There are various types of online poker players: Some are relatively easy to read where they tend to play hands within a certain range and are either aggressive or passive while others can prove to be quite tricky who deliberately mix up their play by not consistently playing the same hand.
They may purposely slowplay Aces from mid position at some point and then move on to play them very fast. Many players in fact work hard at trying to read these complex players by trying to detect some kind of pattern.
Dealing with complex poker players
Provided you have sufficient online poker skills and great observation skills you might be able to figure them out but for those of you who aren’t quite there yet, we will suggest you do the opposite; therefore not spending any time focusing at all on whether a complex player is strong or just pretending to be one.
In our opinion, the biggest chunk of your profit will come from other poker players, therefore the weak and the straightforward ones. They are the ones you will be able to spot right away.
Strategies to help you win
Our first suggestion is plain avoidance. You need to try and avoid playing against tricky players. If they raise, you fold unless you hold a very strong hand. If you get the feeling that they are targeting you then you should leave the game. Forget your ego in such situations. Your bankroll will thank you.
If avoidance isn’t always possible such as when you have invested a lot in a hand to fold, then you need to play as passively as you can, checking rather than better and calling rather than raising. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will be avoiding difficult decisions but this neutral style will deaden the trickiness of your opponent.