[ Posted July 9th, 2026 ] by The Dean

It is becoming perfectly obvious now that NLHE is becoming tougher and tougher to beat at most levels. The preponderance of knowledge on hold ‘em far exceeds that of any other form of poker! Pot Limit Omaha is rapidly closing the gap but that may take some time. More and more professional players and serious amateurs are switching to Omaha as their main game because of this problem.

But if you want to make money in hold ‘em then you basically need to know what your opponents know in order to be able to use that knowledge against them. Firstly it needs to be said that both TAG and LAG styles are profitable today. On Cake Poker for example where I currently play, the level of play isn’t really that high and most players don’t or cannot use tracking software to its maximum capacity so this means that the average player on Cake Poker is of less ability as the average player on most other networks.

A TAG (tight-aggressive) style will still make money at full-ring and especially when you have a rakeback scheme attached. This will allow players to be able to multi-table and accrue more rakeback at the end of the month without getting themselves into too many tight and tricky spots on too many tables at the same time.

I think it is important now for any NLHE player to have both a TAG and a LAG style as part of their arsenal. You need to be able to switch gears as a TAG player can lose out on an awful lot of money by the end of the year by not loosening up enough in tight games. TAG games tend to be nothing but a folding fest and this is where blinds can be picked up frequently and advantage can be taken of tight rocky play.

In many games of course, a natural TAG style may not be too profitable and it could take a good rakeback deal to make most players profitable. The coaching sites also play a huge role in how people play poker but not many coaches and authors preach a LAG style as it is all too easy for players to get themselves into trouble by doing it.

Variance will invariably go through the roof with a LAG style and that basically goes contrary to how many players wish to play poker. Likewise I think that having an out and out LAG style may be profitable in a TAG type of game or a tight and nitty game but it can be a chip bleeder in many situations if you overstep the mark with regards your overall level of aggression.

Good players will definitely react to a permanent LAG style and this is when one of the most profitable strategies for a LAG player is to suddenly switch to a TAG style.

This can lead to your better hands being paid off and you getting action that you may not otherwise have got. There are always rewards there for players who are prepared to handle the worst that variance can through at them. TAG’s tend to shy away from variance and play tighter ranges.

There is nothing wrong with this of course but it does mean one thing, that LAG’s punish the TAG’s quite often and especially if the TAG is deep stacked and a little rocky post flop. So keep in mind that having a TAG or a LAG style can be very profitable in the right set of circumstances but the player who fares best is the player that can switch from one style of play to the other.

Carl “The Dean” Sampson can be seen at pokersharkpool

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