The first strategy tip I ever took seriously when I started trying to improve my poker game was to change my playing style in an attempt to become tight and aggressive. This model of a poker player's style categorizes players in 2 categories with 2 tendencies in each category.

• Aggression Level - How likely a player is to raise or just call.
• Hand Selection - How likely a player is to fold or play a hand.

Aggression
In terms of aggression, a poker player is considered "aggressive" if she raises a lot. This is considered preferable to calling a lot.

Players who call a lot are considered "passive".

Aggressive play works because it increases your chances of winning a pot by giving your opponent an opportunity to fold.

Hand Selection
In terms of hand selection, a poker player is considred "tight" if he players a relatively small number of hands and folds a lot. A "loose" player plays a larger number of hands.

Four Categories Based on This
A player can belong to one of the following 4 categories:

• Tight, Aggressive. This is considered the ideal playing style. This player plays few hands but raises a lot when he does play.
• Tight, Passive. This is what is often called a rock. The player doesn't play many hands, but when he does, he limps in or calls other bets.
• Loose, Aggressive. This player is often called a "maniac". He plays a lot of hands and is always trying to win the pot by raising and forcing other players to fold.
• Loose, Passive. This player is called a "calling station". He plays a lot of hands, and he calls a lot of bets and raises. This is the worst style to have, but it's the best style of player to play with.

So for me, when I decided to improve, I just memorized a simple mantra:

"Raise or fold".

If my hand's not good enough to raise with, it's not good enough to call with. This attitude works particularly well in no limit holdem games. Hope this helps someone with their game. I'm more trying to get some basic thoughts down on the screen than write something seminal like Sklansky's Theory of Poker.

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Randy

I don't know, Randy. I have won a lot of money and numerous no limit tournaments in Laughlin, Nevada, without eliminating the "call". In fact, I enjoy slowplaying aggressive raisers. Really aggressive players seldom last at the final tables here. It doesn't take long to peg a player like that, and either slowplay good hands on him or pop him with constant reraises. The ladder usually squelches constant raisers pretty quickly. I have read about the "raise or fold" theory you espouse time and time again, but honestly have never seen folks have ongoing success using it.