You sit at a poker online qq table and you notice that there is this one player that doesn’t play many hands, seemingly only on the button or cutoff, bets big and seemingly wins every hand they play. Seemingly, they’re untouchable, almost godlike. But they’re not. And you’re the one that is going to take them down. How? By following this guide on exploiting those pesky TAG players.
What is a TAG player?
A great question. TAG, otherwise known as a tight, aggressive player is a player that plays few hands and mostly from a seat of strength where they can ply their trade the easiest. Their entire goal is to bully everyone out of pots early by seeing their bets and one-upping them. They only play when on the cutoff or button unless they have a strong pair because their style will be too weak from any other position. Understanding this is the first way to taking them down.
Understand Your Own Hand
You know the basics of their style, but to truly exploit a TAG player, you need to know the cards you’re playing with. It’s simple to know what they’re playing with: They are playing a pair of any kind or a mid to high set of connectors. A little secret about them? They don’t want to see the river. If they see the river, chances are they will lose. What do you have? A pair of your own? Suited connectors? A set of royalty? The question to ask is: Do you have the odds to beat a low pair? Know the strength of your hand. You don’t have to have the best hand to have the winning hand, but if this hand goes further, it’s better to make sure you have a chance. A 7, 2 offsuit isn’t going to do you well.
You have the Hand. Now What?
You have a decent hand and you know that the TAG player is playing behind you. What do you do? Throw out a small value bet. They will likely raise you. They want to send a strong message saying “back off. My hand is stronger.” Don’t give in. Raise them back. This will make them think twice. Remember, they don’t want to see the river unless they get lucky, and their bets will tell you if that happened. Raising them preflop will get most TAG players out. If they call, no worries. See the flop and follow the same method. It’s like confronting a bully. Show them you can’t be bullied, and you will win the day and you will earn a nice payout on top of it.
