You’ll commonly encounter certain types of players when playing Internet poker, and it’s good to know a bit about each. Granted, these are generalizations and everyone is different, but if you can recognize some of the major player types in advance, you’re already ahead of the game.

The Maniac:

Maniacs just like to bet and gamble, and will raise with pretty much any two cards. They might be drunk, they might be mad, they just may like to bet, bet, bet. In the end what matters is that they’re relying on scaring people into folding more than they are on playing patient, smart poker. If you’re going to butt heads with a maniac, make sure you have a good hand, as they won’t stop raising you, no matter what. Remember, too, that sometimes even maniacs have great hands, so be careful when you go to war with them.

The Rock:

Rocks are happy to sit there, folding and folding, until they get an unbeatable hand, when they’ll maybe think about raising. They’re scared to be wrong and they always imagine that their opponent has the hand that beats them. Rocks are pretty easy to play against, mainly because they hardly ever play a hand. Push them around as much as you can, as they’re looking for a reason to fold. If a rock wakes up and starts raising or re-raising you, watch out, as they likely have a really big hand.

The Fish:

The fish is a bad, bad player. They play every hand and always call to the river, hoping and praying that they hit their miracle card. They’re not patient enough to wait for good hands and keep calling when they’re obviously beaten. Just play a good tight, aggressive game to beat the fish. They’ll frustrate you sometimes by staying in to hit their miracle card to win but in the long run they’ll donate many more dollars to you than they take.

The Pro:

The pro is patient and waits only for good starting hands. When they find a good hand, the pro comes out firing, always betting and pressing the action. Their game is one of selective aggression, pressing it when they have an edge, folding when they don’t.