Ego and grind players

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 06 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Although most of the emphasis on player types seems to go on whether a player is tight or loose, aggressive or passive, there are actually numerous other player types that can be identified, adapted to and profited from. One of the best examples of this are ego and grind driven players. I have a great example of this phenomenon in poker, and it is one that is actually a lot more common than people think amongst players who play regularly together.

I used to drink in a pub that had a regular group of guys who would play poker every now and then after the pub shut. They knew that I was playing poker for a living at the time and I would occasionally play in these small sit and go's if I had nothing else to do. The players in this game literally fell into these two categories - their play was either ego driven or grind driven.

Half the players were there just to play solid hand values, stick to what they saw as 'sound' poker and try and grind out a small win each time the game formed. The other half of the players were guys whose only wish for the evening was to show their superiority over everyone by making a big bluff or other fancy play that they could pat themselves on the back for after they showed the whole table - the money was basically irrelevant to them.

The ego driven players were particularly like this in pots with me - they obviously wanted to be able to tell everyone in the pub that they had bluffed the pro. Suffice to say, by identifying these player types I could beat up on this game all night long.

No one seemed to be able to work out my playing style, as half the time I would make very thin calls against the ego players constant big bet bluffs, while the rest of the time I would not be paying off the grinders and simply wearing them down with pre and post flop aggression each time they missed the flop or gave up their blinds. The grinders couldn't understand how I was not paying them off when they finally hit, and the ego players couldn't understand why I would call their big bets so easily but fold so regularly to the grinders big bets.

The moral of all of this is two fold. Firstly, by identifying these kinds of player types you can quickly gain an edge against players that seem different from what they are - focus closely not only on a player's actions, but also the apparent reasons for those actions. Secondly, don't let your game stagnate like the grinders or let your ego take over.

Poker is a game where you just try and make the right choices as often as possible - your ego is not going to make very many good choices in the long run, neither is playing one predictable (and quite boring) playing style. Really look closely at those around you when you are playing - it may be that their motives give you more information than their actions at points.