I think deeply, but I fold most of the time.I can find hero calls if the story looks wrong.I hate folding rivers, I call a lot.I call a lot – I must know what they had.

7. How do you feel about playing out of position (from the blinds)?

I overfold – I don’t like awkward spots.I defend with a structured range, but not too wide.I defend quite wide and fight from the blinds.I hate folding blinds and play a lot from there.I call raises from blinds very often.

8. Emotionally, what feels most like you at the tables?

I’m risk-averse and hate big swings.I like controlled, thoughtful aggression.I enjoy putting others in tough spots.I love chaos and big pots.I’m curious and hate folding too much.

Poker playing styles explained: nit, TAG, LAG, maniac, calling station

In modern no-limit Texas Hold'em, players are often described by their poker style. The most common labels are nit, TAG (tight aggressive), LAG (loose aggressive), maniac and calling station. Understanding these styles helps you improve your own strategy and adapt to your opponents.

A nit plays very tight and avoids big pots without premium hands. A TAG player is also tight, but chooses good spots to be aggressive preflop and postflop. LAG players use wider ranges and high pressure to exploit weaker opponents. A maniac goes even further, playing extremely loose and aggressive with huge swings. A calling station calls too often, reaches showdown with weak hands and rarely bluffs.

For more detailed descriptions of each poker style, you can check individual pages such as Nit, TAG (tight aggressive), LAG (loose aggressive), Maniac and Calling Station. These pages explain each archetype in depth and give improvement tips.

Why knowing your poker style matters

Many players think they play “standard poker”, but in reality their behaviour at the tables fits one of these style categories. If you are too tight, opponents can steal your blinds and fold when you finally enter a pot. If you are too loose, they simply wait for strong hands and call you down. If you bluff too rarely, your value bets are not paid. If you bluff too much, you burn money in big pots.

A tool like Poker.Style helps you quickly check whether you are closer to a nit, TAG, LAG, maniac or calling station. Once you know your default style, you can deliberately adjust it: becoming a bit more aggressive, tightening up in bad spots, or adding better bluffing frequencies.

How to use this poker style test

Go through the short questionnaire above and answer honestly how you actually behave in typical poker situations: preflop decisions, postflop aggression, bluff frequency, reaction to big bets and playing from the blinds. The test will estimate which style — nit, TAG, LAG, maniac or calling station — describes you best right now.

The result is not a rigid label but a starting point for improvement. You can run the test again after studying strategy or changing your game and see how your poker playing style evolves over time.

For a long-form breakdown of all poker styles with strategy, examples and exploitation tips, visit the Poker Styles Guide.