🕵️ Opponent types and exploits: how to beat real people
Nit, TAG, LAG, calling station, maniac — how to spot them by stats and how to play against them · Pro
GTO is the foundation, but in poker the money comes from your opponents' mistakes. This lesson covers five player types, their stat thresholds for Omaha, each type's main leak and how to exploit it. You can practice in the trainer: at a "Bots" table you choose the bots' style, and in "My game → Style" you can see which type you are yourself (based on your uploaded hands).
GTO and exploits
GTO is a balanced strategy that can't be exploited. An exploit is a deliberate deviation from it to win more from a specific opponent.
The order: 1) know the baseline (GTO); 2) find where your opponent deviates from it; 3) adjust; 4) against strong players, limit the risk of being counter-exploited.
The five main deviations: folding too much, calling too much, too aggressive, too passive, overvaluing hands (going to showdown often).
How to spot a type by stats
The club's thresholds for Omaha (based on the course materials; “My game → Style” and the “Opponent type” task use the same ones):
— nit: VPIP up to ~22%, folds to a c-bet 60%+;
— TAG: VPIP ~24–32%, PFR close to VPIP, above-average aggression;
— LAG: VPIP ~42–52%, PFR ~26–34%, lots of 3-bets;
— calling station: high VPIP, low PFR, folds to a c-bet less than 40%;
— maniac: VPIP over 50%, PFR over 40%.
At an anonymous table: frequent raises and 3-bets from any position — a maniac; limps, cold calls and an "odd" stack — a fish.
How to play against each
The nit — the key leak is "hit or fold". Steal the blinds, c-bet almost always; fold to his aggression without the nuts.
The calling station — calls down to showdown. No bluffs, thin value on every street, bet a little bigger than usual. There are a lot of calling stations in Omaha.
The TAG — predictable; second and third barrels work: he often calls the flop to "narrow the range" and gives up later.
The LAG — the best players at the table. 3-bet in position, call down with medium hands, bluff less.
The maniac — let him do the betting. 3-bet wider to isolate, check-call with strong hands.
Metagame and discipline
Metagame is what your opponent thinks of you: image, hand history, tilt. A bluff you showed later gets you called by a worse hand. But against weak players who don't think about you, fancy "moves" are a waste.
Tell apart your A-game (calm, following a plan), B-game (variance starts to get to you) and C-game (tilt). Losing 10–15 buy-ins in a session is normal in Omaha; a stop-loss set in advance protects you from your C-game.
Practice: identify the opponent's type by his stats and choose how to play against him.